Healing Star
by Aiden Ravelle
Summary: Hammy's younger sister wants to join up with the resistance after Don Armage's defeat to finish off Jark Matter. She soon falls for a certain scorpion ranger. Will her healing abilities be able to keep everyone alive long enough to save the universe? Warnings: Angst, Suicidal acts/thoughts, Death, Whump,
1. Andy Intro

Created for the first roleplay I was in, they wanted a healing character and Andy is what we came out with. Though I did have the general first idea, Andy, as well as this story, was co-created by Amy L (Who goes by AnkhsAngel on Ao3).

Healing Star - Iruka Turquoise.

Andaka, nicknamed Andy, is the younger sister of Hammy. She's just a year or two younger than the green ranger. Their older brother, Avery, is about six years older than Andy.

Andy has long, dark brown, almost black, hair, which is normally up in a bun or ponytail. Though she does wear some normal clothes, such as jeans and t-shirts, she normally is wearing some sort of dark colored keikogi. Trained as a ninja on her home planet, she has multiple skills, however she has trained heavily into healing jutsus and works as a medic.

She bears a resemblance to Hammy, but one major difference is she has blue eyes.

Originally wanting to stay on her planet to protect them from future attacks, she eventually changes her mind and decides she wants to follow in her sister's footsteps and see the stars, hoping she can save more people if she can travel.


	2. Enter Andy

The Kyurangers that were left on the Orion landed on Hammy's planet. She grabbed her bag and led them in the right direction.

A few villagers came running when they saw the voyagers.

"Hammy?" A young man asked.

She smiled, "Avery?!" She ran up and hugged him.

"I can't believe you are home. So much has happened since you left."

"I can't wait to see everyone."

The Kyurangers remained quiet but followed her.

Avery and Hammy led them to their family home.

"Where's Mom and Dad? And Andy?" Hammy looked around wanting to introduce her whole family to her friends.

"Andy is around here somewhere… but I'm sorry Hammy, Mom and Dad died protecting the village."

She froze in her spot before sinking into the nearest seat. Avery moved closer and hugged her. "They died a noble death."

After a few minutes she shook her head and wiped her tears away, "I knew it was a possibility. I just hoped you'd all be here when I got back…"

She looked at her teammates who were giving her sad looks, "This is my brother Avery." She pointed out her team, "That's Naga, Balance, Stinger, Raptor, Spada, and Champ."

"Feel free to make yourself at home," Avery nodded.

After a while another form who looked a lot like Hammy slowly entered the house, noticing the figures around her. Her eyes spotted Hammy and she walked up to her.

"Andy!" Hammy wrapped her arms around her. "Guys, this is my sister."

Andy analyzed the weird bunch but just nodded. "So Jark Matter is gone?"

"Some of us are still going to be going around cleaning up but Don Armage is gone," Stinger spoke.

"Are you just visiting then?" Andy looked at Hammy.

Hammy shook her head, "I'm taking a break from adventuring."

Andy nodded in understanding but didn't say anything. She moved to stand by the wall. She listened to some of Hammy's stories before heading to her room.

A while later Andy heard a knock on her door. It soon opened and Hammy stuck her head in, "Hey."

"Hey," Andy looked up from her book.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," She nodded.

"Doesn't seem like it."

She shrugged, "I just thought you were going to go keep fighting Jark Matter."

Hammy sat down on Andy's bed and laughed, "Don't want me here?"

"That's not it at all," she rushed out. After sighing she admitted, "I wanted to go help."

"It's dangerous out there."

"Don't you think I know that?! Jark Matter attacked our home. I saw tons of people die. I'm not a child anymore."

"I know; I just want you safe."

"I've managed to stay safe while you were gone haven't I? I've been training and practicing. I just want to help more people."

Hammy nodded, "Avery mentioned you've been training in healing jutsu?"

"I learned pretty quickly. I had to."

"Well I won't stop you if you want to go help people, you are an adult now. But if you want to work with the Resistance and the Kyurangers you have to get permission from one of the commanders."

"How do I do that?"

"Talk to Stinger. He just got promoted."

Andy nodded and looked back down at her book.

Stinger was surprised when a girl jumped out of a tree in front of him, "Andy wasn't it?"

"You don't look old enough to be a commander."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I'm probably not."

"I want to help the kyurangers. I know healing jutsu which can help in emergencies. I also have some fighting skills."

He looked her over "You look a little young."

She looked at him determined, "I'm 18. And Hammy said you guys had a young kid on your team, so that isn't an excuse."

He nodded, "Let me think about it."

She watched him as he walked away before she headed down to the training grounds. A while later she sensed eyes watching her. She glanced back and saw Hammy and Stinger.

"You have gotten better," Hammy analyzed.

"I told you."

"We head out in a couple hours. Get your stuff ready," Stinger ordered.

Andy looked confused for a moment before breaking into a smile. She bowed, "Thank you!" She ran off to pack.

"Balance and Naga will probably stay somewhere they can find some treasure… Spada is going to start a restaurant. I'm not sure about Champ, but Stinger and Raptor will for sure stay. They might be scary at first, but they are all really nice. And I'll have my seiza blaster so you can contact me if you want," Hammy told her sister.

"Ok," Andy nodded.

"Listen to what Stinger says, he will be your commanding officer. You might have to go to command for training but you'll probably stay with the Orion most of the time. Listen to Raptor too. She's been on the ship for a long time now, she can help you if you need anything."

"I think I'll be fine," Andy assured, trying to talk herself into confidence.

She hugged Hammy goodbye and then Avery. She then followed the Kyurangers into her new life.

"Here's a room for you," Stinger opened a door. "Breakfast is at 7. At least while Spada is still with us. He does most of the cooking. If you need anything let me know." He walked down the hall leaving her to unpack and get used to her new surroundings.


	3. The New Kyuranger

Andy spent a few days on the ship before going to Headquarters. After a couple months training she joined Stinger and his crew again.

"How was it?" Stinger greeted her in the hall.

"Good," She nodded, "I got some training in different styles. I learned some medical information about different species and Tsurugi taught me some basic mechanical things so I can help repair and heal any robotic lifeforms."

"That will be helpful," Stinger nods. "For now it'll just be you, Raptor, and I. The rest of the Kyurangers are off doing their own things. We'll join up with some other resistance teams if we find anything we can't handle, but most of what we are doing is just retaking the planets that didn't get the memo that Armage is gone."

Andy smiles and follows him back to the ship.

Raptor greets them and updates, "I've received a few reports from different planets. Naga and Balance say they are now in the Andari system and there's a bunch of Jark Matter followers still causing problems for the planets residents. We have no one stationed on Ida, but we got a distress signal from them. And finally, Kotaro will be ready to join us again in about a week."

Stinger looked thoughtful as he considered the options, "Message Naga and Balance saying we'll be there as soon as we can. We have to go to Ida first though, because at least those two can give the Andarian people some help while the Idans have none. We'll get Kotaro when we are done with those, unless he wants to fly his voyager back."

Raptor nodded and set course for Ida.

"We should be there by tomorrow, why don't you go settle back into your room," Stinger glanced at Andy. She gave a brief nod and headed to find where her room had been.

After a while she headed to the kitchen to find some dinner.

She was surprised to find Stinger intently stirring a pot on the stove.

"Oh, what are you making?" She looked into the pot.

Stinger smiled. "Soup. Spada taught me a few tricks so we won't starve. It will be ready in a few minutes."

"I know a few good recipes; we could take turns cooking if you'd like? I'm sure you have paperwork or something to be doing instead of cooking."

Stinger laughed. "Raptor takes care of that. But I would like to try your cooking."

He glanced at her and quickly looked away as she smiled.

"I'll see what ingredients we have around here and see what I can do. Do you still eat around the same times of day Spada cooked or would you rather a different time?"

Stinger nods. "Generally we do unless something comes up. Speaking of which, you need to get as much rest as possible. We don't know how bad it will be on Ida."

He turned off the stove and busied himself with ladling the soup into two bowls. 'What the hell was wrong with him? Andy is his subordinate. There couldn't be anything between them as long as that was the case. Why then could he not stop wondering what it would be like to kiss her?

Andy was glancing up at him, trying to read what he was thinking. Hammy mentioned a bit about him but she didn't know much about him other than that. It didn't help she had only spent maybe ten days with him.

"Do you miss the others?" She asked as he handed her one of the bowls.

He doesn't look at her, moving to the table's other side. "Sometimes. But I like quiet and some of the others are anything but."

He begins to eat, needing something to distract him. 'Did I make a mistake? Can I work with her like this? If I send her home, Hammy's going to want to know why…'

He shook his head quickly. He would see if this would work. If it didn't, then he'd just figure out how to tell Hammy later. Maybe Shou could reassign Andy to main command as a med-tech.

"Yeah," Andy chuckled, "Hammy says she got a little sick of Lucky yelling 'Yosha Lucky' all the time."

Stinger couldn't help the smile. "She threatened to toss him out the airlock more than once."

"He sounds nice though, a bit overly positive... But that isn't always a bad thing."

Stinger shook his head. "It's not. He got us through a lot with that positivity. He saved my life." He paled, realizing his blunder. Finding his bowl empty, he quickly moved to the sink.

"Just set it in the sink, I can wash it," Andy offered.

Stinger did so, fleeing the kitchen afterwards.

Andy looked a little confused at how quickly he rushed from the room and wondered if she had done something to bother him. She also wondered what had happened with Lucky saving Stinger. After washing up the dishes, she headed to the bridge to seek out Raptor.

"Still finding everything ok?" Raptor looked up from her tablet when she noticed the ninja looking at her.

"Yeah, even though it's a big ship, it's not too hard once you know where you are going," she looked down a little unsure what to ask.

Raptor noticed the look and asked, "What's on your mind?"

"I was just wondering about Stinger. He seems fine one moment then a bit awkward the next," she assessed.

"When he started with us, he was working as a spy for the resistance. We fought against him a few times before we found out and he fully joined our team. Even then though he kept a lot to himself still. Different events brought out more from him, but even then he doesn't click with everyone. It might just take some time for him to get used to you."

Andy nodded before asking, "Stinger mentioned that Lucky saved his life. What happened?"

Raptor froze for a minute. "He mentioned that?"

Andy nodded slowly.

Raptor regained her composure. "Stinger's brother ended up working for Jark Matter. He tricked Stinger and tried to kill him. Champ protected him, getting badly damaged in the process. Stinger took it hard."

She paused, trying to figure out how to finish the story.

"Stinger decided that only he could stop his brother. He left us and challenged him, using a technique that involved poisoning himself. It didn't work and Scorpio took him hostage."

Andy gasped.

Raptor smiled sadly. "His brother added to the poison, making Stinger a mindless animal. He set him loose on Kotaro and Lucky. The two of them barely saved him from Scorpio's poison."

Andy's eyes were wide. "What about the poison Stinger gave himself?"

Raptor shook her head. "You'll have to talk to him about that." She turned back to the helm.

Andy stood there thinking for a minute, 'I can't ask him right now, I don't know him well enough. Maybe after we talk some more he'll open up?'

She noticed the time and decided to try to get some sleep. Around one she woke up and found herself not able to get to sleep. She headed out, still in her pjs, and found a room with a couch facing the window. She sat down and stared at the stars passing by.

After a while she heard quick breathing coming from behind her. She looked back and saw Stinger frozen near the door, his face showing panic. Andy stood and rushed to his side, "Stinger?"

After no response she helped guide him to a chair, "Take some deep breaths." Though she knew she couldn't heal the mental aspects of a panic attack, she could help with the physical aspects. Her hands glowed as she stood in front of him, focusing on helping. Her eyes closed as she saw his energy in her mind.

After a minute she opened her eyes and looked back down at him. He had his eyes closed and was focusing on his breathing, "Are you ok?"

Stinger nodded slowly, then spoke. "Sorry. I thought they had stopped but I guess I was wrong."

The color was returning to his face but he was still shaking. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

She shook her head, "I've been awake for a while. And don't worry about it, people get panic attacks sometimes, it happens a lot for some people, especially those who've seen war." She sat in a chair next to him.

He chuckled wryly. "War I can handle. Memories on the other hand… sometimes the dark has a way of twisting what really happened." He glanced at her. "Didn't I tell you to get some rest? You don't need to babysit me."

He stood up, intending to return to his quarters. But the room began to spin and Andy raced to catch him as he fell. She grabbed him around the waist and gasped as her hands began to feel sticky. "Raptor!"

She helped lay him down and looked at the blood on her hands. She assessed the wound and was about to start healing when Raptor finally entered.

"I'm fine…." Stinger tried to push Andy away, but in his weakened condition was unable to do more than a light shove. "I can take care of this in my quarters."

Andy gently pushed him back down, "Bleeding doesn't seem fine. Let me help," she pulled up his shirt a bit and noticed a large gash that had been bandaged. "How did you get this?"

Raptor answered. "He fought off a small contingent of Jark Matter trying to kill a bunch of war orphans…. alone" She ignored Stinger's glare and kept talking. "He made me protect the children instead of fight."

Stinger growled. "I took care of them didn't I?"

Andy frowned. "You almost got yourself cut in half…." She looked at Raptor. "Can you help me move him to the infirmary?"

Raptor nods and they helped him up, each taking a side and walking him to the medical room. Andy helped him remove his shirt before making him lay down.

She looked through the cabinets for a moment before pulling out some supplies. She filled a needle with a clear liquid and injected it into his arm. She then tried to clean up some of the blood before starting to stitch up the area. "I'll do more healing on you after this, but stitching it up will still help it heal better."

Stinger tried to nod, but the drug quickly put him to sleep.

Raptor looked at Andy. "Should I get a transfusion ready?"

Andy frowned. "It might be a good idea. Not sure how long he was bleeding."

As Raptor headed for the medical fridge, Andy looked down at Stinger. Like this he looked much younger than he actually was and she found herself brushing a stray lock of hair away from his face. She quickly turned as Raptor returned with the blood bag.

She quickly finished up stitching the spot before starting an IV in his arm. After hooking the blood up to it, she finished cleaning the area around the stitches. She cleaned her arms off again before standing near him again, her hands glowing as she used her energy to heal him from the inside.

"He's always been a little reckless, but his heart is normally in the right place."

"So I should keep an eye on him because he's going to keep getting injured?"

Raptor smiled fondly down at her commander. "If he thinks it's the only way… yes."

Andy nodded and focused on healing. "This wound is deeper than I thought. It seems there's a few organs that got sliced too..."

Raptor watched from behind, unsure how to further help. After a while, she noticed Andy starting to sway side to side before finally collapsing.

Raptor picked her up and moved her to one of the other beds in the infirmary. After checking her vitals, she realized that Andy had just passed out. After double checking on Stinger she left the infirmary and headed back to the bridge.

Stinger opened his eyes slowly. Wincing, he sat up and froze as Andy came into view. He turned to see Raptor entering the infirmary.

"Why is she still here? What happened?"

Raptor shrugged. "She passed out while healing your injury. So I put her on the bed so she could rest."

Stinger growled at Raptor's explanation. He'd told Andy not to worry about him, yet she had done this. He was definitely going to have to lay down the rules.

Andy groaned at the voices which woke her and slowly remembered what she was doing. She sat up quickly and noticed Stinger and Raptor looking at her.

"What?"

"I told you not to worry about me. I'm your commanding officer and if I have to make it a legitimate order I will. Don't push yourself that hard, especially for me."

Andy moved slowly off the table as she pondered her response. Finally, though, she snapped. "You can't give me any commands if you are dead. Plus, we do have an important mission, which, like you told me, we don't know what to expect. How did you plan to fight anyone in that condition?! I came here to heal people who need it, and you needed it. I'm not going to be helpless and watch you ignore your injuries. I might push myself to my limits, but I am not going to be useless again and let someone die." She took a breath remembering the last time she couldn't heal someone and had to watch as the life faded out of them. Her anger was suddenly gone and she rushed out of the room as tears started to roll down her face.

Stinger stared down at the floor. 'Man I am a world class jerk.' He was about to go after Andy when Raptor announced "We've arrived at Ida."

Stinger immediately switched gears. "What's the situation like?" He strode toward the bridge leaving Raptor scurrying to catch up.

"Like I said before, we received a distress signal from them. Since then, I've not been able to get into contact with anyone on the planet. So what's next is up to you, Commander."

Stinger pondered his options. They could wait for Kotaro and Champ. No... that would take too long. He and Andy would have to do this one solo.

Stinger looked at Raptor. "Tell Andy we leave as soon as she can pack her supplies. You will stay here. If we don't come back or contact you in 3 hours call for reinforcements."

He downloads some information about Ida's inhabitants into his Seiza Blaster and heads for the Voyager Bay.

Andy appears at the Voyager Bay almost as quickly as he does. She still has a bit of redness around her eyes but she looks ready to depart.

Stinger decides not to mention it. "Let's go. Be on your guard." He climbs into his Voyager and waits for her to climb in next to him. He hits the bay door open button and they head for the surface.

Andy stays silent, staring out the window. Nothing pops out as overly interesting, just a lot of trees, and she thought maybe there was a lake in the distance. The trip was quick, which she was thankful for, hoping to avoid being reprimanded for yelling at her commanding officer earlier.

Though she knew he was a bit like her people, once a mission is assigned, it takes their entire focus.

She climbs out first, waiting for him to follow. Before he's even fully out, she senses movement around her. She pulls out a kunai in preparation to fight if need be. She waits for Stinger hoping he can say something to assure them they aren't a threat.

Stinger tenses as he glimpses non humanoid figures massing around them. He slowly climbs out, allowing his tail to lengthen surreptitiously as he gently nudges Andy. "Not friendly. You're free to take them out."

"Are you sure you can't talk them down?"

Stinger raises an eyebrow. "You want to talk Jark Matter down? Cause these are not anyone from Ida."

"Understood," she nods before jumping into action. She reaches into her pocket and throws multiple kunai at her targets, hitting most of them, but they still keep moving forward. She finally finishes some of them off but notices more coming forward from the forest. "They just keep coming." She pulls a few of her kunai from the dead ones in front of her before throwing them at her new targets.

Stinger starts throwing kicks alternating with attacks from his tail. He manages to deplete the enemies surrounding him and turns to see if Andy needs any help.

The sight which meets his eyes chills him to the bone. Andy has her back to him, launching her attacks almost too fast for him to see. What she doesn't know is a massive Jark Matter minion is aiming a weapon at her, about to fire. He doesn't stop to think, just races toward her unprotected back. He manages to arrive and block a split second before the minion fires.

The bullet's impact knocks the air from his lungs, but Stinger doesn't hesitate. He swings his tail around, pumping venom into the minion's throat. Then his knees buckle and he starts to fall.

Andy looks back quickly once she hears a loud thump, "Stinger?!" She wants to stop and heal him but she knows that if she doesn't take out the rest of them she won't make it long enough to save him. She takes a few more out before another twenty come out of the forest and surrounds her. They move closer and she backs up, hoping to protect Stinger. She bumps into him by accident before taking a few of them out. Unfortunately, she couldn't see all around her and missed one behind her. She fell something connect with her head before the world faded to black.

She felt nauseous when she finally did wake up, the world spinning around her. Betting on her medical knowledge she was sure she had a concussion. She opened her eyes to look around her before she tried to move. Her eyes spotted Stinger and she tried to rush over to him but found her hands were tied behind her back. She moved closer, noticing he was laying on his back. She noted blood on his shirt, but hoped it wasn't too serious because he wasn't lying in a puddle of it yet. She stared at his face which looked pale. She studied his features, memorizing every bit of it. She finally peeled her eyes away when she noticed his breathing quicken.

Stinger regained consciousness slowly, struggling to open his eyes. For a moment, he couldn't remember what had happened. Then it came rushing back and he shot to a sitting position. "Andy!"

The room spun and he laid down slowly.

"I'm right here," Andy assured. "My hands are tied though, so I can't help you unless you let me out." She paused before adding, "I'm sorry, I took more of them out but there were too many..."

Stinger shakes his head. "You did very well. You didn't lose your head either. I'm proud of you." He took stock of himself. "My tail's free. Turn around and I'll cut you loose."

Andy hid her surprise at his comment. She turned herself around and held her arms out as far as she could.

Stinger aimed his tail and sliced through her bonds easily. He quickly lowered his stinger, not trusting his control enough not to accidentally hurt Andy. "There you go." He closed his eyes, wondering why it was suddenly so hard to breathe.

Andy moved back around to face Stinger, "I'm going to look at your wound, ok?" She waits for him to respond before pulling his shirt up. She gasps, noticing a small hole. "This is going to hurt, but I need you to turn on your side." She helps push him over and notices there is no exit wound. "Ok let's lay you back down." She shakes her head as her hands start to glow as she tries to assess the injury.

"It seems to have hit your spleen. There's no exit wound, so there's a bullet lodged inside. I'll probably need to remove it later, but since I'm not in a position to perform surgery, I'll heal up what I can to stop the bleeding and help with the pain." She thinks for a moment before remembering the pain medicine in her bag. She goes to get it ready but quickly shoves it back in her bag when she hears footsteps coming closer.

The cell door is unlocked, several Jark minions reaching and dragging Stinger out roughly. He puts up a token struggle until one of them punches him in the wound. A white hot lance of pain engulfs the Sasori warrior and Andy watches helplessly as they relock the door and drag her now unconscious commander away.

Knowing she couldn't be of any help at that moment, she just hoped Stinger would make it through whatever they were doing to him. She felt her headache growing, and decided to curl up and rest until she could find a chance to escape.

Stinger was awoken by a pail of water splashed into his face. Blinking the water out of his eyes, he looked around his new surroundings. He was tied to the wall, his jacket laying a few feet away. His sweater felt heavy and he looked down to see it saturated with blood. The punch must have caused it to bleed heavier he thought. He pulled on his bonds but they were firmly knotted. He sighed as a thin creature bearing a Jark Matter malistrate sigil approached.

"Sasori Orange! What marvelous luck I have. You are going to tell me everything you know, starting with where your compatriots are and how we can find them."

Stinger snorts. "Like hell I am. You won't get anything out of me."

The alien looks pensive. "Now now we don't have to get inventive do we? Maybe with that girl?"

Stinger snarls, lunging against his bonds. "Don't you touch her!"

The alien bared a set of shark teeth. "I won't. If you tell me what I want to know."

Stinger gritted his teeth. There was no way he was going to betray the other Kyurangers. He had however promised Hammy to keep her sister safe. He knew what he had to do. He only hoped he had enough strength left to do it. He secretly pulled his tail loose, hiding it from his interrogator. He waited until the alien got close, then stabbed his stinger deep into its chest.

The alien stiffened, then dropped bonelessly to the floor. The Indaver who had pulled him out of the cell punched Stinger in the jaw, rocking his head back into the wall. Stars appeared in front of the Scorpion's eyes for a second, but he shook his head to clear his vision as he used his tail to slash at his ropes. He managed to get one hand free before a needle was plunged into his neck.

Right before he lost consciousness, he heard an evil laugh and a statement. "Funny how a creature born with poison is so vulnerable to other's offerings isn't it?"

Andy watched as two guards opened the cell door and dropped Stinger on the ground. She jumped up to attack them but was quickly knocked back down. They quickly locked the door again and headed down the hall.

Andy straightened Stinger out onto his back and rescanned him. She slouched when she realized he had poison in his system. Knowing she didn't have any antidote on her, let alone to know exactly what kind of poison it was, she started losing hope. Focusing on what she could, she worked on slowing the bleeding. After a few minutes, she started feeling dizzy again. 'There's no point in making myself pass out if I can't fully heal him anyway. I'm the best chance to get us out of here, so I need to save what energy I have left.'

She moved back to sitting against the wall and took a minute to double check what she had on her to try to come up with a plan.

"An-dy?" His voice was weak.

She raced to his side, cradling his head. She was alarmed at his pallor and the tremors she could feel under her hands.

"Are-are you alright? They didn't hurt you did they?" His eyes scanned her frantically for any injuries. After a minute he calmed, his breaths becoming slower.

She shook her head. "I'm fine, unlike you. Stay still but keep talking. What happened?"

Stinger closed his eyes, focusing on Andy's hands as they tried to once again slow the bleeding.

"They wanted me to…. give up everyone's location. I said no." He paused to bite back a cry as Andy put pressure on the wound. His voice grew shaky. "The malistrate threatened you so I poisoned him. Then someone injected me with something…" He trailed off, darkness threatening to overtake him.

"Stinger!"

Her shout caused him to force his eyes open. It was getting harder and Stinger suspected that Andy would soon be left alone. He could only hope Raptor had gotten through to the others and the ninja would be saved. There was something he had to do before he left her though, and he slowly reached into his pocket.

He held something out to her, and finally grabbed one of her hands and placed the item into it.

She looked at it confused, "A kyutama?"

Stinger nodded, "It'll help protect you. Backup should be on the way to rescue you."

"To rescue both of us."

He slowly shook his head, "Don't worry about me. Commanders orders."

She freaked on him, "I told you, I'm not letting someone else die. I can't help the poison, but if I can fix everything else, you can survive a while longer, hopefully long enough for the backup to arrive."

She focused her energy on him, trying to heal his wound.

"Don't waste your energy on me."

"What did I tell you?! I'm not going to let someone die again!" A few tears dropped down her cheeks as she kept focusing on her patient. Eventually her vision started blurring but she kept focusing on him.

He finally pushed her hands away. "I told you to stop. Nothing you do will save me. The poison's too fast and even if it wasn't…." He cups her cheek. "It's interfering with my coagulation. The only question is whether the poison or the bleeding kills me first." He arched his back as a bolt of pain ripped through him. "Aghhhhhhhh!" His hand grabbed hers tightly.

"Hold on a second," She pulls her hand away and reaches into her bag. After prepping a needle, she injects him with pain medicine. "This will help with the pain, ok?"

She took his hand again, before focusing her energy on him again, holding her free hand over his wound.

His eyes slipped closed, his breathing slowing. Andy sobbed as she realized he'd been telling the truth. The bleeding refused to stop no matter how hard she tried. She finally settled for running her hand through his hair as his pulse grew weaker under her fingertips. She desperately prayed the backup would arrive before she had to bury another person she cared about.

A loud explosion rocked the building. The door to the room suddenly burst open and Champ barreled in, Kotaro close behind.

Andy desperately waved. "Over here! Hurry! Stinger's…." The ninja realized Stinger's hand has loosened around hers and she frantically searched for a pulse. "No no no…. Please no."

She suddenly felt it but it was almost unreadable. She turned as the cell door was torn off its hinges. "Help me!"

Champ gently picked Stinger up. "I've got you, aibou."

Kotaro helped Andy out and they headed for the Voyagers.

Once they arrived on the ship Champ carried Stinger to the infirmary. Raptor met them there, and prepped the antidote. Andy rushed to his side, "He has pain medicine in his system now, and with the antidote, he should be able to start clotting again and he won't die from the poison. I need to take out the bullet, stitch him up, and then I can try to do the rest of the healing from there."

"Can you even do that in your condition?" Champ looked her over.

"I'm trained in healing, I'm the best person here to do this," She looked up, "Raptor, can you assist?"

Raptor nodded quickly, as she helped grab the supplies. Kotaro and Champ watched from behind as the girls got to work. An hour later Andy finishes up with the physical surgery and then moves into her ninjutsu, focusing on repairing the inner blood vessels and tissues.

"Raptor, I'm starting to feel dizzy but I want to keep focusing on him. I just wanted to warn you this time in case I pass out," she glanced up at the pink ranger before looking back down at Stinger.

Raptor shook her head, "You've done enough. Believe me, I know you want to help him, and I understand your reasons, but he isn't going to die now. He's tough, he can get through this."

Champ approached, "He's the toughest person I know. He'll make it through. Take care of yourself."

Andy looked around at the other Kyurangers before letting her hands drop down to her side, "Ok... I'm going to go shower and clean my own wounds then."

"Do you need any help?" Raptor questioned as she watched Andy grab a few extra supplies from a nearby cabinet.

"I'll be fine. But I guess if I don't come back within half an hour you can check on me, ok?"

She stood in the shower and tried to fight the sleep that was trying to overtake her body. Andy noticed the blood streaming down from her head making her remember her own injuries. She knew she pushed herself too hard this time, especially after getting hit in the head. Struggling to get herself out and dried, she finally sat on the floor, to work on bandaging her few scrapes and scratches. She zoned out staring at the wall for a few moments before focusing on her task.

Using the wall for support, Andy made her way back toward the infirmary.

"You don't look good," Raptor noted.

"Yeah... I might have forgot to mention I have a concussion..."

Raptor sighed and shook her head, "Let's get you looked at."

After getting tested and taking some medicine Andy was assigned to an infirmary bed.

"I need to go check on some things, but you get some rest. Kotaro and Champ will probably be down here to watch Stinger so let them know if you need anything," Raptor ordered before lowering the lights and heading off to the bridge.

Andy curled up in the blanket she was given and quickly let the sleep consume her.

Her mind started waking up, hearing whispers across the room. She listened for a minute as her mind became clearer.

"Aniki, we told you to quit getting yourself into trouble," she heard a young voice.

"I know," she recognized Stinger's low voice, "I should have called you guys and waited before going to the planet."

"It's ok. At least you had that girl helping you. She's Hammy's sister right?"

"Yeah. Her name is Andaka but everyone just calls her Andy," Stinger glanced over at the ninja in the next bed. "How is she?"

"I heard something about a concussion? But Raptor says she'll be fine and just needs rest."

It was quiet for a moment before they started talking about Kotaro's trip home.

Andy tried to keep listening but felt a wave of drowsiness come back over her and she soon was asleep again.

The next time she woke, Raptor was next to her, "Andy?"

Andy finally blinked her eyes open, glad they still had the lights dim, "Hmm?"

"You've been asleep for over twenty-four hours. I need you to wake up for a bit and eat something."

Andy went to nod but suddenly stopped when she felt dizzy. Slowly she pulled herself up and leaned against the back of the bed.

"Take a few minutes to wake up a bit more, I'll be back with your food soon," Raptor assured.

Andy looked over and noticed Stinger who was staring at her. He quickly looked away, hoping she hadn't noticed him looking at her.

"Stinger? How are you feeling?" She spoke softly but loud enough he could hear her.

"Really good for someone who was shot and poisoned..."

"...I thought you were going to die," Andy admitted.

Stinger chuckled. "Pretty sure I was. I was shocked that I woke up here. I thought I told you not to waste your energy on me though… multiple times if I recall correctly."

"It's not a waste if it keeps you alive."

Stinger tried to glare at her, but ended up sighing. "You aren't going to listen to me on this are you?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Just…. Take care of yourself too. I do not want to wake up only to find you won't."

She looked down at her hands and started talking so quietly that he could barely hear her, "Soon after Hammy left, there was another large attack on our village. I had started learning healing jutsus a couple days before so I wasn't very good yet. My parents got hurt and the other medics were busy with other patients. I tried my best to help them but..." She wiped a tear that leaked from her eye, "I just don't want to lose anyone again. Even if it wasn't my parents, it was just so hard to know someone died because I wasn't strong enough to save them."

Stinger slid off the bed and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry. You have such a caring heart; I can't imagine the pain." He lifted her head and looked at her. "But I am going to tell you something you won't like. You can't save everyone, even if you want to. There may come a time when I or one of the others are injured too badly and I want your word that if that time comes you save yourself and not us. If you can't accept that, I will have to get you reassigned."

She met his eyes before nodding, "I want to try at least, but I will try to take care of myself better... that is, if you promise to also take better care of yourself."

Stinger laughed. "You drive a hard bargain. Agreed." He stepped quickly back as Raptor entered.

Raptor glared at him. "You should not be up yet. Do I have to sedate you?"

"I'm sorry, it was my fault," Andy answered.

Stinger shot her a smile, but Andy noticed he wasted no time getting back into bed. She made a mental note to ask Raptor how she struck fear into him so easily. It would come in handy, she mused.

Raptor pulled a small table up to her and placed a cup of soup and grilled cheese on it, "Kotaro made the grilled cheese while Champ just microwaved canned soup..."

"It looks good to me," Andy hoped that actually eating might help relieve her nausea.

Raptor placed some in front of Stinger as well and headed back to the bridge. Just a few minutes later, the silence was broken by Raptor's voice on an intercom. "Commander, we are getting an incoming video feed from Balance."

"Pull it up then," he ordered before a screen Andy hadn't noticed lit up.

"Hey!" Balance excitedly said once he saw Stinger and Andy.

"Hey," Naga nodded in agreement.

"What's going on?" Stinger wondered.

"The people of this planet have an underground bunker built in case of emergencies like this, so we helped get the rest to the bunker safely," Naga spoke.

"We have one tiny problem though," Balance mentioned.

"Right. We've found out that Jark Matter knows about the bunker and is planning a massive attack on it," the silver haired ranger added.

Stinger closed his eyes. "Only Balance would call that a tiny problem."

He reopened them. "How long do you think before the attack?"

Naga frowned. "Four days maybe five?"

Stinger pondered for a minute. "Normally we wouldn't get there for six. But if we get as close as we can and Voyager in, we can be there in three. How are your supplies?"

"The people have been helping us out, as we ran out of supplies a few days ago. Though I think if we stop this attack, Jark Matter won't bother coming back so we can restock on the ship before heading somewhere new," Naga assessed.

"Right," Stinger tried to formulate a plan but decided, "We'll call you again when we get closer and I'll have a definitive plan then."

The screen zoomed in on Balance as the mechanical lifeform got a closer look at the screen, "You're in the infirmary again? We can't leave you alone for a minute can we?"

Stinger rolled his eyes, "Report back if anything else changes."

"Okyu!" Balance and Naga gave a small salute before hanging up.

Andy looked over to Stinger, "What do you want me to do to prepare for the mission?"

"Rest. And restock your bag, including anything you might need in case Naga or Balance gets injured. Then rest some more."

Stinger grins at her. "I'm going to the bridge."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Raptor is going to tear you a new one."

Stinger looks at her deadpan. "I'm the Commander here. She does not give me orders."

Andy chuckled, "Whatever you say, Commander."

Stinger got out of bed and left the room, only to be pushed back in a few minutes later.

"If I see you out of this bed again I'm going to have to tell High Command that you are being reckless. You might be the Commander, but I am the one who takes care of the ship, and that includes taking care of you. You might not have as many crazy ideas as Shou Ronpo but I swear you are just like him and need a babysitter to make sure you don't do something dumb!" She stormed out of the room before shouting down the hall at them, "Even if I'm not there, I'll know so don't even try it!"

Andy looks over and smirks, "So what was that about her not giving you orders?"

Stinger glares at her, then touches his Blaster. "Champ can you distract Raptor? I need to get to the bridge."

"What do you need there, aibou?" Champ questioned back.

Stinger growls. "I need to go over our maps so I can make sure we don't get killed. Raptor is blocking access."

He points at Andy who is doing her best not to laugh. "You be quiet."

"There's copies loaded onto the tablets. I'll bring one down to you," Champ reminded.

Stinger slumps as he closes the channel. "Why did I get this job again?" Then he brightens.

"If I go up the back way through the Voyager Bay I might be able to bypass her."

He heads for the door and pauses suddenly. Andy notices he's gone stiff.

"Stinger?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine." The words are clipped, obvious pain coloring them.

Andy sat up quickly, fighting against her dizziness, "Stinger, don't lie. What's wrong?"

"Just a little dizzy. I'll be fine."

He leaned against the doorframe trying to prevent himself from falling. He almost jumped when he felt a gentle hand on his arm.

"Come on, get back in bed. Let me double check that everything is healing fine."

"I don't want you using up your own energy right now, you need to focus on your own healing."

"It doesn't take much energy to do an analysis," she mentioned. She gave a light tug on his arm and he sighed before following her.

"You have a slight fever. The area near where the bullet went in seems to be healing well. You have a bit of swelling in your limbs, but that can happen sometimes with antidotes." She took a minute and read what Raptor had written down. "The poison was made using a snake venom?"

Stinger nodded, "Most of the time if it has anticoagulating properties it has some kind of snake venom in it. I think you've noticed that we have multiple types of antidotes and anti-venoms, but we always have extra for my poison and Naga's venom."

"Naga has venom?" Andy raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"He is from the Hebitsukai system, what else do you expect? He already has so many other similarities to a snake."

Andy looked thoughtful for a moment, "I need to read up on Naga and Balance's charts so I know all their medical information to know what to pack for the mission." She looked down at Stinger, "So why do you really want to get to the bridge? You obviously don't want to see the maps."

"Only partly. The Jark Matter scientist who poisoned me looked familiar. I wanted to take a look at the files. If Naga runs into him…." He paused as a wave of fatigue hit him. "It might cause him to make a mistake and that would put all of us in danger."

He stood and tried to smile at Andy. "It's fine. But I can't have Raptor trying to run things around here. I'll get to the bridge and grab the files, then come straight back. I swear."

"She didn't yell at me to not leave the infirmary... I could just go get them for you?"

Stinger sighed. "Looks like I can't win. Fine. You'll need to download all the files we have on people who have joined Jark Matter in the last year, specifically those from the Hebitsukai system."

Andy stared at him. "There are Jark Matter from Naga's planet?"

Stinger nodded. "Sadly. And Naga will not take it well."

He closed his eyes and leaned against Andy. "Can't let any of them get hurt…."

Andy looked at the Sasori warrior, who looked almost peaceful like this. She watched him for a moment, noticing his shoulders slightly rising when he took a breath. She raised one of her hands which started glowing and double checked he was still fine and was just falling asleep. A part of her wanted to stay close to him like that longer but she knew she had to let him fully rest. She laid him back onto his pillow before placing a kiss on his forehead. She hoped he would be too far into his sleep to remember that.

She started walking out the door before glancing at him one more time. 'I definitely have some sort of feelings for him... but he wouldn't like me, would he?' She thought back to the things he said and how much he wants her to take care of herself, 'He probably does that with all of his friends though, right?'

She started down the hall, staying close to the walls in case she got overwhelmed with dizziness again.

-Time Skip-

Stinger watched the other three check their gear for a final time, then whistled.

"I've uploaded the maps and the Jark Matter dossier to your Seiza Blasters. Hopefully we can find this scientist and take him out before Naga learns about him. If not, Champ will have to work with Balance to deal with Naga. Kotaro I want you to stay close to the bunker in case any strays get past us. Raptor will stay in orbit and man the cannons."

"What would you like me to do?" Andy looked at Stinger waiting for orders.

Stinger forces his face not to smile. "You keep your head on a swivel. If one of us goes down or any of the villagers need aid give it." He steps close to her. "But remember what we talked about. DO NOT put yourself in danger for a lost cause understood?"

Andy meets his eyes, "Understood, Commander. Where do you want me to stay? Close to the bunker with Kotaro or with you guys looking for the scientist?"

"With me till we hit the bunker. Then stay with Kotaro."

He looks at them. "Be careful and come back safe. Let's go!" He climbs in his Voyager, waiting for everyone to get into theirs. He holds out his hand to Andy.

She takes his hand and quickly climbs into the confined space. After watching the door close and waiting for them to all take off, she finally asks, "How long until we reach the planet?"

"About fifteen minutes. I wanted to say thank you for bringing me the files. I guess Raptor was right."

"You mean about you needing to stay in the infirmary? Yeah, you really needed the rest."

Stinger grinned ruefully. "I meant what I said. Heal those injured who have a chance. If anyone is too badly injured, then you leave them. And that means ANYONE. If I catch you pulling the same stunt you did before I WILL send you home."

"We both survived though, didn't we?"

Stinger doesn't answer, his hands tightening around the controls.

Andy sighs unsure what to do with his silence. She looks away from him, trying to focus on watching the planet grow closer.

Arriving, she was surprised to see an arid desert. Few cacti dot the landscape with fewer buildings. She glanced at Stinger, trying to read the emotions on his face. Was that homesickness?

She hopes she doesn't upset him when she finally asks, "Is this what your planet was like?"

He nods once, then motions for her to stay close as he takes point and heads for the bunker.

Approaching slowly, Stinger touches his com. "Naga? Balance? We're outside. Open up."

He waits for a response.

"Opening door." Naga is quiet like always.

The door is huge and the minutes tick by, but soon they are being welcomed by the villagers.

Stinger moves Naga and Balance aside.

"Any sign?" He frowns at the double shake of their heads. "Damn. Naga, I need to show you something but I want your word you will not do anything stupid."

"I never do anything stupid," Naga responds quickly before adding, "unless it was a plan Balance made up."

Stinger chuckles as Balance somehow manages to look hurt. "That's mean, Naga."

Naga shrugs. "What is it you want to show me?"

Stinger brings up the scientist's dossier and watches Naga's expression. Aside from a tightening of his lips, there's no indication how it affects him.

"I'm sorry Naga. Once Jark Matter left your planet I hoped there would be no more problems."

Naga shook his head. "How did you come across him?"

Stinger grimaced. "Actually he's the one who put me in the infirmary, by poisoning me."

Naga's eyes darkened. "Then you had better leave him to me. I will not risk you being hurt again by him."

Stinger nearly facepalms. "Why does everyone seem to forget I'm in charge now? I just told you not to do anything stupid."

Naga looks at him puzzledly. "Are we not to try to protect our comrades? Just because you have been promoted does not make you less of a comrade."

Stinger exhales sharply. Leave it to Naga to point out the elephant in the room.

"Things are different. I have to protect you now. I can't have you charging in like Lucky. Understood?"

He relaxes as Naga nods and hopes Balance explains the situation better later. For now, he has instructions to give.

"Gather round. I already gave out assignments before we left, but I've given some thought and have changed them."

He waits for the Kyurangers, then starts.

"Champ, I want you and Kotaro on the west side of the bunker. It's less protected so I figure Jark Matter might see it as easy to attack from. Naga, you and Balance take the east. Plenty of cover so you can snipe anyone trying to get close. I'll take the north. The south won't be a problem because of the ruins there."

He waits till they nod and head out. He is checking his ammo when he feels Andy glaring at him.

"What?"

Andy is so angry, she's vibrating. "Of all the stupid-"

She breathes in and out, forcing her anger to cool. "You left me here. Why?"

Stinger grits his teeth and turns to face her. "This will be the triage area. You're needed. Don't worry, none of the fighting will reach here." He starts to walk away, but she grabs his arm.

"Are you that insistent on leading that you have to give yourself the most dangerous area?"

Stinger tries to lighten the mood. "Is that what you think? I gave myself the easy assignment. Rank has its privileges you know."

Andy feels her temper rising again. "Stop lying. I saw the map. The north will have a higher concentration than the west and you know it! You have deliberately given everyone easier assignments. That scientist will more than likely come from the north too. Are you ever going to stop being reckless? Let someone else protect you for a change!"

Stinger turns away, squeezing his eyes shut against the tears. He forces his voice steady. "This is a Commander's duty. It's obvious you can't accept it. When we return, I'll have you reassigned either on your planet or High Command." He removes her hand and walks away.

She takes a minute to cool off before her mind starts racing with ideas. She quickly smirks before putting her plan into motion...

Stinger started heading north, keeping his eyes on his surroundings. He tried to block out all thoughts of Andy and just focus on his mission. He walked about a mile until he found a spot that looked good. He stood there waiting until a figure silently appeared next to him. Sensing it, he spun to attack but quickly noticed who it was.

"You are definitely getting sent home."

Andy shook her head, "I might be, but if it helps, I didn't disobey orders... I am a ninja after all. This is a clone," she watched his glare, "You seem to forget I know other skills than just healing."

After getting no response she added, "My real body is still in the bunker waiting to help people, I just figured I'd use a bit of my energy to help in the fight."

Stinger gaped. "I ought to turn you over my knee… Fine. Do what you want. Though I'm not sure you'll be able to keep your attention split for long."

He turns back to watching the horizon. "If things get bad I will make you stop."

He hides a smile at her attitude. "But I guess two sets of eyes are better than one."

-Time Jump-

Stinger looked at Andy as he cut down another Indaver. She was fighting bravely but obviously whatever was happening in the bunker was affecting her concentration.

"Oh No!"

He looked as her eyes began to well up. "Andy what happened?"

She shook her head. "Kotaro-"

Stinger cursed. "That's it. Get rid of the clone now. That's an order. Concentrate on him."

He slashed several more Indaver with his tail. "NOW ANDY. I'll be fine."

Stinger aims his Seiza Blaster as he senses her disappear. He says a silent prayer for Kotaro, then resolutely charges into the massing enemy.

Andy took a deep breath focusing on her two patients and trying to think of ways the others could help.

"Balance, I need you to keep pressing down on Naga's shoulder," she showed him where to hold it.

"Champ, go check with the villagers to see if they have any nurses or doctors."

Champ looked at Andy and nodded.

She held her hands up over Kotaro and starts making mental notes of his injuries. 'Bruises on his arms - can wait. Broken ribs - haven't perforated any organs - can wait. Large gash on his stomach - can't wait. Lots of small scratches - can wait. Broken bones in his hand - can wait. As long as we get this sewn up and make sure to control the internal bleeding he'll make it.'

She grabbed out the supplies to start the stitching. Champ arrived back "They only have one nurse. The rest of the medical workers didn't make it."

"Ok, you know how to stitch?" She looked at the middle aged woman who gave a short nod. "Then please get to work on this wound. I need to get back to caring for Naga."

She moved over to where Balance was, "I know you are good with robotics, go fix up Champ's arm while I work on Naga."

She took over, and started stitching up the hole in his shoulder.

As she was working Champ spoke up, "I haven't heard from Stinger in a while. He isn't answering."

"Shit," Andy muttered under her breath. Focusing back on the Hebitsukai ranger in front of her, she finished sewing it up. She then grabbed Naga's other shoulder and heard a loud pop as she pushed it back into its socket.

"You've been ordering us around, so what's your plan?" Champ approached testing his arm movements out.

"I've only been making orders because I was left in charge of triage, and since you are done with battle I thought you could help," Andy didn't look up, "Keep trying to contact Stinger." She kept focusing on Naga, using her power the best she could.

After hearing a groan coming from the other cot, she glanced over at Kotaro who was gaining consciousness.

"Balance, Naga is as good as I can get him right now. He'll sleep for a while with the medicine I gave him, but he isn't bleeding out anymore." She approached Kotaro and gave him a soft smile, "I'm going to give you some more medicine which will probably make you drowsy. I'm going to work on healing you up more so you shouldn't feel as bad when you wake back up."

Her calm voice helped soothe him, and he was quickly back to sleep. She spent some time using her energy to realign his rib bones and hand bones. Then she double checked that all of his bleeding had stopped.

Finally, she moved to Champ, "Still nothing?"

He shook his head, "I'm going to go look for him."

Andy nodded, "Naga and Kotaro are stable for now. I'm going to keep watch out for any stragglers that might have gotten past Stinger."

Champ nodded and headed out of the bunker. Checking his partner's last known location on the map, he headed that direction. The going was made more difficult as he grew closer due to the high percentage of Indaver and assorted Jark Matter bodies.

He spied a hint of orange coat out of the corner of his eye and made his way over.

"Aibou? Andy-"

The words die in his throat as he finally gets a look at Stinger. The Sasori warrior lies facedown, his scarf gently rippling in the breeze is the only movement. There are mounds of Jark Matter bodies surrounding him and Champ can't help but be amazed at the fight the Scorpion can put up.

He kneels, gently turning Stinger over. Blood is everywhere, the Kyuranger Commander's clothes saturated with it. Multiple injuries adorn him, the fatal one a deep stab wound to the chest. Champ lowers his head in grief, carefully taking the lifeless form into his arms. "Let's go home aibou."

He retraces his steps, making sure not to jostle his burden any more than necessary. As he approaches the bunker, the bull's steps slow. "How could you do this to her, aibou? She'll never forgive you."

A white pain engulfs the android. As he turns in shock dropping Stinger, the Hebitsukai scientist frowns. "I so did want to experiment on him. No matter. I'll take you instead."

Andy turns toward the noise far behind her. Noticing Stinger on the ground and Champ fighting someone who eerily looked like Naga. Remembering the people from his planet look the same, she assumed this was probably the scientist that was mentioned earlier. She watches him attack Champ again, surprised at the scientists fighting skills. She shakes her head and finally charges forward into the action. She threw multiple shuriken at him, slowing him slightly. Remembering how Naga's eyes work, she tried to avoid eye contact in case he had the same abilities.

Reaching into her pocket for more shuriken, she finds herself holding a kyutama. Her mind flashed back to their last mission when Stinger handed it to her. Placing it into her seiza blaster, she shot forward at the scientist, unsure what this specific kyutama could do.

She suddenly was looking through a visor. Looking down at her hands she noticed an outfit similar to the other Kyurangers.

"I can morph?!" She exclaimed in surprise before remembering her opponent. She quickly took the scientist down, dealing a final blow with Kyu the weapon.

She turns to Champ, "Are you ok?"

Champ nods. "Nothing I can't fix."

She looks at the Sasori warrior laying on his side, "What happened to him? Can you carry him back to the bunker so I can start healing him?"

Champ takes her hands. "Andy…" He stops and shakes his head sadly at her. "There's nothing you can do."

Andy stares at him in shock, the weight of his words suddenly hitting her. "No... No. He can't be." She pulls her hands away and rushes to Stinger's side. Gently pushing him onto his back she sees the injuries.

Champ softly moos and tries to pull her away. "He's gone, Andy."

"I don't believe it," she shook her head as she held her hands up to analyze him. She was surprised to see her hands glowing out around the gloves of her suit. She held them there for a few minutes triple checking for any signs of life.

Finally, her hands dropped in defeat, "I don't..."

Champ looks at her. "Let him go. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself. He knew the risks and accepted them. He fought to keep you alive. Honor his wishes."

Tears start to stream down her face as a sob escapes her lips. The moisture fogging up her visor. "To keep me alive? ...Why me?"

Champ kneels to look at her. "Because he loved you." He picks Stinger up and continues toward the bunker.

She falls forward on her hands, struggling to catch her breath. Wanting nothing more than to hug Stinger, and to talk to him, she ran after Champ, "Please stop. Don't take him yet."

Champ slowly enters the bunker. He turns toward one of the smaller rooms not wanting to break the news to his comrades. Laying his partner on the small bed, he pauses to straighten the orange jacket to hide the injury. "You'll always be my aibou."

He turns to leave the room and collides with Andy. He noticed her helmet was now off, but she still had her suit on.

"Let me see him," Andy cried.

"You shouldn't go in there. You need to calm yourself first," Champ offered.

"I can't, just let me in," she pushed him aside, almost falling into the room.

Her eyes scanned him, and if it wasn't for the blood covering him, she'd say he was just sleeping. She knelt near him, grabbing his hand. "You can't be dead. There's just... there's so much I haven't told you." She choked out her words between sobs, "Was Champ right? Did you love me? I... I knew I felt something for you, especially after the last mission when I almost lost you. I thought after that maybe you wouldn't be so reckless. You promised to try to take care of yourself, didn't you?"

Champ watched from the doorway, considering trying to pull her away but knowing the ninja would fight him.

"And did you know this kyutama could make me morph? I never thought I'd be a real Kyuranger like you or Hammy. You've given me the power to help more people, so why can't that power help you? Speaking of the others, what about Kotaro? Aren't you supposed to be there for him? He looks up to you, are you really just going to abandon him?"

She went silent, except for the occasional sobbing or cough. Eventually she whispered, "I told you I wasn't going to let someone else die, especially someone I cared about, why did you have to go prove me wrong?" She noticed her kyutama glowing from her seiza blaster. She suddenly got the feeling to move it into attack mode and fire.

Champ tried to rush forward to stop her, thinking the loss was making her crazy. He stopped though, watching the sight in front of him. After it seemed like nothing happened, Andy grasped Stinger's hand again and started crying Champ was surprised when he noticed a light teal blue color, the same as Andy's suit, surrounding Stinger.

She looked up when she suddenly felt Stinger's hand squeeze hers, "Stinger?" She wasn't sure if it was real or if she imagined it. She felt it once more before Stinger suddenly gulped in a huge breath of air.

"Andy? Where?"

Stinger's eyes opened, staring in confusion at the ninja. "I was fighting… everything went black." He shakily touched her tear streaked face. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice and wrapped her arms around him. Still unsure as to what had happened, he returned the hug tightly.

"Jark Matter?"

Stinger's eyes met Champ's as the bull answered. "Defeated. The villagers are safe."

Stinger cocked his head. "Kotaro?"

Andy laughed. "Healing. Naga too. Everyone else is fine."

Stinger smiled. "I call that a success." He yawned. "Though I think I need a long nap when we return to the Orion."

-Time jump-

Stinger sighed as he entered his quarters. He felt fine, but at the same time he didn't. Neither Andy or Champ had been forthcoming about how he'd ended up in the bunker and Stinger was a little concerned. His memory stopped with the last push of Jark Matter on his position. Next thing he knew he was in the bunker. He frowned and reached for the com. "Andy? Would you come to my quarters please?"

He was anxiously pacing when his door chimed. "Enter."

Andy practically ran in stopping right before she collided with him. "What's wrong?!"

Stinger grabbed her shoulders. "Nothing…. I just want to talk to you."

She took a deep breath. "About what?"

She was trying to be casual, but Stinger sensed her discomfort.

"Andy, what happened on the planet? How did I end up in the bunker? And why were you crying when I opened my eyes?" He gently tipped her head up. "Please tell me."

She met his eyes and tried to form the words, "I don't know what happened... I saw Champ carrying you, and then the scientist attacked. I used the kyutama and morphed and took him down... Champ carried you back to the bunker." She took a deep breath, trying not to start crying. "And then... I don't know. You... you were dead Stinger," she turned away from him, "I don't know how, the kyutama glowed and... I just don't know what happened."

Stinger turned her back to face him. "So I did die." He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry Andy. I was being overrun and all I could think of was Jark would kill everyone if they got to the bunker…. they'd kill you and I couldn't let that happen."

"We agreed we'd do a better job at looking out for ourselves, and then you try to go off on your own..."

He smiled ruefully. "I deserve that. I was so long on my own and now I'm responsible for all of you. But I couldn't stand the thought of having to tell Hammy you'd died because I wasn't strong enough."

He was the one who turned away now, staring out the window blankly as he remembered the moment he realized Jark Matter was going to overrun his position. The cold terror at the thought of Andy being slaughtered along with everyone in the bunker. The bunker he'd sworn to protect.

"I won't ever apologize for protecting you. But I am sorry you had to go through the aftermath."

"You couldn't stand the thought of telling Hammy?! What about if Champ and I had to tell the WHOLE team that you were gone? Especially Kotaro!? They all care about you..." She tried to calm down but soon went back to being angry, "I even tried to help you so that you would make it but you made me get rid of my clone. I know that saving the others was important but so was helping you."

Stinger sighed. "I'm the Commander Andy! I have a responsibility to make sure you all come home. I'm more expendable. Always have been. It's why I agreed to become a spy during the war. I have no one waiting for me. My planet is gone Andy. So is my family. I'm at peace with dying if all of you live."

"You have the whole team who cares about you! Kotaro and Champ would be devastated. They are waiting for you. I am waiting for you. You might think you are more expendable than the rest of us, but you aren't more expendable to me..."

Whatever she was going to say next was cut off as Stinger kissed her deeply. Her mind whirled until he finally broke away with a mischievous smile. "So you're waiting for me huh? I'm not expendable to you?"

Andy gave him a light punch on the arm before smirking, "Don't make me regret what I said."

Stinger laughs and kisses her again. "Never."


	4. A Kyuranger Ball

"Aibou, what are you doing to her?" Champ stood just inside Stinger's door.

"What do you mean?" The Sasori warrior looked up.

"You should know what I mean. You kissed her a few months ago, you've been spending a lot of your time with her, but you haven't actually gone on dates or whatever it is you humans do. She isn't going to wait forever."

Stinger shook his head, "She was probably just emotional that day because I died. She hasn't mentioned wanting to go on dates or anything. We've just been spending time together because we are friends."

"She is in love with you. When are you going to finally see that and let yourself be happy, aibou?" Champ walked out the door.

Stinger stared at the now empty spot, 'Even if I wanted to date her, I don't know anything about her planets mating rituals... Plus I'd have to tell Hammy that I've fallen for her sister and I can't imagine that going well...'

He shook his head and went back to going through reports. Suddenly a message popped up which made his eyes roll. He stalked down to the bridge. "Raptor, call the others in here, then pull up a video feed with all of the Kyurangers off ship, except Shou and Tsurugi."

Champ, Kotaro, and Andy entered the room waiting for their Commander to speak. The video feeds were pulled up quickly and Stinger started talking once he saw all of their faces, "Apparently High Command wants to hold a ball for all resistance members to celebrate the anniversary of defeating Don Armage..." He looked annoyed, "Of course, it was the Supreme Commander's idea." He sighed and muttered, "Damn dragon..." He finally finished, "We'll be sending your voyagers to get you if you decide to attend. You are also allowed one guest each if you decide you want one. It's set for a month from now so if you decide to come early, as always you have a place on the ship, just expect to be battle ready if we have missions." Stinger shook his head once more before leaving the bridge to focus on more important business.

Raptor sighed and listened one-by-one as everyone agreed to come. After the video calls all shut off, Champ laughed, "We're all on the ship anyway, so we might as well show up."

"Aniki didn't seem too happy about it," Kotaro looked up.

Andy smirked, "Yeah, he doesn't seem like the dancing type."

"He just doesn't know how to have fun," Champ chuckled in agreement.

Later that day, Andy and Kotaro were sitting in the kitchen.

"Are you going to ask Stinger to be your date to the dance?" Kotaro gave a mischievous grin.

Andy frowned for a minute, "I don't know."

"Aniki likes you. I've not seen him like this before, so you must be really special."

Andy took in his words, "He kissed me once, but it was after a difficult battle..." She remembered not to mention Stinger dying. "I think he was just happy that we all made it out alive. Plus, he doesn't seem like he even wants to go to the dance so it doesn't matter anyway."

Kotaro was about to speak again when Stinger came into the kitchen.

Andy glanced up, "I put the food back in the oven to keep it warm for you."

"I thought it was my day to cook?" Stinger looked surprised.

"Haven't you noticed the time? I wasn't going to let Kotaro starve to death," she winked at Kotaro.

"He can cook for himself you know," Stinger responded.

Andy rolled her eyes, "It doesn't matter who cooked, just eat it."

He was filling his plate when Raptor called Stinger to the bridge.

Stinger sighed and dropped the food back off his plate, "Guess I don't have time to eat..."

Soon after he called the team to the bridge, "We have a new mission. A large Jark Matter ship has just landed on a planet and has started attacking the civilians, because apparently they didn't get the memo the first time we defeated them there. We'll arrive tomorrow morning so get yourselves ready."

He dismissed everyone but called Andy back, "Andy... it's your planet that's being attacked."

Her eyes widened in shock, "Really?"

He gave a short nod, "Hammy called us as soon as she saw it approaching and is checking in to keep us updated. I know you probably won't get much sleep now that you know, I just didn't want you to be surprised when we arrived."

Andy took a deep breath to keep herself calm before responding, "I've not been sleeping much lately anyway, so I'll be fine. Thank you for telling me."

She turned to walk away but he asked, "Why haven't you been sleeping?"

She shook her head and kept facing away from him so he couldn't see the tears starting to well up. "It's nothing," she finally muttered before walking to her room.

The next morning Stinger could tell she hadn't slept, but didn't say anything about it.

"Kotaro, Champ and I will head to the front lines to meet up with Hammy. Raptor is staying with the ship and seeing if anyone else is nearby to help out. Andy, I'm not sure what you normally do on your planet, if medics heal on the battlefield or if there's a triage point, but you go do what you need to do, just keep me updated. Let's head out."

Andy looked at Raptor, "Is my voyager ready yet?"

"It'll be finished within the hour."

"Thank you," she noticed Stinger waiting for her with his voyager door open. Andy climbed into Stinger's voyager and then watched as her planet grew closer.

"Everything is going to be fine. We'll take them out quickly, ok?" Stinger tried to comfort her.

"I hope so..."

When they landed Andy pressed her com button, "Hammy?"

After a moment, "Yeah? Kind of busy fighting."

"Is Avery with you?"

Another brief pause, "Yeah, we're in the middle of Bloom Forest."

"On my way," she started running quickly, to the point the others could barely see her.

"I guess let's follow her," Stinger ordered before he started running in the same direction.

Andy surveyed the scene when she arrived, noticing a couple medics working on transporting the wounded. Seeing a flash of bright green, she stared down at Hammy who was taking down a few indavers. She spotted Avery nearby, quickly morphed and jumped down beside him, "How's it going?"

"Andy?"

"The one and only," she spun and shot at a few indavers.

"I see you got a fancy suit like Hammy."

"Jealous?" she smirked inside her helmet.

Avery rolled his eyes, "Even with the suits, I'm older than both of you which means I've had more time to learn techniques." He took a moment and focused, and she watched as a few rocks flew from the ground and hit the indavers square on.

"Nice," She nodded and focused on the large group coming toward them.

A few minutes later and she heard a voice from behind, "We need a medic back here." She turned toward the sound and noticed an old friend.

"Niko?" She rushed to his side and ordered the couple ninja's around her, "watch my back for a minute."

Her hands glowed as she focused on the gash.

"That you in there Andy?" Niko questioned.

"Yeah. I'm surprised to see you're still alive," she joked.

"And I'm surprised to see you back so soon."

"I'm just back to fight Jark Matter." She stood and held out a hand, "You should be good to go for a while, it wasn't too deep."

She jumped back into the action around her, taking down indavers left and right.

She momentarily froze when she heard her sister scream. She ran her way and saw her brother on the ground with a massive wound to the chest.

"Someone cover me," Andy ordered. Hammy stayed silent and let her sister get to work.

Stinger approached when he got a chance and shook his head seeing Avery's wound. He helped protect Andy as she worked but finally Avery looked up at his youngest sister, "Stop."

"No," Andy let a few tears drip from her eyes, "I'm not going to let you die."

"I'll have died protecting the village. Just as our parents did."

"I'm not going to stop."

"Then I'll make you," Avery focused the last of his energy on her, making her body freeze up.

Stinger winced as he heard the talking behind him, "Hammy, I think you need to get in there."

Hammy finally turned to her siblings and saw the situation, "Let her go Ave, she can save you."

He coughed for a minute before responding, "I'm too far gone. She needs her energy for the others."

As he lost his energy his hold on her lightened. Andy could finally speak again though it was through choked sobs, "Don't do this. Please let me help you."

"Is there a medic available?" Hammy screamed to the other villagers but they got no response as the medics focused on other people.

"It's going to be ok," Avery whispered. "Remember, I'll always be with you in spirit."

"Don't do this," Andy begged again.

"Don't be a baka 'Daka," Avery reminded, "trust your older brother."

She couldn't help but let out a sad laugh, "You haven't said that to me in years."

"Well, you need a reminder," Avery glanced at Hammy, "It'll be ok."

He coughed again before Andy noticed she was finally free. Noticing Avery's blank stare, she quickly scanned his body, finding no life force left. "Don't go!" Andy screamed at the body.

Hammy moved closer to Andy and wrapped her arms around her, "There's nothing you can do now."

"Please, Ave, don't leave us." Andy fell into Hammy sobbing.

Stinger wanted to comfort the sisters but stood watch keeping them safe from the invading army.

Andy didn't know how much time had passed but Stinger finally knelt next to them, "The battle's over. Let's get you guys home."

He helped them up and made sure they got safely to their house, "I'm going to meet the others and make sure everyone gets checked out. Call if you need anything."

Andy headed to the room that she had always shared with Hammy and fell onto her bed. Hammy left her alone and dealt with her grief elsewhere. When Hammy did finally return she found Andy asleep, "Hey, you need to eat something," Hammy tried to wake her.

Andy blinked her eyes open and remembered what happened, "Food? Now?"

"We both need to keep our strength up, right?" Hammy said sadly.

"How can you think about that right now? We just lost our brother!" Andy moved away from her.

"I know!" Hammy snapped back, "I'm not trying to ignore it! But we have to find a way to move on. Things will never go back to how they were. And I know it's sad, believe me, I'm struggling to stay strong, but I'm the oldest now, I have to help you out any way I can, and if that means making sure you eat, I'm going to make you eat."

"I just don't understand why he wouldn't let me try to heal him."

"He knew he was too far gone. Sometimes you just know these things..."

"That doesn't mean I couldn't try! I'd rather be of some help trying than just watching helplessly!"

Hammy kept trying to calm Andy but the younger sister just kept yelling. Finally, Andy stormed out of the house. Instead of chasing her she called her voyager and headed to the Orion.

She walked through the halls until she found Stinger's room. After knocking on the door it finally opened and he looked at her sadly.

"Can we talk?" Hammy questioned.

"Sure. How's Andy holding up?" He stepped to the side to allow her to enter.

She took a moment to pass by him before responding, "She's not really holding up. I know she cried herself sick a few times. Last I saw she was storming out of the house because we started arguing."

Stinger sighed and ruffled his hair. "This has to be hard after what happened with your parents. She once told me she never wanted to lose someone she loved again because she couldn't save them."

Hammy paused at his words, "What do you mean, she couldn't save them?"

Stinger grimaced. "Shit. You didn't know?" He sat down on the bed. "Andy told me there was a big attack. Your parents were injured and all the medics were occupied. Andy had just started learning, but tried to save them. She had to watch them die, in her words 'because she wasn't good enough.' I've tried to tell her it wasn't her fault but you know her…."

Her eyes widened, "Avery told me that the ninja who was with them when they died left last words for us, but he never told me who it was..."

Stinger looked at her. "I think you and her need to talk. Go find her."

"I will, but I have one more question," Hammy tried to figure out the right words, "You've been her commander so you've been working with her a lot lately. Do you have any idea what happened with her and her kyutama? She threw it," Hammy pulled it out of her pocket and showed him, "and muttered something about a stupid dolphin. It just seemed really random to me and I want to understand everything if I'm going to calm her down."

Stinger froze, breath catching in his throat. Andy had thrown her kyutama away? The sight of it cut into his chest as if it was a sword.

"There was an incident… The kyutama appears to enhance Andy's gift. She may be angry it didn't do anything to help save your brother."

He turned away from Hammy, still struggling with the fact Andy had thrown the kyutama away. The one he'd given her, the one he'd known was perfect for her the minute he saw it. The one that had saved him. And she'd thrown it away….

"An incident?"

Stinger stared out his window. "We were aiding the Andarians, repelling a large Jark Matter attack force. Several people were injured. One of them died. Somehow, that-"

He nodded toward the kyutama, "it revived them. Believe me it shocked everyone."

He turned back to Hammy. "Andy threw it because it didn't do the same for Avery." He took it from her and gazed at it sadly. "She's hurting and angry right now. I'll hold on to it for her."

Hammy nodded quietly. "Goodnight, Stinger."

He kept looking at the kyutama long after she left.

Hammy headed back to her home, checking to see if Andy had come back. After not finding her, she headed out to check a few spots. Finally, she found Andy at their parent's grave.

"Hey," Hammy sat down next to her.

"Hey."

"I heard you were the ones with them when they died..."

Andy glanced over at her sister sadly, "I tried so hard to save them."

"I know. It wasn't your fault."

"It feels like it though."

Hammy sighed, "You can't blame yourself. And you can't blame yourself for Avery either. He chose to die saving his people. I know he was happy for that." After they sat in silence a few minutes Hammy finally brought up, "Why did you seem so mad at your kyutama?" She knew what Stinger told her but was hoping to get more information from her sister.

"I don't even know how it works. Being morphed helps increase my healing powers, but there was one time, the first time I used it, I was so upset I lost someone that it brought them back to life. I... I don't know why it couldn't do it again."

"Was the person who died someone on our team?"

Andy nodded, "It was Stinger. I remember yelling at his body, angry that he died and upset because I couldn't help him. And then somehow, there he was, waking up..."

Hammy covered her surprise at her sister's revelation. Obviously there was more to their relationship than anyone knew. She smiled to herself, then resumed talking.

"Maybe the kyutama only responds when your feelings are super intense. Maybe it only works on Kyurangers. I wish I could help you understand it."

Hammy reached for her sister. "I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere. Neither is Stinger. But you have to let us in. Don't run from us."

Andy nodded into her sister's hug, "I'll try..."

Hammy pulled away for a moment, "In our battle with Don Armage, we came up with... a really crazy plan. It's complicated, but we all had to sacrifice ourselves. We weren't sure it would work, but in the end everything worked out."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Wait... are you saying you guys all died?"

Hammy nodded, "Like I said, it was complicated."

Andy flipped out, "So when I saved him, it wasn't the first time Stinger had died?! Are all of you Kyurangers so reckless?"

"You're a Kyuranger too now, and you seem to have a reckless streak yourself."

Andy smirked, "Thank you for the talk. I'm sorry I kept yelling."

"We were both upset," Hammy admitted, "but we are the only family we have left, so we have to stick together, right?"

Andy nodded in agreement.

Hammy stood before holding out her hand and helping Andy up, "I hope you aren't mad at me, but I went and talked to Stinger."

"Oh?" Andy tried to hide her surprise, "...so what did you talk about?"

"He told me a bit about your kyutama and how you brought someone back from the dead. He did fail to mention though that it was him that died."

Andy glowered. "That idiot… why would he not say anything?"

Hammy shrugged. "Maybe he didn't feel it was important?"

Andy snorted. "Of all the…." She looked at Hammy. "I'm going to go kick his ass now if it's okay with you."

Hammy laughs. "Just don't do it too hard." She grew serious. "He was pretty shaken when I told him about the you throwing the kyutama."

"Really?" She thought for a moment, "Why did you even tell him that though?"

"I just wanted to understand what you were thinking," Hammy answered, "You weren't letting me in so I was trying to understand."

"I'm sorry..."

Hammy just smiles. "Go kick some scorpion ass sis. Just not too bad or we'll end up with the Dragon running things again."

Andy shrugs and starts laughing, "Shou sounds pretty fun though."

Hammy shudders. "Do you really want to hear him sing? He makes Stinger wince. He said once that only the talented should be allowed to sing in public. Although he didn't let us know he was one of the talented ones for the longest time."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Stinger can sing?"

Hammy nodded. "Quite nicely. He's never sung in front of you?"

Andy shook her head, "Never."

Hammy shrugged. "Maybe you should ask him to."

Andy considered it. "Maybe I will. After I kick his ass."

With that, she called her Voyager and headed for the Orion.

When she arrived, she headed towards Stinger's door. She knocked a few times and waited for a response.

The door slid open to reveal a shirtless Stinger. "Andy. Glad to see Hammy found you. Are you alright?"

Her eyes stared at his abs a few seconds too long before she finally looked up, "I will be, I think."

Stinger watched her with an amused smile. "Did you want something? Or were you curious how I sleep?"

She rolled her eyes but blushed before remembering why she came to his door, "Hammy told me she came to talk to you..."

Stinger tried to look nonchalant. "Yeah. She wanted to know about some things you said."

"Yeah, about that... Why didn't you tell her that you were the one that I somehow brought back to life? Also, why did you never tell me that apparently all of the Kyurangers have already died once?!"

Stinger looked pained. "You might as well come in. She told you *that* story? That was a very different situation. And I didn't feel the identity of the dead person really mattered."

She moved into the room once he moved out of the way. "Even if it was a different situation, wouldn't you think I should hear about it? You died. My sister died. Even if you came back to life, it still seems like a big deal."

Stinger shrugged. "Quite frankly you're the first person aside from us to even know what happened. We didn't want to let anyone know exactly how we took down Don Armage." He reached for the shirt on the end of his bed. A bandage on his shoulder suddenly attracted Andy's attention as he tried to hide a grimace.

"Sit down, I'm going to heal that."

Stinger shook his head. "Raptor patched me up. You should get some sleep."

"I slept a bit earlier... I ended up wearing myself out crying. I've had plenty of rest so I can help you."

Stinger's lips twitched. "Can't stop you can I?" He sat down, his back to her.

She held her hands up and they started glowing. "Were you stabbed? It's deep but didn't hit any bones."

"Yeah. Stepped wrong and ended up as a Indaver shish kebab."

She stayed silent as she focused on the injury. She also tried to sense if he had any other major injuries he was hiding. After finding nothing she finally dropped her hands to her side.

Stinger removed the bandage. "Nice work. Thank you. Now get some rest. The dance is in three weeks. I want you to stay out of trouble till then."

He grinned lopsidedly. "Don't make me spank you."

She chuckled before remembering, "Oh, Hammy said you have my kyutama..."

Stinger opened his bedside drawer. "Here. Promise me you won't do that again. I don't want to have to go through Supply again to find you a new one."

"Supply?"

He fidgeted in embarrassment. "I looked through the kyutamas here and none of them fit you. So I went to Supply before I picked you up after you were done training."

He tried to recover. "I wanted you to have the best kyutama for your gift, that's all."

"You picked it for me? ...Gift?" She looked at him confused, searching his face for answers.

His eyes softened as he turned to look at her. "I can't explain it. Ever since Hammy introduced us…."

She met his eyes, hoping to better understand.

"I've been trying to deny it. I told myself the kiss was just because of the emotions running high. That we are just friends…. But I can't."

He reached for her cheek. "I'm in love with you."

"I thought the same thing too, that maybe you just kissed me because you were happy to be alive..." She held his hand, "I didn't want to push things the last few months in case you didn't feel the same. But you just make me so happy and there were so many times I just wanted to hold you, or kiss you, or tell you how I felt..."

Stinger smiled. "I was happy I was alive. Because you make me happy to be alive." He leaned over and kissed her. "Stay with me tonight."

She smiled, "If you want me to."

He chuckled. "I do."

She reached over and turned off the lamp.

Andy woke up, and slowly opened her eyes. Remembering that she wasn't in her own room she turned over to look at Stinger. She soon realized though, that the bed was empty. She sat up quickly but soon heard the faint sound of a shower running. She laid back down and got lost in her thoughts of the day before.

Stinger stood under the spray mentally kicking himself. What the hell had he been thinking last night? She was supposed to be under his command. Plus, he'd promised to protect her and this was most certainly not the right way. No matter that Hammy would probably have his tail for this.

He angrily shut off the water. He couldn't just push his feelings away though. Not for the first time, he cursed the Dragon for recommending that he be put in charge. This was going to end badly; he just knew it.

Climbing out, he wrapped himself in a towel and cracked the door. He stood watching as Andy stared at the ceiling.

"Credit for your thoughts?"

Andy looked up at the voice, "Thinking about Avery."

Stinger grimaced. "I'm sorry Andy. I wish you could have saved him."

She laid back again and continued to stare at the ceiling, "Yeah... me too."

Stinger walked over and sat down, playing with her hair. "I know you don't want to hear this, but he knew what he was doing."

"I know... I don't understand it right now, but I hope I eventually do," she sighed, "Hammy kept trying to be very practical about it, focusing on other things but still being sad. I'm trying to do the same." She admitted, "She's always been a few steps ahead of me, so I try to watch what she does and learn from it."

Stinger hugs her. "Everyone grieves differently, although her approach is probably healthier than mine was after Champ was killed."

She rested her head on him, "What did you do?"

"Well I pushed everyone away first. Then I had the bright idea to go after the person responsible. Without any backup, after stealing some kyutamas and stinging some people."

"I sometimes wonder what goes on in your head. You don't always have the best ideas... I'm glad that you made it out alive though."

Stinger grew pensive. "I wasn't trying to. I was trying to die. My brother…. He saved me."

Andy moved to put her hand on his cheek and look him in the eyes, "Why were you trying to die? Did you really want to quit living?"

Stinger's eyes were haunted. "My brother disappeared during a battle with Jark Matter. He was feared dead. I took over fighting on my planet. One night he returned. I was overjoyed…. Until he began slaughtering my friends. He left only me alive. He had joined Jark Matter. I joined the Rebellion, going undercover trying to find him. That's how I met the others."

He smiled. "Champ and I…let's just say we had a rocky start. But we got better. Then my brother returned, spinning a sad story about trying to take down Jark Matter from the inside. And I believed him."

He took a deep breath, then continued.

"He tried to kill me. Champ pushed me out of the way. I felt responsible. First my friends, then Champ. I felt I was cursed. And only I could take my brother down. So I left, after deciding that no one else was going to get hurt except for me."

She frowned, "So you've always had this self-sacrificing thing going on?" She hugged him, "It didn't work out the way you thought though, so what happened next?"

Stinger smiled sadly at her.

"I poisoned myself. But I couldn't defeat my brother. He added his own venom and had me attack Kotaro and Lucky. Kotaro saved me from Scorpio's venom, but they couldn't do anything about mine. Champ returned to help me and together we fought my brother. I defeated him. My brother had a change of heart and wanted me to kill him. But I couldn't because my own venom had run its course. I was dying… he removed the poison out of me and into himself."

He was silently crying now.

"Don Armage attacked. Scorpio protected us and took the blast."

Andy wiped some of the tears away, "Doesn't poison just hurt you? Why poison yourself?"

"It is my clan's secret technique. It boosts combat ability and stamina. Downside is it kills you in three days. Normally whoever uses it can't be saved. I knew it. I didn't care as long as my brother was stopped. I felt the Kyurangers were better off without me. So I intended to die as an atonement for my brother's sins."

"His sins weren't yours to atone for..." Andy sighed and decided to lighten up the conversation a little, "But it's good you didn't die. You became close with Kotaro. You helped defeat Don Armage. And imagine, if you died, you wouldn't have met me."

Stinger laughed. "True. And nice job changing the subject."

She gave a small smile, "I want to learn about all the things you've gone through, but I feel bad I asked about such a sad subject."

He bumped her shoulder. "It's alright. Come on, Raptor is probably going to show up any minute."

Andy nodded remembering her responsibilities. She glanced over at him and realized he was still just wrapped in a towel, "I should probably let you get dressed. I need to go home to see what is going on and check in with Hammy. We generally hold a large funeral after battles like that..." She shook her head, "When is the Orion leaving? I'm sure we have other missions to get to."

He grinned. "Shou had us put on standby after the battle. With the dance coming up, we will only be doing supply runs till then. Plus…"

He grabbed her and pushed her down. "I wouldn't leave you alone right now if Don Armage himself reincarnated." He kissed her slowly.

After he pulled away she smiled up at him, "About that dance... any chance you'd like a date?"

He winced, remembering his position, "I don't know. I am still your commander after all."

She froze taking in his words. Finally, she questioned, "Is there even an actual rule about that? And if there is, you know the people who can change it."

"I'll look into it," he assured. "But what about Hammy? She wants me to protect you and us being together is far from protecting you."

Andy moved off the bed and started grabbing her jacket, "I'm an adult and a highly trained ninja. I don't need protection, I need someone who will love me and treat me as an equal."

She stood by the door, "I need to go meet Hammy. Have a good morning, Commander."

He hit his pillow, mad at himself for once again screwing things up. After a moment he noticed her kyutama still on his nightstand and wondered if she left it on purpose.

Andy entered her family's house, and noticed Hammy sitting at the kitchen table. After seeing food on the stove she plated some up and sat down across from her.

"Luckily there weren't many casualties. The elders announced the funeral for three this afternoon," Hammy informed.

"Is there anything you need me to do?"

Hammy read her sisters eyes, "Let's just go to the roof and talk like we used to. We haven't done that in years."

Andy nodded and followed her up. She looked out at her village and listened to some of Hammy's stories about the Kyuranger's adventures.

It was a couple hours before the funeral and Hammy headed back up to the Orion. She ran into Raptor, "Hey, have you seen Stinger? I tried his door and he didn't answer."

"He's actually in his office. Last I checked he was on a call with the Supreme Commander."

Hammy walked down to the Commander's office, not having seen it used since Shou was there. She glanced in and noticed Stinger rubbing his hair and talking to Champ. She knocked on the door frame and the two other rangers looked up at her.

"Hey, uh... Come on in?" Stinger waved his hand toward a chair.

"I'll head out then," Champ started toward the door.

Hammy shook her head, "You can stay if you want, I just need to talk about Andy..."

Stinger sighed and tried to stay calm and professional, "What's going on now?"

"I know she came to talk to you last night. I don't know all of what you talked about though," Hammy started. "Before I say anything else, I also want you to know I can tell there's something going on with you and her. I don't know if you are dating or what, I don't entirely care the specifics." She watched him rest his head down on his hand, "As her sister, I care about her. As your friend, I care about you. So if you two make each other happy great. But right now, either you need to tell me what you told her so I can fix this or you need to go talk to her." He glanced up momentarily confused before she finished, "She told me that the day after tomorrow she's going to talk to the elders to get her spot back in the hospital. She wants to leave the Kyurangers."

Stinger froze, feeling his chest clench up. "Really?" He stood and looked away, staring out the window at the sister's home planet.

"It's my fault. I said something without thinking. I'll talk to her after the funeral."

Hammy snorted, but left without saying anything.

He continued to stare out the window, lost in his thoughts. He jumped as Champ's hand landed firmly on his shoulder.

"I thought you left with Hammy." He slows his breathing.

Champ gave a small laugh, "Things will be fine. You've talked to Shou. Hammy is fine. Now, you just need to fix things with Andy."

Stinger closed his eyes. "She left her kyutama this morning. Now she wants to leave the Kyurangers. Maybe I am cursed. Maybe I deserve this. I always push my luck and then I lose everyone I care about."

"You haven't lost me, aibou. And you haven't lost Kotaro either. Some things aren't meant to work out, but I know this will. She loves you more than she probably even knows. You didn't see her freak out when you died, but I did. I know she cares about you. You just need to let her in and let yourself be happy."

"At least Shou won't demote me now. Although I'm tempted to resign. I hate this job."

He turned to Champ. "I may have to order you guys to a hopeless battle. I don't want to see any of you hurt… or worse. What if Andy gets hurt and I can't save her? She's safer here."

"And what if they attack her planet again and you aren't here to watch after her? You need to stop thinking in the what-ifs. She joined the Kyurangers to help people. She has seen war, she's not oblivious to what could happen. You have to trust her like you trust the rest of us. That's what she wants from you. You get so wrapped up in trying to not get her hurt that you end up hurting her anyway."

Stinger shook his head with a smile. "Since when are you so wise? I do trust her. I'm just not sure I trust myself. Will I be able to give an order I know may kill her? Damn that dragon. This job will kill me if she doesn't. Do Chameleons take war trophies? Because I do not want my tail on Hammy's wall."

"I keep growing wiser the more often I watch you do something stupid," Champ chuckled, "You know even if you order her to stay back, she's going to run into the action anyway. You can't avoid it. You just have to find a way to deal with whatever happens. We are warriors, fighters; unfortunately, death is inevitable. You just have to find a way to enjoy the time before that."

Stinger chuckled ruefully. "I guess I deserved that. To think of all the time I chased death, now I'm trying to get rid of it. Champ, I love her so much. I can't lose her."

"She feels the same about you. You can't stop death, but you can't let the fear of losing her prevent your happiness." He laughed, "As long as you keep Andy happy while she's alive, I don't think Hammy will go for your tail."

Stinger laughed. "Hopefully. Though right now I think Andy's the scarier one. But I'll talk to her."

As Champ turned to leave, Stinger touched his arm. "Thanks aibou."

Andy arrived to the funeral early, but stayed back hidden up in the trees. She watched people gathering. Old friends, faces she'd known all her life, lining up to honor those who protected their village. Honoring their own friends and family who died. She sighed and wished these mass funerals didn't happen as often as they did. She watched as her sister and the rest of the Orion's crew arrived. Hammy glanced up her way, sensing her sister. Andy met her eyes and sighed before jumping down and appearing next to her.

"Hey," Andy said shortly.

"Hey. I talked to Stinger," Hammy started.

"I don't care. He's your teammate you can talk to him if you want."

"I told him you were leaving."

"That's fine. He'd find out soon anyway, once I send in an official resignation."

"Are you sure you really want to quit?"

Andy shrugged, "I should be home helping the village."

The two sisters quiet down as the elders begin to speak.

Stinger glances down when he notices his com light is blinking. He motions to Champ that he'll be right back and heads to a quieter spot.

"There's another ship that just landed on the planet. It looks to be Jark Matter but smaller than the other one."

"On it," Stinger said before pulling Champ away to help out.

"A ship just landed and it looks like Jark Matter can't take a hint. You and I will check it out. Don't let anyone know. Hopefully we can take care of it without anyone being disturbed."

"Are you sure we shouldn't take the others?"

Stinger shook his head. "For one little ship? We can handle it. Or are you getting soft?"

Champ gave an angry moo before adding, "I'm metal I can't get soft."

Stinger chuckled. "Let's go."

Stinger follows Raptors directions and they finally come to a lake.

"Over there, Aibou," Champ points to the west.

Stinger heads that direction, spear already assembled. They arrive to see about 20 indavers with a squid like malistrate climbing out of their ship.

Stinger stretched and looked at Champ. "I'll take the malistrate. You take the indavers."

"I'll bet you I can take out these indavers before you take out the malistrate," Champ chuckled.

Stinger rolled his eyes but couldn't fight the smile appearing on his face. "What do I get if I win?"

"I'll do your paperwork for the next week," Champ answered. "And if I win, you do my chore list for the next week."

Stinger considered for a minute, then nodded. "Deal. Let's do this."

Champ charged forward and started slicing indavers left and right.

Stinger headed for the malistrate. The tentacles made it hard to get close and Stinger found himself getting closer and closer to the lake. He dodged an attack, rolling until he ended up behind the creature. He slashed at him with his spear, but the malistrate dodged.

His spear was knocked away and Stinger's foot slipped, sending him into the shallow end of the lake. As he stood up, the malistrate laughed. "Is this the best the Kyurangers have? Pathetic."

Stinger stiffened as the squid suddenly shot lightning into the water.

A white hot jolt of pain engulfed the Sasori Kyuranger and he couldn't stop the scream that escaped him. He began to convulse as the electricity coursed through him.

Champ raced toward the malistrate. "AIBOU!"

With a slash of his axe, the bull cut the malistrate almost in half. As it fell, Champ charged into the water. Ignoring the residual electricity that was making his systems spark, he grabbed Stinger who was lying face down in the water.

Champ dragged him out and turned him over.

Stinger was unconscious, his skin deathly pale. There were burns visible on his hands and Champ suspected more under his clothes.

The funeral had just ended when Champ approached, "Andy!" She turned back around and her heart sank at the sight of Champ carrying Stinger. Her mind flashed back to the last time she'd seen that...

She was snapped out of it again when another medic ninja approached, "Do you need help?"

Andy thought quickly, let's get him to the infirmary. Not long after, Stinger was laid into a bed. "Can you work on him please?" Andy addressed the medic. She looked at Champ and ordered him to lay down.

"You can work on him you know. I'm rebuildable so I'm not in a rush," Champ admitted.

"You're my friend, Champ. Plus, unless you call Raptor down, I'm the only one on the planet who knows how to fix you." She pulled her bag out to look for supplies.

"You always carry that don't you?"

"Part of being a ninja is being prepared. I always keep it filled with supplies for whoever I'm working with."

He watched her get to work analyzing some wires, "Are you sure you didn't just want to help me so you could avoid Stinger?"

Her face crinkled before she answered, "He's in good hands."

"I'm sure he is, but it's you I'm worried about right now."

Andy stayed silent as she continued working.

She froze as the medic suddenly called for assistance. Her heart sank as she heard the whispered conversation.

"Can you heal his lungs while I work on his heart?" The first medic asked. "I'm having problems keeping it beating right."

The second medic nodded, extending his hands. As they resumed healing, Champ's voice startled her, "You can go help him. I know you're worried."

"I just don't understand how I can be so mad at him and then something happens and I'm suddenly a worried wreck."

"You love him, that's why," Champ answered.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't," she admitted, "he just makes it so hard. I love him and I want to be with him and sometimes it seems like he wants the same and then next thing I know he's talking about how he's my superior officer or he's heading out on a suicide mission. I feel like my heart is a yo-yo and he just keeps playing with it."

Champ moo-ed. "He does want to be with you. He called Supreme Commander this morning to see if there was a way around the fraternization rules. He was going to talk to you about the verdict. But Jark Matter had other plans."

He glanced at the medics, who appeared to have finished the healing and were now leaving.

"Will he be okay?"

The first one nodded. "We fixed everything we found. But electrocution is tricky on the brain. He's unconscious. We won't know if anything else is wrong until he wakes."

The medics left the infirmary as Andy moved to Stinger's side. She raised her hands up to him and scanned over him. She confirmed, "Everything looks fine, so like they said, you just have to wait for him to wake."

"Where are you going?"

"I just need some time for everything. One of the people closest to me just died and my heart still feels like a yo-yo. I just need to be alone," She informed before remembering, "I fixed up everything I could on you. You should be able to move fine, but Raptor might need to reinforce some of the wiring. Take care of him." She was out the door in a flash.

After arriving home, she saw Hammy boxing up some food, "I made this for you. I know you were wanting to go to the Outlook tonight so I figured you'd still be heading there."

Andy pulled her sister in for a hug, "I'm sorry I've not been of much help to you. You are grieving too so I should be here for you. I promise I will be, just give me this night to get myself together."

Hammy smiled, "I am sad about Avery and about the friends that we lost, but I can handle it. I'm the older one anyway so I'm supposed to be here for you."

"We are the only family we have left, I need to step up and be a better sister. I don't care if you are older."

Hammy pulled away from the hug, "I know you don't. And I appreciate you wanting to help. But you do have so much more going on right now that you need to deal with. So go on and stay warm."

"I have my sleeping bag," Andy assured.

As she headed out the door Hammy reminded, "Whatever happens, just make sure you make the right decisions. Don't do something dumb."

"Right."

Hammy smirked, "Don't be a baka, 'Daka."

Andy stuck out her tongue, "Don't get in a whammy, Hammy."

The two started laughing before Andy sighed, "I'm going to miss Avery's ridiculous sayings."

-Time Jump-

A soft groan brought Champ's attention back to the form on the bed. "How are you feeling aibou?"

Stinger squeezed his eyes shut against the pounding in his head. "Champ? Did I lose the bet?"

Champ laughed. "Yes. But don't worry I'm not going to collect yet. You took a pretty bad beating."

Stinger sat up and swung his legs off the bed. "Where's Andy?"

Champ huffed. "Took off like her tail was on fire after making sure you were alright. Even if she didn't actually heal you."

Stinger frowned. "She didn't heal me? Damn she's really pissed. Any idea where she went?"

Champ shrugged. "Maybe Hammy knows. Oi aibou! You shouldn't be up yet!"

But Stinger was already gone.

Hammy was packing Avery's things up when she heard a knock. Opening the door, she was shocked to see Stinger. "Should you be out of the infirmary?"

Stinger waved the question away. "I'm fine. Where's Andy?

Hammy glared at him. "You can't even stand up straight. I sometimes think you got even more stubborn when you got promoted." She shook her head. "Andy is taking some time to think, so you leave her alone."

Stinger took a deep breath. "There has been two attacks in as many days, and you let her go off by herself?! What happens if Jark Matter shows up again? The only reason why I was alerted was because Raptor noticed something funny in the readings. Now please tell me where she is."

Looking at the distress on Stinger's face, Hammy sighed and pulled out her map.

She put her finger down "Here's where we are. She's at the Outlook which is way over here," she pointed. "This will probably be the best route for you. But I'm not sure you can make it in your state." She frowned, "I know you are worried about her. You're not the only one. But she is an adult, who is a trained ninja. She can put up a fight if need be. I figured you'd know that by now."

Stinger sighed. "I do. Just my head and my heart are fighting with each other. These constant attacks make me wonder why Jark Matter keeps returning here." He memorizes the route and gives her the Kyuranger salute. "I'll be fine. I just want to ask Andy something."

"Follow your heart. I don't think Lucky ever thought anything out and everything goes right for him. You overthink and everything goes bad, so just quit listening to your head..." Hammy saluted back and watched him leave.

Stinger pushed himself up the last hill and stopped. The view was incredible and he could understand why Andy loved it. It was a great spot to look at the whole village. But he saw no sign of Andy. But given she was trying to hide, he figured she would have found a secluded area to camp in. He would wait here until she showed up. He climbed a tree and made himself comfortable. Closing his eyes, he began to sing his brother's song under his breath.

Andy left her camp to fill her bottle in the nearby stream. She heard a noise and followed it until she noticed Stinger was singing. She took a few seconds before jumping on the same branch. "Hammy said you could sing."

She had landed so silently that he hadn't heard anything until she spoke. He was startled and lost his balance making him fall from the tree. Andy cursed and jumped down after him, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you hurt?"

Stinger gave a small laugh. "Only my pride as a warrior." He stood quickly and immediately regretted it, as his head reminded him he had only woken up in the infirmary four hours ago.

He tried to play it off, leaning against the trunk and grinning at Andy.

She knew he had a tendency to keep his injuries hidden so she ordered him, "Sit down, I'm going to check you anyway."

He pouted at her. "I told you I'm fine." He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing he left the infirmary without being released. Besides Champ had said she had checked the other healers work and said he was fine right?

"You were electrocuted earlier, I know you can't be completely fine," She answered but then added, "but if you want to keep pretending to be, don't come to me for help when you finally admit you need it."

Stinger sighed. "Andy, I'm sorry about earlier. My head was telling me one thing while my heart was saying something else. I love you and I'm an idiot for not going against my head. And if you want to leave the Kyurangers then I won't fight you. I just wanted you to know that."

He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out her kyutama. "I want you to keep this. Please."

He held it out to her, his headache forgotten until he straightened up and the world started spinning.

She noticed him sway, "Are you still going to pretend you are fine?"

He smiled wanly. "I may have overestimated my endurance. I didn't exactly stay in the infirmary after I woke up." He immediately turned red at her incredulous look. 'Why had he said that?!'

"I have two questions. Where was Champ, because he should have stopped you. And you really do have a death wish don't you? Even if they did some healing work on you, you were electrocuted! That is serious, Stinger. I wouldn't expect you to be fine even if you stayed in the infirmary, so I'm surprised you even made it up here."

He chuckled. "To be fair to Champ, he did try to stop me. And I wanted to see you before you contacted High Command so I could apologize. Plus, I was worried about Jark Matter attacking."

He sat down at the base of the tree with a sigh. "I am completely hopeless aren't I? Can't even take care of myself and I have the belief I can protect anyone else?" He cradled his head in his hands as pain jolted through it.

She knelt next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Shou wouldn't have made you Commander if he didn't think you could handle it. Part of being a leader is listening to your team and taking input from everyone. You might have final say, but you can't make the decisions all by yourself." The hand on him started glowing as she tried to analyze his health.

He gave her a small smile. "Frankly I always figured Dragon boy gave me this job as payback for all the hell I gave him during the war." He closed his eyes and leaned against her. "Don't leave…please?"

She tried to focus on healing but after a minute sat down next to him and leaned against his arm, "Part of the reason I came out here was to think about that. I've just been really overwhelmed the last couple days. I couldn't handle the problems you and I were having on top of losing Avery. I wonder if I had been in the village when the ship landed, if I could have taken out enough indavers that the fight would have ended without him getting killed. I worry about my people and want to be here to protect them... but I also want to keep seeing the stars. I've seen and learned so much in the last few months, and made friends with you guys. I don't want to give that up."

"Sounds like your head and heart are fighting too. Just don't make a hasty decision that you might regret later." Stinger raised his head and kissed her cheek, pressing the kyutama into her hand. He tried to rise but his legs wouldn't hold him.

Andy rushed to help him sit back down. She pocketed the kyutama before focusing her energy into healing him. Noticing her eyes starting to blur she stopped, "How are you feeling now?"

He took a deep breath. "I feel okay now. I thought the other medics healed me?"

"I still don't think you understand how serious electrocution can be..." She looked at him, "They focused on the really important things like keeping your heart beating and helping you keep breathing since you also almost drowned. There's a lot of symptoms you can feel after something like that, and since you decided to leave the infirmary they couldn't check you again like they should have."

Stinger frowned. "I didn't think it was that serious. I mean I've been electrocuted before and I was okay after a few hours in the infirmary."

"Well, for one back then you didn't almost drown. For two, you don't know the voltages used either time. It could be worse if that was higher."

He nodded slowly. "Just to warn you, don't ever get on Balance's bad side. He has the ability to really make your day go bad." He tried to stand again, this time making it to his feet. "Thank you. I will leave you alone now. If you need to contact me, I'll be on the Orion."

He began to walk away but Andy called after him, "Stinger?"

He turned. "Yes?"

"Do you like camping?"

His eyes lit up. "I don't get much chance to do it anymore."

"You can come with me. If you want..."

"Thought you needed time alone?"

"I don't really know what I need right now, but talking to you seems to help."

Stinger smiled and walked back over to her. "I'll stay but only if you really want me too."

"Don't leave... please?"

The smile turned into a grin. "You're stealing my line now? You're asking for a spanking you know that?"

She chuckled in response, "Come on, it's not too far."

He followed her up, almost to the top of the mountain, when he noticed a small cave.

"This is it," she said before she threw more logs on the small fire she had built earlier.

"It's cozy." Stinger motioned for her to sit down next to him. "I approve, although your sister might not."

She looked at him confused.

"She told me if we could make each other happy than we should go for it. But after the past two days…. She may retract that statement and hang my unattached tail on her trophy wall."

Andy laughed before questioning, "You really talked to her about me?"

Stinger rolled his eyes. "No. She confronted me after you told her you were leaving the Kyurangers. She said she did not want to know details. Not that I would have told her anyway."

"She's always tried to look after me," Andy admitted. "But we always had Avery looking out for both of us. I wonder if she's trying harder now that she's the oldest one left."

Stinger hugged her tightly. "She may be but at least she's smart enough not to smother you. You're lucky that Hammy understands a Kyuranger's life and is still around."

Andy smiled, "I'm happy to see Hammy again. It was hard when she was off with you guys fighting Don Armage. Avery and I lost our parents, and we were stuck wondering if we'd ever see her again. Avery and I weren't always the closest growing up, but we really bonded after everything happened. He and I would come up here to forget our problems for a while."

Stinger smiled softly. "I can see why. It's beautiful." He yawns suddenly.

"You are probably tired after everything today. You can use my sleeping bag if you want."

He raised an eyebrow. "Not without you."

She looked at him for a second, "It probably is big enough to fit both of us. I just figured I invited you up here when you had no camping gear on you so I'd offer you mine."

He inclined his head. "I'll go when you do."

She pulled out her sleeping bag and unrolled it, "I don't know if I'll be able to sleep much, but it is getting cold." She wrapped herself up in it and held the top up so he could join her.

He climbed in and curled up next to her. She jumped as his tail wrapped around her leg.

She put her arm around him and pulled him in for a slow kiss. She pulled away slightly, "I love you."

He grinned. "I love you too."

She paused for a moment, "You aren't going to push me away again are you?"

He shook his head. "Believe me I've learned my lesson."

"Good. I just don't think I could handle it again..."

Stinger kisses her. "I'm done being stupid…for today."

She rolled her eyes, "So does this mean you'll go to the dance with me?"

"Try to stop me."

Smiling she spoke, "One last question... What are we now? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Just friends who love each other?"

Stinger looks at her. "I consider you my girlfriend, but if you have a better name…?"

She shrugged slightly, "I just wanted to know what you thought."

He kissed her again. "Now you know."

She smiled, mouth still close to his, "Thank you."

He closes his eyes. "You're welcome."

-Time Jump-

Stinger waited in the Voyager Bay. Lucky and Garu were about to land and he wanted to meet them personally. It had been far too long since he'd seen either of them and he wanted to prevent Lucky from doing anything to upset the girls. He turned as he heard Andy clear her throat.

"I know Lucky is lucky... and I think Hammy mentioned he's a King? But what else should I expect?"

Stinger fights a smile. "He's loud and obnoxious. He's also a great fighter and loyal to a fault. Did Hammy tell you he refused to accept I was a bad guy even when I repeatedly kicked his ass?"

Andy smirked, "I wish I could have seen that."

"Yeah, he was naive as hell back then."

"What about Garu? I mean I've seen he's a dog person thing...? But what is he like?"

Stinger winces. "Don't call him that okay? Garu is... A crazy fighter and even more loyal than Lucky. He's also his boyfriend."

Stinger resumes his watching. "The first time they met Lucky called him a coward apparently."

"I'm guessing he changed his opinion?" She looked out in the direction Stinger was looking.

"Yeah after they got into a punching match, Lucky got thrown into space and Garu's kyutama activated."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "They sound a bit too extreme..." She sighed, "Do you think they'll want to be friends with me?"

Stinger went to her. "Andy, of course they will. They will love you just like we do."

"Thanks." After a moment of silence, she spoke again, "Will the others be here soon? Kotaro is wanting some dish Spada makes and I have no idea what goes into it."

Stinger chuckles. "He'll be here in two hours. Least that's what he said."

"Raptor has been trying to hide her excitement at seeing him again."

Stinger laughs out loud. "I bet. Wonder how many fictions she's written since last time they saw each other?"

Andy laughs, "I know she's mentioned them before. I wonder if he knows about them?"

Stinger shook his head. "I think he only knows about the ones she wrote before she became a Kyuranger. Otherwise our swordfish would probably think twice about showing up for this dance."

"Garu, Lucky, Spada... Who's left? Just Balance and Naga?"

Stinger nodded. "You know them so I don't think you'll have any problems. Tsurugi and Supreme Commander will meet us at Headquarters."

"Where is our next supply stop?" She questioned, "Hammy and I didn't have any dresses at home so we still need to figure out where we can buy some."

Stinger looked at her. "We will pick some up when we pick up our entertainment right before the dance." He smiled mischievously. "I'm sure Hammy will be happy to see him."

"I do remember her mentioning something about becoming friends with a singer..." Andy looked thoughtful.

He kept smiling. "Hoshi Minato. And he has graciously accepted the offer to sing for us."

"How many resistance fighters do you think are going to show?"

"To be honest, I have no idea. Most of them went back to their planets after the war if they were able."

"They might all come back to see you guys. I mean you guys beat the Jark Matter Shogun, you're basically famous."

"Most of them are trying to rebuild their lives. Some don't want to even acknowledge the anniversary. Too many bad memories."

"I understand having bad memories. But the way I see it, it was the biggest step toward freedom for most of them. It gave people peace."

He looked at her. "You're amazing you know that?"

"You guys are the amazing ones. You guys are the ones that helped bring peace to the universe."

He snorts. "We may have gotten rid of Don Armage but we're still not rid of Jark Matter. Why Supreme Commander thought it was a good idea to plan a dance of all things… We should be finishing Jark Matter before this kind of frivolous idiocy."

"Maybe he thought it would be a good, small break? Give people some extra fun to keep their positivity up?" Andy guessed. "Hammy said he always did weird stuff like this. Didn't you guys have to dance one time for training?"

Stinger shook his head. "Not me. I told him absolutely not. He wasn't happy but I wasn't too friendly then anyway so he didn't push it."

She smirked, "You've mentioned a few times that you think he gave you this job to get back at you... Maybe he made a dance knowing you'd have to attend as a Commander?" She started giggling.

Stinger rolled his eyes. "I know he did. And I am plotting my revenge as we speak."

"Well, the dance won't be all bad right? You at least get to dance with me."

His eyes twinkled. "That is the only thing keeping me from kicking Shou's scaly butt all over the known universe."

"I'm glad we get to go together."

He took her hand and kissed it. "So am I."

"Is that Lucky and Garu finally?" She pointed back out the window.

"About time."

Andy watched as they skillfully landed in the Voyager Bay and climbed out of their voyagers.

Stinger approached Lucky with a grin. "I was sure your Voyager went faster than that thing you called a scooter. If you were any slower, you'd have missed the dance."

Lucky laughed. "Miss you having to have fun for a change? Not a chance."

The two of them clasped hands as Garu approached Andy.

"You must be our new recruit, right?" Garu smiled, "I do see the resemblance to Hammy."

Andy chuckled, "Right. I'm Andy. Nice to meet you."

Stinger brought Lucky over. "Andy may I present King Lucky. Or as he's known here, Shishi Red."

Lucky bowed and kissed her hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Andy smiled and gave a little bow back to him, "You too."

Stinger chuckled. "I'm sure everyone else wants to see you. Your rooms are where you left them. Spada will be here in two hours to feed us."

"What do you think?" He asked her as the two headed for their rooms.

"They seem nice. Lucky doesn't seem too annoying," she laughed.

He wrapped his hand around hers. "He's grown up, but I guarantee you once we're all together you'll see why your sister wanted to toss him out the airlock."

-Time Skip-

Stinger opened his eyes and smiled. He was on his back, Andy wrapped around him. Her head was laying on his chest over his heart. He brushed her hair out of her face with one hand while the other wrapped her into a hug. He lay there just savoring the peace and happiness he felt.

How stupid he'd been almost losing this. Well he was done with idiocy. He looked down as he felt her stir. "Good morning beautiful."

She looked up at him with a smile, "Morning."

"What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. Do you have any work to do or are you free all day?"

Stinger thought a moment. "Only thing scheduled is a supply drop to Minona. After that I'm all yours."

"Maybe they have something fun on Minona we could do?" She suggested.

"They do have nice beaches."

"I know I want a date with you, but maybe the whole team would like a beach day?"

He grinned. "We can do both. There's more than one beach."

She smirked, "Sounds like fun. What time is the supply drop?"

Stinger consulted his tablet. "About 15 minutes." He kissed her and got out of bed. "Time for a quick shower, then have to play nice with the bureaucrats."

"I better go take a shower too. Are Champ and I heading with you like the last supply drop?"

"We could shower together…. And yeah."

"Are you sure I won't be a distraction and make us late if I shower with you?"

He came back to the bed with a smile. "You can gladly be a distraction."

She smiled and moved over to kiss him, "Come on then, we can't be late though." She stood and headed toward his bathroom.

He grinned and followed her.

Ten minutes later, they emerged laughing from his quarters.

Andy kept smiling but glanced at the time, "We need to get going. We don't want Champ _or _the bureaucrats waiting."

Stinger made a face. "I'd keep the bureaucrats forever if possible. I hate supply runs here."

She smirked, "I know, but you are the Commander so it would look bad on you to be late. Not that you really care about that."

Stinger gave her a fond smile. "You are right about that. But if the prime minister keeps trying to marry me to his eldest daughter there may be an interplanetary incident."

She chuckled, "Can't we offer them Champ or something?" She stuck out her tongue before breaking into giggles.

Stinger chuckled. "I did the first time. Champ didn't speak to me for a month."

"There are probably tons of people he could get to marry his daughter. Just tell him you are taken already?" She shrugged, "I mean it's not like we are married... but you aren't available either."

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "That's why I'm bringing you this time. If you can't get him to back off, then the situation is truly hopeless."

"Oh so you aren't just taking me because I'm a good team member?" She winked at him.

He laughed and wrapped her in a hug. "You are a great team member. But I also want you near me. To keep me from poisoning the entire government of an allied planet."

She rested her head on him, "As much as I would love to see that, I guess someone has to be responsible around here."

He gave her a shocked face. "Are you implying I am not responsible?" He managed to hold the expression for several seconds before laughing.

"I would never suggest that a commanding officer is not responsible... my boyfriend however..." She smirked, "We have to go."

He pouted for a few seconds, then gave her a salute. "Yes ma'am. Shall we?"

They met up with Champ at the Voyager bay and headed off to the planet.

Twenty minutes later they were free. The prime minister had been very gracious, the eldest daughter having been married in the intervening months. Stinger breathed a sigh of relief as they exited the meeting house.

"At least I can rest easy now. Being a savior has some downsides sometimes."

"What is the plan from here, aibou?"

Stinger shrugged. "Andy has suggested a beach day. The next supply run isn't for a few days and is close by, so we can relax."

"I think it's about time for lunch," Andy noticed, "We can bring up the beach day there then spend the rest of the day swimming and relaxing."

Stinger smiled. "Sounds good to me. Champ?"

"The beach might be nice," Champ chuckled.

They were almost to the area they had parked their Voyagers when suddenly a large group of indavers appeared.

Stinger reached for his kyutama. "Really? You guys just don't get the message do you?"

Andy and Champ followed his lead and got out their Kyutamas. After quickly morphing they ran into battle.

Stinger slashed at the indavers with his spear. He quickly glanced at the others. Seeing a indaver trying to sneak up on Andy, he tried to get to her but was blocked by several opponents. As he countered their attacks, he yelled "Andy! Behind you!"

She turned after taking down the indavers in front of her, but was quickly slashed down. She pushed to get up and took out a few more before she got hit again, making her unmorph and fall to the ground.

"ANDY!"

Stinger's scream made Champ quickly turn. The bull fought his way to her side, noting the blood streaming from her head. He knelt and picked her up as Stinger ordered "Get her back to the Orion. I'll take care of this and meet you there."

"I'll be back soon if you take too long," Champ responded before running off toward his voyager.

Andy groaned as consciousness came back to her. She finally opened her eyes and noticed that she was in the infirmary. Glancing in the nearby mirror she noticed a bandage on her head. She stood up slowly feeling pain rush through her. Steadying herself she pushed through the pain and analyzed the rest of her. Reading her own energy, she noticed a gash in her stomach. "Too bad I can't heal myself..." Andy whispered out loud. Finally, she moved using the walls of the hallway as support. She made her way to the bridge. The whole team looked up at her when she entered.

The com crackled to life. Stinger's voice was sharp, what she had dubbed his command voice.

"Apparently Jark Matter wants a replay of Andaria I. They've launched a full invasion."

His next words were drowned out in a crackle of static. Raptor hurriedly pushed buttons on the Orion's console. "Please repeat Commander. Interference on your frequency."

Stinger's voice returned, breathless and hurried. "Contact Supreme Commander. We will need reinforcements. I am staying to help protect the Prime Minister and the government here."

Another loud crackle of static cut through his next words.

"Tell Andy…. *static* danced with her. Tell her I'm…. *static intensified* and I will always love her."

Static filled the channel for a minute, then cleared.

"I'll always be with her." Stinger voice was pain filled as he finished.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion and the com went silent.

"Commander? Stinger please respond!" Raptor was frantically trying to reestablish contact but it was no use. The com was dead.

Andy's breathing was quick listening to the whole thing, but when she flashed back to Avery saying he'd always be with her she finally started sobbing.

"Don't worry Andy. We're going to go save him and take down Jark Matter!" Lucky tried to smile reassuringly.

She was shaking as she spoke, "This is just like Andaria... I can't..."

"Everything will be ok," Lucky assured before ordering the team, "We need to get out there. Everyone head to their voyagers except Andy and Raptor."

Andy's eyes were still filled with tears but she gave him a death glare, "How can you say everything will be ok?! Just like Andaria... He's on his own. His comms cut out. What if he dies again and I can't bring him back!" She lowered her head as the sobs aggravated her wounds.

Hammy moved to her side and tried to hug her.

The bridge was silent for a minute until Kotaro's voice grew loud. "What do you mean dies again?"

Andy looked up to the speaker with her eyes wide, "Oh no..."

Kotaro walked up to her. "Andy…. Please. What do you mean dies again and you can't bring him back?" His voice was pleading.

Noticing how bad Andy looked, Champ spoke up, "You and Naga were hurt, so Andy was healing you. I went after Stinger when his comms went out. I found him dead." He shook his head, "Somehow her kyutama brought him back."

Naga spoke. "He's strong. He'll be fine. We beat Jark Matter once we can do it again."

Andy kept shaking as Hammy held her. "He is strong," she nodded through breaths, "but that didn't stop him from dying before." She was quiet for a moment before crying, "I saved him but I couldn't save Avery. What if he dies and I lose him too?"

Raptor walked up to her and stuck a needle in her arm. Within seconds, Andy was unconscious.

"I'll get her to the infirmary, you guys go save him if you can."

Lucky nods once, then turns. "Everyone let's go save Stinger!"

They quickly headed for their Voyagers.

Andy woke up feeling the pain in her head. She didn't open her eyes as she heard Raptor's voice, "He has a concussion, a broken rib, and some internal bleeding. He has a few burns as well. The bleeding isn't a huge concern right now; he's not bleeding to death so it should heal after a while. So we just have to see how he heals up. He is on pain medicine too so that will probably keep him under a while."

She heard footsteps walking away so she slightly opened one of her eyes to survey the room. After not seeing anyone she opened both eyes and pushed herself off the bed. She was feeling drowsy but wanted to see Stinger. She moved over to him and stared at his face for a few seconds. Filled with relief that he was still alive she smiled. She pulled a chair closer and sat by him. She analyzed his body and confirmed what Raptor reported. She focused her energy into him to start healing what she could.

Hammy entered quietly, not wanting to disturb Andy. She stopped as she saw her sister trying to heal Stinger. "Andaka! What do you think you are doing?"

Andy slightly jumped at the noise but shrugged and kept her hands out, "Checking on him."

Hammy huffed and walked over. "Stop lying. You were attempting to heal his injuries instead of resting so you can heal. Dammit Andy, he's not dying."

"Well I was originally just checking on him... I know he's not dying, but I don't want him hurt either."

Hammy shook her head. "You can barely stand yet you think of him first. Must be true love."

Andy finally dropped her hands down and sleepily looked up at her sister, "I know I can barely stand. That's why I got a chair."

Hammy laughed and helped her stand. "You are going back to bed. And if I catch you up before you're ready I'll have Raptor sedate you again."

"Is everyone else ok?"

Hammy nodded as Andy laid down. "Everyone else is fine. Though I think Kotaro may have a few things to say to Stinger when he wakes." She covered Andy with a blanket.

"Is Kotaro mad that I kept it a secret too? Or just mad at Stinger?"

Hammy sighed. "Just Stinger. And a little at Champ. You, no."

"I'm sorry I panicked earlier. I know at home we are trained to be neutral about death... But I lost Stinger before. And we just lost Avery. I couldn't handle the thought of him dying."

Hammy clasped her hand. "It's completely understandable. I was hoping once we destroyed Don Armage no one else would die. I'm hoping we finally get rid of Jark Matter so we can finally have peace. No more funerals."

"I hope so too." Andy's blinking slowed down the longer she laid there.

Hammy smiled at her. "Sleep sis. Stinger will be here when you wake."

Andy gave a small nod as the sleep overtook her.

The first thing Stinger saw when he opened his eyes was Kotaro staring at him. The teen looked furious and the Sasori warrior tried to figure out if he was the cause of it.

"Kotaro is everything alright?" Stinger slowly sat up as the teen stalked toward him. Apparently Stinger was the cause and he sighed.

"No. It's not," Kotaro growled, "Not only did you almost die, and basically were trying to tell us your last words, you forgot to tell me that apparently you did die once already! Why would you keep something like that from me? From any of us?!"

Stinger winced. Who had let that secret drop? No matter. It was out in the open now. He looked Kotaro in the eye. "I kept it so you wouldn't have to know. Even though it was temporary, it would have ripped your heart out. You had already been injured seriously, knowing could have killed you. I won't apologize for keeping your feelings safe."

"As far as my last words go, I was staring down an invasion fleet alone. Think I was entitled to those."

"Isn't part of being a team not keeping secrets? I thought we would be past that by now," Kotaro answered.

Stinger touched Kotaro's shoulder. "How does it feel now that you do know? Sometimes it's necessary to keep secrets so they don't hurt the people you love."

"I know it would have ripped my heart out to lose you, but I'd rather have the whole truth than part of it."

Andy slowly blinked her eyes open at the yelling. She saw Kotaro standing next to Stinger.

"It hurts more now knowing you kept it from me," Kotaro admitted, "I trust you... but knowing you think secrets can be necessary, I wonder what else you are hiding from us."

Stinger stared at him in shock. "Kotaro, I swear there isn't anything else. And I'm sorry I hurt you." He closed his eyes. "I promise no more secrets, even if the truth hurts." He reopened them and looked at Kotaro sadly. "Forgive me?"

Kotaro was still upset but he tried to calm down, "I'm not over this...but I will be. I think everyone needs some time around here to calm down. Some of the others are pretty mad as well."

Andy had closed her eyes as she kept listening to their conversation, trying to not entirely spy on them. She focused back though when she heard her name. "And you definitely have to talk to Andy when she wakes up. She heard everything over the comms."

Stinger's face went white. "She did?" He tried to keep his voice steady. "I thought she was in here."

"She woke up and came to the bridge," Kotaro informed. "Everyone is worried about her... She had a panic attack and wouldn't stop crying. Raptor had to sedate her."

Stinger put his head in his hands. Andy was going to hate him when she woke up. Just like apparently everyone else did. "I have to get out of here."

He shakily pushed himself off the bed and tried to walk around Kotaro. The teen wouldn't budge.

"Get out of my way Kotaro."

"No. Lay back down." Kotaro ordered.

Stinger growled. "Don't make me move you."

"I don't think you could in your condition," Kotaro admitted. "Why are you trying to leave anyway?"

"I just can't be here right now. The team hates me and Andy…. I can't deal with the idea of her hating me too." He attempted to push past the Koguma Kyuranger, but almost sank to the floor as pain engulfed him.

"They are mad but they don't hate you," Kotaro held him up. "And Andy doesn't hate you either. She just doesn't want to lose you."

Andy winced, she gets mad at him sometimes but did he really think she could hate him? She moved slightly, trying to stay quiet.

Stinger pushed away from Kotaro as the pain receded. "I won't be gone long. Just have to clear my head." He stumbled slightly as he walked out and Kotaro grimaced.

"Kotaro?" Andy spoke when she heard Stinger's footsteps disappear.

"Andy! How are you feeling?"

"Tired..." Andy admitted, "He's not healed enough to be out of here though."

Kotaro sighed. "I know. But he's so damn stubborn. I should have waited until he healed to yell at him though. And he thinks everyone hates him for not telling about the whole dying thing."

"I know. I heard most of your conversation... Sorry."

Kotaro winced. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine. He's probably going to hate me by the end of this though. I wasn't supposed to say anything about it, and now, being almost as stubborn as he is, I'm going to drag him back here against his will," she pushed off the bed, "I think I'm a bit less injured than he is..."

Kotaro looked at her in alarm. "I can just get Champ to track him down. You need to rest."

Andy chuckled, "Like I said, I'm almost as stubborn as Stinger." She started making her way out the door.

Kotaro sighed and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "I'll help. Where do you think he went?"

"If he thinks everyone hates him, I'd assume somewhere they aren't..." She pondered, "He'd need his voyager wherever he was heading because the others could find him on the ship."

"Okay. We'll check the Bay first. Do you think he took the shortcut?"

"If he's avoiding people he wouldn't take the shortcut because it passes the most used areas... We'll go the shortcut and if we run into anyone we'll just tell them we're checking on Stinger?"

"Okyu."

They began heading for the Bay. Surprisingly they didn't run into anyone.

Kotaro checked the time. "He planned well. Spada's having a cooking class tonight."

"Well his voyager is still here, so we'll wait for a minute before checking elsewhere. We probably want to head the long way in case he collapsed or something..."

Stinger leaned against the wall, his breathing rough. His chest hurt every time he inhaled and he suspected he had gotten a broken rib. He decided it wasn't worth worrying about unless something else happened. He forced himself to stand and continue walking.

Kotaro's words echoed in his head. Everyone was angry for him not revealing the truth of what had happened on Andaria I. He would have thought nobody would want to know, that it would be better a secret. Yet again, he had chosen the wrong action. Well, maybe if he stayed away long enough, they'd forgive him.

He looked up, realizing he'd reached the Voyager Bay. He had to lean against the wall again, vainly trying to regain some strength. The way he was, he'd probably crash. Payback for his lies, for hurting the team. Hurting Andy. He had told her no more being stupid. Then he went and made himself a liar again. Well, it wouldn't happen again. He stumbled through the door as it opened. And froze as Andy and Kotaro looked straight at him.

"You aren't authorized to leave the infirmary yet," Andy spoke, seeing how bad Stinger looked.

Stinger just stared at her. Then he bowed his head. "Andy… I'm sorry but I have to leave."

She raised an eyebrow, reigning in her emotions. She spoke plainly, "As the main medic on the ship, I have to make sure patients stay in the infirmary until they are cleared. Whether they are a Commander or not. So either let us take you back there or prepare to fight me."

Stinger's eyes widened. "Are you insane? You're hurt worse than I am. Kotaro, please take her back to the infirmary." He concentrated on slowly moving toward his Voyager. "I'll be gone probably a couple of days. I'm going to Headquarters."

Kotaro ignored his request and just let Andy talk.

"If you really want to go to Headquarters, we can get someone to take you there and signed into their infirmary instead. And Hammy already made it clear I was a bit insane when she found me awake earlier and trying to heal you. But I'm not letting you fly yourself." 

Stinger's knees buckled, his left arm taking the brunt as he collapsed. A strangled hiss escaped him as his rib decided to join in on the pain. "Why are you doing this? Everyone probably thinks I'm a liability. It's better if I just resign."

"They care about you. You are their friend. They are probably just upset like Kotaro is, and is just hurt that you didn't tell them," Andy comforted as she moved away from Kotaro and knelt next to Stinger, "As to why I'm doing this, I love you. I don't want to see you hurting. Now if you do want to resign, you can...after you are released from the infirmary."

Stinger sighed, struggling to keep his eyes open. "How do you know I won't sneak out behind your back?"

Andy looked back at Kotaro, "Want to take turns babysitting him?"

Kotaro grinned. "Sure. Raptor has restraints in the infirmary too. He won't be leaving."

Stinger growled. "You wouldn't dare."

"Do you want to bet on that?" Andy stared.

Stinger tried to push himself up. "I am still the Commander of this ship. I'll go to my quarters and stay there. I will not go back to the infirmary to be treated like a prisoner."

"Fine, you can be treated like one in your quarters then," Andy sighed. "Until you are released it doesn't matter if you are a Commander or not, you are on bedrest. I even know there are rules about it. Until you are released you don't have much of a say. Now you do have a right to refuse treatment, but that doesn't mean you can still go around wherever you want."

Stinger grimaced. "We still have 2 supply runs before we're due at headquarters. I have to supervise…" He began to cough and Andy was alarmed when blood appeared on his lips.

"Shit. Kotaro, call Champ and Raptor down here," Andy ordered before turning to Stinger. "Champ will take care of the supply runs, don't worry." Andy focused her energy to analyze where the blood came from. She noticed his rib was now poking into his lung. When she heard Kotaro finish the first order, she added, "He needs help now. If I pass out tell Raptor to focus on his ribs and lungs." She went back to focusing on Stinger and using her energy to move his rib back into the correct location and closing up the hole. She pushed through her exhaustion. When she noticed the room spinning around her she closed her eyes still focusing her energy into him. Soon though, she felt her mind blacking out.

Stinger grew alarmed as she fell into his lap. "Andy!" He shook her gently. When she didn't respond he motioned Kotaro over. "Help her." He felt his strength waning and began to slide onto his side. He faintly heard Kotaro call his name before the world went black.

When he awoke, he was in the infirmary. His chest was still sore but he didn't feel like he was suffocating anymore. He took a deep breath and tried to sit up, jerking to a stop as his hands wouldn't obey him. As the blanket covering him slipped down he realized not only were his hands restrained, but his feet and tail as well. "Raptor!" His throat was dry and it took two tries to get the pilot-cum- medic's attention.

"Yes Commander?"

He glared at her. "Why am I restrained?"

"If you get up you could end up having your lung stabbed again. You've already proven your lack of self-preservation, so until you are better you are staying here."

"I demand you release me as your commanding officer."

"I'm sorry Commander but the Supreme Commander has already been informed and gave me orders to not let you go until you are healthy."

Stinger yanked hard at the hand restraints, but they didn't give. Frustrated, he laid back. He then tested his tail's restraints. Finding it a bit loose, he began to try to release it.

Raptor watched his movements, "You aren't going to get out of that."

Stinger huffed. "Watch me."

Raptor shook her head and stepped up next to him. She quickly filled a needle and stuck it into his arm, "I will keep you sedated until you are healed if I have to. Why do you keep fighting? We are just trying to help you."

"I… don't deserve it…" His words trailed off as his eyes closed.

Andy woke slightly as she felt her blanket moving. She looked up quickly and saw Hammy, "huh?"

"Just fixing your blanket. Go back to sleep," Hammy ordered before brushing a hair off of Andy's face. She was soon out once more.

The next time she woke she was a little more with it. She sat up and looked over, noticing Stinger's sleeping form. She wanted to check on him but wasn't sure she could even make it the few steps over there.

She forced herself off the bed almost falling, but grabbed a nearby chair as support. She sat down next to Stinger and started checking on him. His lung looked better, and though his rib hadn't really healed, it was in the correct place to. She noticed he was tied down with restraints so he couldn't hurt himself. Focusing her little energy at him she worked on trying to mend the bone back together.

She soon felt a prick in her arm and looked up at Raptor, "Hey." She knew she couldn't fight as Raptor had already injected a sedative into her. She felt Raptor pick her up but was soon unconscious again.

The next time she woke up, she tried to move but soon found she was restrained as well. Looking around the room she noticed Stinger was still asleep. Thinking of ideas, she soon made a clone of herself.

"Andaka! How did you get out of bed?!" Hammy looked over and noticed Andy was still in her bed. "Dammit, Andy!" She looked at the clone which was working on healing Stinger. "Get rid of the clone." The clone looked up sadly before dropping her hands. She used Stinger's bed to stand and gave him a kiss on the forehead before disappearing.

Stinger's mind slowly woke, thinking he heard yelling. He tried to focus his hearing on the voices.

Hammy walked over to the real Andy who was still restrained. Andy opened her eyes and gave a weak smile, "I didn't get out of bed though."

"Don't make us sedate you again," Hammy sighed. She pulled over the chair, "You've barely healed the last few days because you keep trying to heal him. It is good you stopped him from leaving and you saved him when his lung got perforated, but this extra healing has got to stop. He's not dying. He will be fine. But if you keep trying to push yourself you won't be." She looked down at her sister, "I'm just worried about you. We just lost Avery, you are the only family I have left. I don't want to lose you too."

Andy cringed at the tears she saw in Hammy's eyes. "I'm sorry. I haven't even been thinking. I just see him hurt and I act. I promise I won't heal him until I'm better." She smirked, "Unless he does something else dumb and almost dies."

Hammy chuckled, "He does like to do that a lot doesn't he?"

"He said he thinks the others hate him..."

Hammy shook her head, "They wish he told them, but at this point they are more worried about him. He pushed the team away before and we all thought he was past doing that. We are all friends; we just don't know why he doesn't understand that we need each other."

"I didn't mean to cause all of this trouble... I told them about it on accident. If I hadn't there wouldn't be all of this confusion."

"It wasn't your fault. You've had so many emotions lately between Avery and Stinger, it's understandable that you'd have a panic attack. Everyone is worried about you too."

"Most of what they've seen is me being an emotional wreck. They probably just think I'm an over-emotional teenage girl who can't handle anything."

"You won't be a teenager much longer," Hammy reminded smiling. She then assured, "The Kyurangers are some of the most caring people I've ever met. They understand if you are emotional with everything going on, they care about you. You're one of us now."

Andy shook her head, "I might be a Kyuranger, but I'm not one of the originals. I didn't help defeat Don Armage, I didn't even get chosen by my kyutama; it was just given to me. It's just like always Hammy, I'm just living in your shadow."

Hammy looked at her sadly, "You've done so much. You shine in your own way. I can't heal people, can I? You've saved hundreds with your power. You have so many things to offer, I wish you'd see that." Hammy noticed Andy struggling to keep her eyes open, "Sleep now. And if I catch you with another clone, I will have to sedate you or come babysit you." She smiled, "Everything will be ok."

Andy closed her eyes but whispered, "Sleeping with restraints isn't very comfortable, you know."

"If you listened to us you wouldn't be in them. Don't worry though, once Stinger is released you can get the restraints off because we won't need to worry about you using up all your energy on him. Though with all of the healing you've done on him he can probably get out in the next day or two." Hammy stood up, "Sweet Dreams Andaka."

When he was sure Hammy had gone, Stinger opened his eyes. "Andy? You awake?"

"Stinger?" She spoke softly, trying to fully wake herself back up.

"I'm a real idiot aren't I?" Stinger asked as he replayed everything Hammy had said in his head.

"Only a little," Andy gave a soft chuckle.

Stinger laughed ruefully. "I guess I tend to overreact sometimes. I always swear I won't go back to how I was when they first met me, then five seconds later I'm pushing them away. Surprised they haven't given up by now."

He wriggled slowly in the restraints, not wanting to attract Raptor's attention. "These are driving me crazy." He glanced over and saw Andy sleeping. "Sleep well beautiful."

He resumed wriggling and had actually gotten his tail free and was working on his wrists when Raptor appeared at his side.

"If you are doing better, I'll let you out. Hammy said Andy was healing you again so let me see how you are doing." She scanned him over, "Your ribs aren't fully healed yet but you aren't at risk of stabbing your lung again." She pulled out a key, "I guess you can get out of the infirmary. But you aren't to go flying off on your own." She unlocked his last restraints before going over and unlocking the restraints on Andy.

Stinger rose slowly, making his way to Andy's side. "Thank you. I really don't deserve her. Or any of you to be honest. I'm sorry for not telling you about Andaria. And for worrying you again."

Raptor looked over at him, "We just worry about you. Plus, I don't think it's your place to say what you deserve. If we want to be your friends, that's for us to decide."

Stinger grinned wryly. "Guess you're right. Think I'm going to sleep in my quarters tonight."

He left the infirmary and headed for his room. Collapsing on the bed, he was soon asleep.

-Time Skip-

"I'm sad we didn't get to do this before," Hammy was fixing Andy's hair.

"I didn't go to the senior dance anyway," Andy remembered.

"I had a lot of fun at mine," Hammy smiled. "Did you not have a date?"

Andy laughed, "Niko asked me. It just didn't seem that exciting."

Hammy shook her head, "I told you Niko liked you."

"He never got the memo that I didn't like him," Andy smirked.

"Well, you look great," Hammy looked her sister over.

"You do too," Andy smiled before finishing her outfit off with a necklace. She followed her sister out of the room to meet up with their friends.

Stinger fidgeted nervously, shifting from foot to foot. He stopped as he saw Lucky and Kotaro hiding smiles. "I hate this idea. You two stop laughing."

"We just want to see you have fun, Aniki," Kotaro tried to stop himself from giggling.

"Unh huh. You like watching me suffer more like." Stinger ran a hand through his hair. "Where is she?"

"They'll be here soon," Lucky assured.

Raptor, Hammy, and Andy appeared down the hall laughing. Andy paused when she noticed Stinger. She gave him a smile before looking back to Raptor who was still talking.

Stinger straightened when he saw Andy. He returned the smile as his nervousness vanished.

After all that had happened she was still with him. Amazing. Just like the way she looked.

"Hey. Are you ready?" Andy smiled, approaching Stinger.

He took a deep breath and nodded as he took her arm. "As I'll ever be."

"You look great."

He shrugged. "Not as good as you."

She blushed in response.

.

He kissed her cheek.

Andy followed her friends into the big ball room. She noticed the star shaped decorations and disco balls lighting up the room spotting the rest of the Kyurangers.

Stinger excused himself when he saw Shou and Tsurugi. Moving over to them, he waited for the Dragon to open the dance. He chatted with them for a few minutes before heading back to Andy.

Andy held her hand out after standing up from her seat, "Care to dance?"

Stinger smiled and took her hand. "Only with you."

Andy lead him to the dance floor, "Are you having fun so far?"

Stinger snorted. "Fun is not the word I would use. But it's tolerable with you."

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad," Andy smirked.

"I think I'd rather face Don Armage again. Except for this part."

Andy rolled her eyes and kept dancing with him.

He smirked at her.

"Well, I'm glad that everyone came and we can have fun with all of our friends," Andy smiled, "but I wouldn't mind just focusing on you all night."

Stinger raised his eyebrows. "Wanna sneak out?"

She laughed and was about to answer when she noticed Shou approaching.

"I hate to break you two lovebirds up, but I need to borrow Stinger."

Stinger kissed Andy's cheek, then followed the Dragon to a quiet area.

"Sir?"

Shou sighed. "An old informant just contacted us. He has information on Jark Matter's next attack. He'll only talk to you though."

Stinger's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

The Dragon shrugged. "Something about owing you one. Your Voyager is ready to go. Coordinates have been inputted."

Stinger saluted. "Okyu."

Andy headed back to the table and sat next to Hammy. She kept an eye out for Stinger throughout the night but tried to have fun with the others. She danced with Hammy and Kotaro a few times but finally the night was coming to an end.

"Are you coming?" Hammy asked as the others started to head back to their rooms on the ship.

Andy shook her head, "I'll be there in a bit. I'm going to wait for Stinger a bit longer."

Hammy shook her head, "Have fun then."

Andy left the ballroom and headed out to one of the balconies. She looked out at the planet headquarters was located on. She explored it plenty of times while she was there training, and missed the beautiful gardens nearby. Sitting on one of the chairs, she finally looked up and stared at the stars.

"Sorry I didn't get back sooner."

Andy glanced over and noticed Stinger in the doorway, "Shou said you had a meeting?"

"Yeah. I got the information…barely." He leaned on the doorway as he spoke.

Andy got up and went over to him, "What happened?"

Stinger shrugged. "Informant had a Jark Matter tail and didn't know it. We got rid of it. I sent the info to Shou and Tsurugi already."

"Are you alright?" She looked up at him worried.

"I'll live. No need to worry."

"I always worry about you, Stinger." She took his hand and led him to the chairs, "let me see what injuries you're hiding this time."

He tried to grin at her as he sat down, but it morphed into a grimace. He kept his other hand firmly on his side.

She sat next to him and focused her energy on him, "Nothing looks deadly at least..."

"Told you. I'll just bandage it." He tried to rise.

Andy gently pushed him back into the seat, "just because I said it's nothing deadly doesn't mean I'm not going to help you bandage and heal it." She met his eyes, "I can tell you have a decent sized wound in your side. Do you want me to stitch it here or go back to the infirmary?"

He grumbled but finally told her "The infirmary I guess." He closed his eyes.

"Come on then," She stood and held a hand out, "it won't take too long once we get there."

He sighed and took it, rising slowly. He stumbled but recovered quickly. He leaned on her for a minute.

She slid her arm around his waist, "We don't have to rush."

He shook his head. "I'm okay. Let's go."

She walked with him to the infirmary, going slow when she thought he needed a break. After helping him onto an infirmary bed she prepped the supplies, "It'll only take a few minutes. I can do some extra healing on it after I get it stitched."

He nodded tiredly, his eyes slipping closed. His hand relaxed from gripping his side.

She pulled up his shirt and started cleaning the wound. Quickly sewing it, she recleaned it then focused her energy into healing. Her hands glowed as she worked her jutsu. After a couple minutes, "You might be a little sore for a day, but it's fine now. I'll take the stitches out in a couple of days."

He doesn't respond.

She shook his arm gently, "Stinger? Do you really want to sleep here in the infirmary all night?"

He frowns. "Rather sleep with you...but not sure I can get to my quarters."

Andy smiled, "Well, either scoot over so I can get on the bed too, or we could go to my room which is closer and get out of these blood stained clothes?"

He blinked his eyes open and looked down at himself. "That sounds better actually." Raising up, he paused and shut his eyes. "As soon as the room settles that is."

"Like I said earlier, we aren't in a rush," she grabbed his arm, "just take your time."

He nodded, breathing slowly. After a few minutes he carefully climbed off the bed.

"Do you want me to help you shower or just wipe up any blood I missed?" She led him into the hall.

He pondered her question. "As much as I would love a shower, there's no way I can do one without ending back here."

His color was better, but he was obviously not at full strength.

She unlocked her door and helped him to the bed. She came back a minute later with a wet washcloth. After helping him get his shirt off she cleaned off the blood she missed earlier.

He smiled sleepily at her. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

She smiled back, "just being you."

He chuckled. "Can't be that. My luck is such I'd end up with Balance."

Andy laughed, "Balance isn't bad. Plus, I'm pretty sure Naga already has him claimed." She stood up to put the washcloth in the laundry, "At least we got one dance tonight. And you managed to find a way to skip the dance like you wanted."

Stinger shook his head. "Would actually have preferred the dance. And I wanted to get back before it was over. I'm really sorry."

"It's fine. If Shou stays Supreme Commander, I'm sure we'll have another dance eventually."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "I'd rather have a private dance. When I can actually move though."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Andy smirked. She sat next to him, "In the meantime though, would you mind unzipping my dress?"

He grinned. "I think I can manage that." He slowly unzipped the garment, kissing her shoulders as he did so. "You looked amazing tonight by the way."

She blushed before chuckling, "Thanks. You did too, until you got in a fight." She turned around and met his lips with hers.

He kissed her softly. "Thanks. Bed?"

She stood again, slipped out of her dress, and turned off the light before climbing into bed next to him. "I love you."

He wrapped his arms around her as his tail did the same to her leg. "I love you too. Forever."

She smiled as she cuddled closer into him, "Sweet dreams."

He murmured something unintelligible, his breathing already evening out.

She smiled as she started drifting to sleep too.


	5. Prequel 1

"Andy, wake up," the teen heard her mother knocking on her door.

Rolling over she groaned out, "I'll be up in a minute." She looked over and noticed her sister was gone. Quickly getting dressed she headed down the stairs.

"You're going to be late," her mother scolded before handing her a bag. "Get going."

Andy looked at her mom, "Thank you." She rushed out the door not looking back.

She slid into her seat just as the teacher started taking attendance. Zoning out she twirled her long brown hair with her fingers as she stared out the window.

"Andaka?" She finally looked up and noticed the teacher staring right at her.

"Yes, sir?"

"We've started going over the homework from yesterday. I asked what you got for the second problem."

"Oh!" Andy pulled out a folder and finally got to the assignment. After reading off her answer, which was correct, she went back to staring out the window.

"What is so interesting out there?" A boy with light blonde hair questioned.

Andy shrugged, "I can't explain it, Niko. But something big is going to happen today."

Niko rolled his eyes and went back to listening to the teacher.

About an hour later an announcement came through the overcomm, "Students are to head to the cafeteria. All level 3 and higher teachers come to the office."

Niko looked over at Andy confused, "That thing you are sensing, is it good or bad?"

Andy shook her head, "I don't know. I just know it'll be big."

The students stared at the teachers while whispering to themselves trying to figure out what was happening. Eventually one of the village elders came in and read off a list of names, "You come with me. Everyone else stay here."

Andy and Niko followed the few others that were called.

The elder, Aggie, took them to a classroom, "Listen up. This is serious. You are in the top of your class and are almost full-fledged ninjas. Jark Matter has finally reached our planet and we need support. All active ninja are out in the field fighting them but we need back up. Don't take anyone head on if you can. Go supply weapons, help with the basic first aid, and please stay alive."

The teens looked at each other in confusion before finally jumping into action.

Andy headed out and supplied new weapons to those she could. Finally, though, she ran into Hammy.

"Are you ok?" Hammy asked quickly pulling her out of the danger zone.

"Yeah, a few of us were sent out to help."

Hammy shook her head, "The weirdest thing happened. I found this," she held up a small globe looking item. "This dragon looking guy came and gave me this blaster," she showed the seiza blaster on her arm. "He said reinforcements are coming but I have to stick with him and his team until then. He says I'm a Kyuranger, Andy."

Andy's eyes widened, "Aren't they a legend?"

"I thought so too, but the things he and his team have shown me make it feel so real."

"What does this mean then?"

"I think I have to go for a while. His reinforcements will be here soon to help keep the village safe. Take care," Hammy kissed her sister's forehead before disappearing. Andy shook her head and went back to helping.

"'Daka!" Avery jumped down next to her, "Come on, Aggie wants you in the infirmary."

Andy gave a small nod and followed her older brother to the infirmary.

"We have a lot of injured ninja's young one," Aggie looked at her, "I think you'd be helpful with healing."

"What do you need me to do?" She worked with no sleep for a few days straight, trying to master the healing jutsu's Aggie taught her. Aggie worked with the other medics and cared for everyone who came through their door.

"We need people to transport the injured here," a man yelled in.

"You three go help who you can," Aggie pointed at her and two others.

Andy rushed out into the battlefield and looked for injured, but living, ninjas. She froze when she spotted her father on the ground. Rushing to his side she let a tear drop from her eyes. "I'll get you to the infirmary."

"There's others to care for first," he ordered.

She was about to argue with him when she heard a groan behind her. She watched her mom fall to the ground.

"We need a medic over here!" Andy yelled but no one came to her aid.

"It's ok sweetie," her mom coughed. "It'll be ok."

Andy shook her head as more tears started streaming down her face. She focused her energy into her dad trying to save him but she it wasn't working.

"I'm not going to make it, hun." He spoke softly.

"I don't think I will either," her mom sighed.

"Don't leave me. Please, you can't leave," Andy begged, choking out sobs.

"Listen to me… this is the life of a ninja. This is what happens in war. We died helping protect our people and that is what matters," her mom assured.

She kept crying listening to them talking until finally it was silent. She looked up and saw them, almost looking peaceful. She heard a boom behind her shaking the ground before she blacked out.

When she awoke, she found herself in her room. Looking around she remembered what happened and raced down the stairs.

"Avery?" She looked worried at her brother sitting at the table.

"Come here," he ordered before wrapping her into a hug. "Hammy is safe for now, but she had to go somewhere. I don't know when she'll make it back home…"

Andy nodded, "She told me."

"But it's just you and me now, Andy. I'm going to protect you the best I can. I know I can't replace them, but I will be here for you."

Andy started crying again. After a massive funeral, and a week of crying, she finally found herself back at the infirmary.

"How are you, young one?" Aggie gave a sad smile.

"I want to keep training here. I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Even if you learn how to heal, I can't promise you won't lose anyone. But I will teach you."

She spent the next few years focusing on healing while completing combat training with Avery. She wanted to make sure that next time, she could better fight for her people and protect the ones she had left.


	6. An Engagement and A Wedding

Stinger, Andy, and Champ were sitting around the bridge talking when Champ noticed a light, "We have a call coming in."

"Answer it," Stinger stood in front of the screen. He watched as Shou Ronpo's face suddenly appeared. "How can we help you, Supreme Commander?"

"There's a planet looking to join the Space Federation. They're a peaceful people, so everything should go smoothly. You're closest to them though, which is why I'm sending you to speak to them and finalize any details," Shou spoke.

Stinger groaned. "Send the coordinates to Champ. We'll let you know."

A few seconds later Champ announced he had the coordinates and had plotted a course.

"Anything you'd like me to do?" Andy grabbed a tablet and pulled up information about the planet. "It looks nice, maybe we could spend a day or two there after you meet with them?"

Stinger shrugged. "Would be nice to relax a bit. Why don't you explore and I'll meet you after the negotiations are finished?"

"Sounds good. It looks like there's a few mountains. I wonder if they have any places as nice as the Outlook..." She trailed off in her reading. She finally spoke again a few minutes later, "I wonder if Balance knows anyone from here. They specialize in nanotechnology. Seems like something he'd be into."

Stinger swore under his breath as he read about the government. "I'm going to kill his scaly butt when we get back."

Champ chuckled, "Why this time?"

Stinger growled. "Highly bureaucratic."

"You get through meetings fine every time. This'll be just the same," Champ assured.

"And you can just think of all the fun we'll have afterward. That might help you through it," Andy reminded.

Stinger looked downcast. "Can't I just shoot them if I get annoyed? Like with the ohitsuji kyutama, not my blaster." He quickly added as Andy glared.

"Are you sure you don't want me going with to keep you in line?" Andy's glare soon turned into a smirk.

Stinger grinned wryly. "No, Champ will come along. There's no reason why you have to be miserable too. Have some fun."

"If you insist," she smiled over at him.

The next day, they arrived at a small planet.

"Let me know if you need anything," Andy ordered Stinger. "I'll send you my coordinates when you get done."

Stinger nodded, kissing her. "Maybe we could go camping again?"

"If that's what you want to do." She turned to start walking down a trail nearby, "Have fun."

Stinger stared after her for a minute, then turned back to Champ. "Come on. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can relax."

They made their way to the Prime Minister's residence and announced themselves. Soon they were sitting in his office as the secretary busied herself making tea.

"Thank you for coming," the Prime Minister greeted as he sat down. "It's so great to finally meet a couple of the legendary Kyurangers."

Stinger smiled. "We're glad to be here. Why did you wait so long to join the Federation?"

Champ moo-ed softly at the lie.

"Jark Matter never seemed interested in us, so we thought the war might end before having to deal with it. However, I've gotten reports of Jark Matter heading out into this sector and so we thought we'd offer up some of our technology as a trade for help in keeping our planet safe," the Prime Minister informed.

The secretary poured out tea for the three and passed the cups around.

Stinger accepted it while considering the statement. "I will certainly speak to my superiors. We are trying to eradicate the last of Jark Matter but some of the members are more stubborn than others. We will protect you even if your application gets denied. No one will have to live under their rule. That's a promise."

He sipped his tea as the Minister spoke. "Thank you for your kindness."

He suddenly felt a wave of sleepiness wash over him. Staring into his nearly empty cup, he came to the realization of what was happening. Trying to replace the cup on the Minister's desk, the Sasori Kyuranger noticed his hand shaking. "You…"

He attempted to stand but his legs gave way and he grabbed onto the chair he'd been seated on.

"Champ!" His voice was weak, his eyesight dimming.

"Aibou!" Champ looked over and noticed his, and the Minister's, tea was untouched, "Did you drug the tea?"

A few guards entered the room, trying to grab Stinger. Champ quickly picked him up and fought his way out the door, calling his voyager to escape.

Arriving back on the Orion, Champ supported the semi-conscious Stinger. "Have...to contact Andy. Might not be the …. only target." The Sasori warrior went limp as Champ sighed.

Meanwhile, Andy fought the ties that were placed on her wrists. She had just left to start climbing one of the mountains when she was caught up in a trap. She was then dragged to a cell.

Champ was on the bridge staring at screens when Stinger finally woke enough to stumble back there. Champ looked up, "I've tried contacting Andy multiple times. I've also tried tracking her seiza blaster but it's gone offline."

Stinger looked miserable. "Have you contacted Supreme Commander yet?"

"I did as soon as we made it back here," Champ looked back to the screens. "There's also no one in the near vicinity, so if we need backup it won't be here for a few days."

Stinger looked pained. "So we're the only ones standing between Andy and whatever is planned for her. I knew this assignment was trouble." He rubbed his temple as he held onto the handrail for support.

"I'm sure she's putting up a fight and giving them trouble," Champ assured. "Do we want to wait a couple days for backup and hope she's fine or go in guns blazing and fight our way to her?"

Stinger gave him a look. "You should know the answer to that." He carefully maneuvered his way to one of the couches, laying down with a groan.

"I know, I just was checking to see if the drugs made you think rationally," Champ chuckled. "We'll head out as soon as you recover."

Stinger stuck his tongue out. "I'm fine. Just keep trying to locate her signal."

Andy kicked out at her captors, "What do you want with me?"

A woman smirked, "We don't really care about you. We're paid to do this. But if it helps, I think I heard something about giving you up to Jark Matter."

Andy kept trying to kick at them, before thinking of a better idea. She paused and focused her energy into making a clone who quickly punched the woman. Jumping up, the woman pulled out a baton and quickly hit the clone making it disappear. "Well now that we know you can do that, don't think you'll be staying awake. We don't need you alive, but you might end up being useful to us if you are."

She approached and hit Andy a few times, finishing with a whack to the head. She tried to fight the spinning and nausea that suddenly hit her, as she remembered Stinger. Her last thoughts before losing consciousness were hoping he was safe.

Onboard the Orion, Stinger had finally recovered enough that Champ was comfortable letting him aid the rescue mission.

"I told you I was fine. Did you get her signal yet?"

"No. There's nothing," Champ shook his head. "I did track the route she was heading though so we should probably start there."

Stinger nodded and headed for his Voyager.

Landing near where Andy had separated from them, the Sasori warrior waited for Champ to exit.

"Lead the way, aibou," Champ handed him the map.

Stinger rolled his eyes but inclined his head and set off. They tracked her route to the first mountain where it went cold.

"Now what?"

"I guess we search around. There's a few places nearby that were giving off heat signatures, so it would likely be one of them," Champ took the tablet back, pulled up a different map, and then handed it back. "You pick which one you want to start with."

"This one is the closest. They might not want to take her far depending on their orders and whether they dosed her with what I was given."

Champ nodded and they made their way to the first location. The place looked abandoned and as soon as Stinger saw it he knew he'd been wrong. "Where's the next location?"

"About half a mile north."

They slowly approached the location, scrambling to avoid the sentries.

Stinger looked at Champ. "Think we found her. Get ready."

The android rolled his eyes but followed his partner around the back.

Champ caught a glimpse through a window, "I see Andy. There's not many people here though."

Stinger smiled wolfishly. "Then this will be easy. We rescue her and then I beat the crap out of that duplicitous prime minister."

"I'll take them down, you wake her," Champ suggested before rushing through the door.

"I thought I gave the orders around here."

Stinger cautiously headed for the cell. Hearing the guards yell, the Sasori Kyuranger fired on the lock and knelt beside Andy.

"Andy? Time to wake up. Your Prince Charming is here to rescue you." He shook her gently.

Andy felt the world spinning before she even opened her eyes, "Stinger?" She tried to focus on him and sit up but quickly swayed, falling against him.

"Andy? Take it easy. Hold on to me." He cradled her as he heard Champ come in. "We need to get her back to the Orion. Guards?"

"Most are just unconscious. They should be out a while though," Champ answered.

"Can you stand?" Stinger carefully helped Andy up. "Pretty sure you're going to be in the infirmary this time."

"I'll try." Andy tried to steady herself.

"Let's go then," Champ spoke, heading out of the cell.

Stinger slowly walked her out, steadying her when her knees tried to buckle. "Just go as slow as you need."

They got a few steps out of the building before hearing a voice behind them, "You didn't really think we'd let her go so easily, did you?" A man smirked.

"I thought you took care of them," Stinger growled to Champ.

"I did. He wasn't one of them."

"No, I was elsewhere, keeping an eye on everything," the man gave a creepy grin.

"It shouldn't be too hard to take one more out though," Champ spoke.

"Oh, you have to take out more than me you know," he pulled out a remote and pressed a button. "We've been testing a new type of nanoparticle which can turn people into mindless slaves. While that girl was out, we injected her with some. Do you really think you can fight her?"

Andy straightened up and pushed Stinger away from her.

"Andy?" Stinger stared at her blank eyes. "Fight this Andy…." He turned to the man and snarled, lengthening his tail and swinging it.

The man dodged with a chuckle. "You shouldn't take your eyes off her you know."

The Sasori warrior barely avoided a punch that would have taken his head off but was too slow to dodge the follow up which slammed into his chest. He went down hard, the breath driven from his lungs. He tried to recover as Andy leaned over and reached for him. He struggled in vain as she clamped a hand around his throat and squeezed.

Champ dove forward, using his weight to knock her off of Stinger. Champ grabbed Stinger's hand and picked him back up, "I'll take her, you destroy that remote and see if it stops her."

Stinger nodded wordlessly, hand massaging his throat. He turned and attacked the man, trying to wrest the remote from him. The man just grinned and backhanded the Scorpion to the ground. As Stinger shook his head, the man kicked him so hard he lifted and slammed into the ground. Stinger gasped, but rolled to his feet. "I'm going to get that remote. Then I'm going to rip you into little pieces."

The man laughed tauntingly. "What happened to using your poison?"

Stinger growled. "I use that on enemies I like." He kicked the remote out of his hand and stomped on it. Stinger stalked toward the man, hoping it had been enough to stop Andy's rampage. Otherwise he might have to do something he'd regret.

"Aibou, it's getting hard to just keep blocking her attacks!" Champ yelled. He grabbed onto Andy and tried to hold her still before noticing the broken remote, "You'll have to do something else to stop her. I brought this in case we needed it, but I wasn't expecting to have to use it on one of our team." Champ pulled out a kyutama, "I think an electric shock might stop the nanoparticles."

He held onto the kyutama as Andy broke free and started attacking him once more.

"What?!" Stinger froze, allowing the man to knee him in the stomach and flee. "Are you serious Champ?" The Scorpion turned to see Andy kicked Champ back. "Dammit! Fine toss it to me!"

"She'd rather get hurt than hurt us. You know that. It might be the only way to stop her." Champ tossed it. "Let me know when you're ready and I'll get clear."

Stinger loaded the kyutama and flipped down the trigger of his blaster. "Now Champ!"

As the bull rolled out of danger, he looked at Andy's blank stare and fired. "I'm sorry."

A lightning bolt appeared, emitting a high intensity shock into her. As she crumpled, Stinger raced to her side. "Andy?"

She was unmoving for a few seconds before sucking in a deep breath. She clutched her chest in pain, unable to focus on anything around her.

"Hold on Andy! Champ is taking you back to the Orion." As the bull called his Voyager, Stinger couldn't hold back the tears. "I'm so sorry. "He looked up as Champ reached for her gently. "Don't let her die." He watched them disappear and then his face hardened. He stalked toward the building, looking for the man who'd held the remote.

Twenty minutes later he conceded defeat. With a guttural yell, he summoned his Voyager and headed for the Prime Minister's office. The man had questions to answer.

"I got here as fast as I could," Raptor entered the infirmary. "I'm glad the Supreme Commander called me to come back a couple days ago."

"I need to go after Stinger," Champ spoke.

"I'll take care of her," Raptor started scanning Andy to assess the injuries. After realizing she was stable, Raptor took a blood sample to analyze for the nanoparticles.

Stinger broke down the door to the mercenary's safe house. The Prime Minister had been quick to give him up after being threatened with the Scorpion's venom. Now it was the merc's turn to feel his wrath. The Kyuranger paused as he realized the room was empty. He turned back toward the door as he considered what action to take.

Suddenly a jolt of pain burst across the back of his head and he could feel himself falling. Seconds before he blacked out, he heard "I guess you want a taste of what your girlfriend got don't you."

When he awoke, he was securely strapped to a table. He tested the restraints but they held fast.

Stinger hissed as the mercenary appeared with another remote. "It won't work on me. I won't give in as easy as Andy did."

The mercenary laughed. "Oh this isn't the same kind of nanotech we used on her. This is one of my own design. I use it on troublesome clients who don't pay their bills." He pressed the button.

Stinger screamed as he had the feeling of being slowly ripped apart. He panted as the merc turned it off. "I'm really going to kill you now."

The man laughed. "I very much doubt that. This is just a taste of things to come."

He depressed the button again.

Champ rushed into the room, seeing Stinger thrashing on the table. "Make it stop," Champ grabbed the man.

The man flipped a switch on the remote before smashing it against the wall behind him, "There's nothing you can do to stop it now."

Champ punched him in the face, quickly knocking him out.

Champ looked over at Stinger, remembering the kyutama which was now back in his possession. He grabbed it quickly, "Sorry, aibou." He fired it and watched as lightning struck Stinger, stopping his movements.

He moved to Stinger's side, ripping the restraints off as he checked for signs of life.

The Scorpion was shallowly breathing, his face almost white. His eyes frantically looked at Champ, then slid closed as his head rolled to the side.

Champ carried him back to his voyager and then carried him into the infirmary.

Raptor was sitting at a computer typing quickly. She looked up for a second before back at the screen, "Set him on a bed. I'm trying to reprogram these nanoparticles." He watched her for another minute before she finally turned around. "I wrote up a program for the particles that should focus them to healing Andy. I also made a solution which should dissolve the particles so they can't be used again."

"He was hit with them too. A different type though."

She nodded, "I just have to find the frequency they are running on and I can set those to heal Stinger too."

Champ nodded and watched her keep working.

Andy woke up feeling sore. She looked around and noticed Stinger in the next bed over. She tried to remember what happened, when it all came back to her. She knew she wasn't in control of her body before, but she had seen everything happening in front of her.

She pushed herself up out of bed and went to analyze Stinger. She was confused at what she saw in his body.

Andy found her way down to the bridge.

Raptor and Champ looked up when the door opened. "You aren't supposed to be up yet."

"Raptor?"

"Hey," she stood and headed toward Andy. "I know you. You want to know about the nanoparticles?"

"Is that what that was?"

"They're healing him. Just as they are healing you. Don't worry though, we'll destroy them so they can't be a threat again."

"What happened to him? After I..." Andy looked at Champ.

"He went off on his own again." Champ stated. "You know how he is. He got particles in him too, but they were different. He'll be fine though."

Andy nodded slowly.

"Let's get you checked out," Raptor led her back to the infirmary.

After being released, she headed to her room and stared at the ceiling trying to get the memories out of her head.

Stinger regained consciousness with a groan. Looking over he saw an empty bed. His vitals spiked, leading to a monitor nearby to begin wailing. As he tried to breathe, Raptor and Champ rushed in.

"Calm down, aibou." Champ came to his side.

"Everything is fine, Commander." Raptor added.

Stinger's breathing slowed but his eyes were still panicky. "Andy? Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's in her room," Raptor assured. "At least she was a couple hours ago when I checked on her."

"The nanoparticles?"

"The ones in her have been destroyed. I've had them working on healing you though. If you are doing well enough I'll destroy the ones in you too. There's a solution that will get rid of them but it'll be safe for you." Raptor explained.

Stinger finally calmed down, realizing he was exhausted. But he had one more question. "What happened to the mercenary? And the Prime Minister?"

"They're taken care of," Champ assured. "They're going to answer to the federation."

Stinger nodded eyes closing against his will. Within seconds he was asleep again.

Champ looked at Raptor. "Are you sure he's okay?"

Raptor scanned over him again, "He looks to be healing." She double checked, "I think he just needs more time. He was severely injured."

The next time Stinger woke, he felt much better. The feeling intensified as Andy moved into his field of vision. "Hi beautiful."

"Hey. How are you feeling?" She spoke quietly but smiled at him.

"Better now that I've seen you. You are okay right?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little tired."

He sat up, swinging his legs over the bed. "Go rest. I have a report to file with Supreme Commander."

"Are you sure you're feeling good enough for that?"

"Does it matter? I have responsibilities. I can't stay in here."

"Champ and Raptor can handle responsibilities for a while longer," Andy insisted.

He looked at her quietly. He was about to speak when his legs gave out.

"Hey, come on, you need rest."

He sags against her as she helps him back on the bed. He's asleep before his head touches the pillow.

She scanned him quickly, making sure he was still fine. She gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before heading to her room again.

Stinger saw a group of indavers between Andy and him. He kept fighting his way toward her but she kept getting farther away. "Andy!" He stung multiple indavers and kicked down dozens of others.

Andy rushed down to the infirmary when she got a call from Champ and Raptor. She noticed Stinger trying to sting them.

"Stinger. Calm down. I'm right here," she spoke calmly while holding her hands out. "It's alright."

His eyes finally focused on her as he fully woke up.

"Andy?" His voice was soft, his eyes haunted.

"Hey, it's ok," she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"There were indavers keeping us apart. You kept getting farther away. I was fighting but I couldn't get close."

"It was a nightmare," she rubbed his back and held him close, "I'm right here with you."

Stinger froze at her words. "Did I hurt anyone? I've hurt people before during my nightmares. Tell me I didn't hurt anyone." He began to panic.

"Everyone is fine." She assured. "I think they just went into the hall." She rested her head on him, "They called me down here to help."

Stinger took a deep breath. "Sorry." He smiled at her. "I probably should go to my room."

"It's fine. Nightmares happen." She looked up at him, "Did you want company in case you have another one?"

He gave her a hug. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

She followed him to his room, "How are you feeling? I mean...outside of the nightmare?"

Stinger touched the keypad. "Better. Think that's why it happened…. This time." He waved her inside. "It looks like whatever Raptor did worked like a charm." He began to change into his sleep clothes.

"What do you mean this time?"

Stinger continued dressing after a brief pause. "I have issues with nightmares when I sleep alone. When I'm in the infirmary I'm usually too injured to have dreams. This was actually the first time it's happened there."

"If you only have trouble when you sleep alone...you are always welcome in my room," Andy gave a small smile as she sat on the bed. "I want to be here to help you. Even if it's just to sleep next to."

Stinger gave her an exaggerated wink. "I may need help more often." He sat down beside her and entwined their hands. "You're way too good for me you know that?"

"I love you. I just don't want to see you hurting," Andy sighed. "I'm a healer, I can heal broken bones and stab wounds... but I can't really heal minds haunted by bad memories... If I could take all of your pain away I would."

He kissed her hand. "I know. Trust me you do so much for me. Both physically and mentally."

He pulls her into bed as she giggles. "Time to rest." He lowered the lights, curling up beside her.

She rested her head on him and listened to his breathing relax to a slow and steady pace. She soon drifted off to sleep.

Andy found herself back on the planet. She wasn't in control of her body. Focusing hard she tried to take control but it was no use. She suddenly saw Stinger in front of her, her hand reaching out to grab him. She felt her fingers wrap around his throat and squeeze. She saw him stop moving, the light dying out of his eyes just like Avery's did when he died. She finally felt in control of her body, her throat aching as a scream ripped out.

"Andy! Wake up!" She could feel arms enveloping her body and she lashed out, her nails clawing at her attacker.

She was breathing heavy as she tried to pull the arms away but finally she realized who's arms they were. She looked up through teary eyes, "Stinger?"

"Thank the gods." The lights came up and she gasped.

Stinger had claw marks on his cheek and his eye was beginning to darken. "Thought you were going to claw my eye out before I got you awake."

"I'm so sorry," more tears streamed from her eyes before she held a hand up to his face, trying to focus on healing him.

He lowered her hand. "You need to calm down. Don't worry about this. I'm fine."

She shook her head, "I hurt you... I have to help..."

Stinger looked at her with a fond smile. "You need to relax before you do anything else." He released her hand and gave her a hug.

She took a deep breath, "Sorry... I'm fine." She wiped away the tears. She assured, "I'm fine."

Stinger gave her an unbelieving look. "What was it about?"

She shook her head, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

He frowned. "I told you mine. It's only fair you tell me yours." He winced and got out of bed. "I better take care of this."

She stared down at her hands, shaking as she remembered the nightmare as well as the reality that fueled it.

He returned, a bandage over the injury and caught her staring. "Andy? Was the dream about Avery?" He reseated himself beside her.

She kept looking down and slowly shook her head. "I... I know I attacked you when the nanoparticles were in my system..." She went quiet again as tears welled up in her eyes again.

Stinger gently wrapped his arms around her. "That was NOT you. I know it wasn't. You can't blame yourself. The only ones to blame will get the punishment they deserve if Tsurugi has anything to do with it."

"What if I killed you though? Even if it wasn't me exactly, it was my body. I saw and felt all of it..." She sighed, "I always have nightmares of losing people... my parents. Avery. You. And I can never save any of you... but this is the first time I see myself actively causing it..." Andy sobbed. "I just don't want to lose you."

Stinger tightened his arms. "You aren't going to. You haven't yet have you? Andy, even if I died for good, I would never blame you. Cause I know you would have tried everything to stop it. Come on. Back to bed."

"Even if you wouldn't blame me, I would..." She whispered before laying back down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

He kissed her nose. "You stopped me from poisoning the crew. Think we're even."

He brightened. "How about a vacation? We can go to Atria."

She tilted her head to look at him, "Really? I want to, but almost every time we plan for something fun, something bad happens to ruin it..."

Stinger winked. "We have to get some good luck sometime. It will be fine. We'll sunbathe on the beach, sleep late and relax."

"Ok...I hope you are right," she finally smiled, "thank you."

Next day or two?

"Don't worry, you two won't be the only ones having fun," Champ chuckled as he grabbed his bag, "I'll be on a different part of the planet."

"And I'll be here on the ship keeping an eye on things," Raptor informed.

"More like writing your fictions?" Andy smirked.

Raptor panicked a second before blurting out, "I can do both!"

"Let's get going then," Stinger nodded.

Andy watched as the planet came closer into view. Lots of water and sand were visible before she finally spotted the resort area.

A few days into their vacation, Andy found herself resting her head on Stinger's arm as they laid under an umbrella on the beach.

"I wish we went to planets with beaches more often," she sighed cuddling against him.

Stinger smiled. "Yeah. You would think with Jark Matter mostly gone we'd have more relaxation time."

"Do we really have to go back? Can't we just stay here forever?"

Stinger laughed. "I wish we could stay too. Definitely more appealing than Federation drama."

Andy sighed, "but of course we have to be responsible and go back..." She paused for a moment, "I know I signed myself up for this. I just hate war because there's so much I want to do with you, and what if one of us dies before we can do it all?"

Stinger glanced at her. "I wish I could say you're worried for nothing. But you're not. All I know is I want to spend all my time, however long that is, with you."

He pulled out a square velvet box and got down on one knee. "Andy, will you make me the happiest man in the universe and marry me?"

Andy looked at him shocked before looking down into the box and seeing a silver colored ring with a big turquoise gem sticking up in the middle. There was a circle of small clear diamonds shining around the big gem.

She felt her heart beating fast, "Really?"

After seeing him nod she tackled him into a hug, "Of course."

Stinger's face broke into a massive grin and he hugged her back tightly. "No matter what happens, I will always love you."

He looked into her eyes. "But we do have to return to the Orion in two days."

She was still smiling but her eyes showed a hint of sadness, "I know. I'll always love you too." She pulled him into a kiss, "I just wish we could go find somewhere safe to live and just spend every day focused on each other. Most of the team isn't on active duty, I wish we weren't either."

Stinger nodded. "As soon as the last remnants of Jark Matter are destroyed, I fully intend to resign and do just that. I've been fighting my whole life. I want some peace and quiet."

Andy laid back on the towel, "What were weddings like on your planet?"

Stinger grinned. "A lot of dancing."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Really? Even without Jark Matter our people are battling a lot, so often ours would be small ceremonies in case they'd have to go fight again. Big weddings take lots of planning that we never had time for."

"We had less elaborate ones than our elders did. But we rejoiced when a wedding was planned because it meant that a pair of young people had survived to adulthood. We had ritualistic dances for betrothal and the actual ceremony, then we just danced in celebration. I am just now becoming an adult, according to the elders if my planet hadn't been destroyed."

"Sounds nice. On my planet, once we've finished basic training and are classified as real ninja, we are considered adults. If we're old enough to fight for our village, we are old enough to choose our own paths. Though most don't marry until they are a bit older."

Stinger sighed. "Your planet doesn't have the same obstacles mine did. We had to battle it almost as much as Jark Matter. Not every child survived to adulthood which is 25. If you did, then you were given all rights and responsibilities, including marriage."

"Luckily, even though we had a lot of battles, the children were protected in the village while it was the adults out fighting. So most of our children live to adulthood, after that though their survival depends on how well they can fight."

Stinger smiled sadly. "We had to fight the planet to be able to grow food. Sometimes while the adults were working in the fields, the giant scorpions would rampage through the children's area and carry some away. There were nights that were so cold it would kill you just being outside. After Jark Matter invaded things got worse. Less food and shelter, more battles. One Malistrate we had enjoyed picking the strongest boys and forcing them to fight to the death with the threat of their families dying if they didn't. So when children survived it was cause for celebration."

"I'm sorry you great up in a place like that. I'm glad you survived though," she hugged him for a second before smirking, "but you do have to tell me...your planet had giant scorpions?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes. From what the elders recounted, a giant scorpion made a request of the gods. He asked for a different body and they granted his wish. From what Raptor has figured out, my ancestors evolved from the scorpions on our planet. The UV rays and the planet's radiation mutated certain strands of our DNA and caused evolution. That's why we have tails and poison as well as human characteristics."

He looked at her. "When I say giant, I don't mean larger than average either. I mean scorpions the size of ShiShi Voyager."

"Wouldn't your people, being from scorpions, get along with the actual scorpions? That sounds pretty terrifying..." she smiled, "the littlest part of me would want to try to tame one and ride it though." She started giggling.

Stinger smirked. "You'd think so but they were highly aggressive. Parents would threaten us when we were unruly in school with leaving us in one of the underground tunnels. As for taming one, a boy had the same idea the year before Jark Matter invaded. He somehow caught a baby one and raised it to adulthood. He did ride it, all around the village. One day, he didn't show up for training. An Elder dispatched a runner to his home. The runner returned white faced and refused to tell anyone but the Elder what he had discovered. The truth eventually came out though."

Andy stared at him for a second, "You can't just stop there. What happened?"

Stinger shrugged. "Apparently during the night, the scorpion completely destroyed the home. It tore apart the boy and his parents. We buried what we could find and an edict was given that any scorpion seen near the village was to be destroyed."

"That's terrible," Andy frowned. She stared out at the water for a few moments before asking, "It sounds like a horrifying planet, but I know it was your home. Do you miss it?"

Stinger looked out at the water. "I miss my people. My brother before he left. The planet? Not so much."

He smiled at her. "Race you to the water…."

She smirked and quickly pushed herself up, starting to run forward. She turned to look back at him, laughing.

He jumped up and began to chase her with a grin.

After they fell into the water together, Andy lost herself to her giggles. She finally caught her breath, "I love you."

Stinger brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I love you too. I can't imagine my life without you."

"Thank you for agreeing to let me join your team. If you didn't, we wouldn't be here with each other," Andy remembered.

Stinger chuckled. "I almost didn't. When Hammy suggested it, I was completely against it. But you have more than proven yourself as a fighter. And I wouldn't be here if you hadn't joined. Best decision of my life."

"You're the best decision of my life." Andy splashed water at him, "Well, we aren't on your planet or mine, so what do you want to do for our wedding?"

"Well…. Spada has to cater it, other than that I don't know. I thought I'd let you and the others plan the details."

"It's your wedding as much as mine, so I thought you and I could figure out the plans..." She gave a small smile, "I mean, unless you have too much paperwork to focus on, Commander." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"We both know Raptor does all the work and I just sign whatever she shoves in my face." Stinger laughs, splashing Andy back. "But I guess I can help…."

Andy and Stinger headed to the bridge when they arrived back on the ship.

"You have fun, aibou?" Champ greeted.

Stinger grinned. "Actually yeah. It helped that there were no interruptions."

Raptor shook her head, "Surprisingly it was quiet. However, I did just receive a report about a Jark Matter attack on a planet nearby, so we will need to look into that." She handed Stinger a tablet with the information pulled up. "Also, Kotaro arrived yesterday. I think he's in the kitchen."

Stinger brightened. "I'm a little hungry." He took the tablet and headed for the kitchen. When he entered, he found Kotaro chopping vegetables as Spada stirred something on the stove.

"Aniki!" Kotaro stepped away from the counter. "How are you?"

"Dinner will still be a bit," Spada informed as he kept stirring.

Stinger gave Kotaro a hug. "I'm fine. How's Jiro?"

"He's great. School was starting back up though, so he's going to be busy with that for a while."

Stinger ruffled his hair. "How is training going?"

"Fine. I've been trying to keep up on it while I was home..." Kotaro smiled. "But now that I'm here we could train together?"

Stinger gave him a smile. "You're on."

He sat down at the table, skimming through the tablet. His lips tightened as he read the report.  
"Why won't Jark Matter just give up?"

"They'll get the memo eventually," Spada assured as he moved a pan off the heat.

Andy entered the room and noticed Stinger's focus, "What's happening now?"

Stinger's tail was swishing back and forth as he growled. "They've started attacking planets that they didn't get to the first time around. Basic subjugation. The government has asked for our help. Problem is we have to split up."

"It'll be fine. We'll get down there, help the people, and be on our way in no time," Andy smiled trying to calm him.

"Yeah, we'll kick Jark Matter butt," Kotaro agreed.

Stinger was skeptical but smiled at their enthusiasm. "Be ready at 0800."

"Okyu," Kotaro nodded.

Spada passed plates around the table, "I'll make breakfast early then so we can eat before we head out."

"I'll repack my med supplies," Andy picked up her fork. "But if we aren't leaving 'til morning, do we want to have a team movie night or something? Get a last bit of fun in before we go back to fighting?"

Stinger exchanged a look with Kotaro. "What did you have in mind?"

Andy shrugged, "I don't know, I hadn't thought that far. Kotaro can pick the movie if we want to watch one."

Kotaro laughed, "Stinger doesn't like the movies I pick."

Andy rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Then we'll make him pick. Or force him to watch them anyway."

Stinger looks at them in alarm. "I'm going to regret this huh?"

"Probably," Andy nodded with a grin. "But you love us, so you'll have fun."

"Matter of opinion." Stinger tried to hide his smile. "I'll just suffer through whatever you guys want to watch I guess."

"Do you and Raptor want to join us?" Andy looked down at Spada.

"I'll talk to her," Spada smiled.

Andy and Kotaro went to set up the movie after dinner. They sat on the couch waiting for the others to arrive. Spada and Raptor came in carrying popcorn, and Champ even joined in.

"Are we going to have to drag him down here?" Kotaro looked over at Andy.

"If he's not here in five minutes, I'll go find him."

Stinger was in his office, trying to read through various reports. He kept glancing toward the door as he expected Andy any moment. He hoped she'd forgotten his agreement to the movie night earlier. He did not want to sit through some Earth animated film when he had a battle to plan.

Andy walked in and leaned on the doorframe. "Don't make the excuse that you have work to do, like you said before, Raptor does it all." She smirked at him, "I won't force you down there I guess...just know if you don't show up, Kotaro will be really sad..."

Stinger gave her a miserable look. "You play dirty you know." He rose and gave her a kiss.

"I don't really want to try to plan this fight truthfully. The terrain sucks for fighting. Let's go watch something mindless."

Andy grabbed his hand, "Come on then. Sometimes it's better to go in without much of a plan anyway." She sighed, "Just relax a bit longer."

They entered and sat on the couch next to Kotaro. The koguma kyuranger pressed play before digging into the popcorn.

Andy rested her head on Stinger as she watched the Disney symbol appear.

Stinger shook his head, of course it was Disney...

About halfway through, Andy glanced up at him and whispered, "it's not that bad, right?"

Stinger tried to scoff. "A blue singing genie?"

She stared at him a second, "I think you like it."

Stinger sighed. "All right, I surrender. It's funny." He grinned cheekily at her. "Maybe you should change your name to Jasmine?"

She chuckled and just raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's a compliment I swear." He put a hand over his heart. "Though I think you fight better."

Andy smiled, "That's not hard though. Most Disney princesses can't actually fight."

Stinger chuckled. "Elsa is an anomaly." He ate a handful of popcorn. "Thanks by the way. This is way better than raising my blood pressure reading intelligence reports."

"He made you watch Frozen too?" Andy smirked. "Mulan isn't technically a princess but she can fight too." Andy cuddled back against him, "I figured you'd have fun."

Stinger nodded. "I think I've seen most of these movies. Not sure if Kotaro just sees them as childhood fun or if he's attracted to the Princesses?"

Andy smiled, "He probably likes them because they remind him of home."

"I can understand that." Stinger slid down until his head lay in her lap.

She rubbed her fingers through his hair as she went back to watching the movie. When it was over she looked down at him, "Are you going to try to make a battle plan again or just go to bed?"

He shook his head. "Bed. Maybe before we head out my brain will cooperate."

She smiled, "Whose room are we staying in tonight? I already packed my bag so I'm ready to leave in the morning."

"Yours. Mine is too far."

She waited for him to move his head off of her before she stood and held a hand out for him. She winked, "Come on, then."

He got up and took her hand, following her.

After closing her door, she quickly changed into a tank top and shorts and climbed into bed waiting for him. "I can't wait until we won't have to worry about waking up and heading into battle. And we can wake up next to each other every morning without anything to worry about." She stared at the ring on her finger, "Thank you for choosing me."

Stinger climbed in next to her. "I can't wait either. And I had to choose you-Raptor's taken and your sister isn't my type." He grinned at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him before rolling over to kiss him.

He returned the kiss. "In all seriousness, I should be thanking you for choosing me. You could have run screaming at all my baggage and my insanity but you didn't."

"Well, I'm here to help you carry your baggage and to keep you sane."

He smiled and held her. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"I'd hope you'd stay strong and let your friends help you through it. I'm not the only one who cares about you. You have a whole team of friends behind you to help hold you up," she sighed. "But I'm going to fight hard to make sure both of us are still here by the end of the war."

Stinger kissed her hair. "I know, but I wouldn't want to survive if I lost you honestly. It would be too much."

"I know it would be hard, but I'd want you to find a new happiness. Promise me you'll try to keep living even if I'm gone?" She looked at him, "I want you to be happy whether I'm here or not."

Stinger sighed. "I wouldn't be able to be happy without you. But I'd try for your sake."

"Thank you," she kissed him again slowly, pressing her forehead against his as she pulled her mouth into a smile. "Let's not think about the what-ifs. We're both alive and together, and that's what's important right now."

He nodded and dimmed the lights as they held each other. He listened to her breathing relax, but sleep was a long time coming.

-Time skip-

"Andy! Open your eyes!" Stinger desperately tapped Andy's blood streaked face. "You promised you wouldn't die on me remember?"

She groaned as she tried to take a deep breath. Clutching her chest, she opened her eyes enough to see his worried face above her. "Not dead." She coughed out.

"Gods, Andy… you're going to give me a heart attack."

Her shaky hand lifted up slightly and started glowing, "Too bad I can't heal myself," she broke into a coughing fit before taking quick shallow breaths, "Get my bag."

Stinger scrambled for the bag, holding it open for Andy to see.

She tried to look into it but was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

"Just tell me what you need. It will keep you awake too."

She struggled to get a big enough breath to speak, "syringe?"

Stinger rummaged around for a minute, then produces one. He holds it up with a questioning look.

She felt her chest, finding a good location, "Stab it here."

Stinger's face paled. "Andy?"

"Just do it," she ordered with a whisper.

Stinger gave her an anguished look, but unwrapped it and did as she ordered.

"What now?"

She fought to reach it and pulled the top of the syringe. She suddenly took a deeper breath and removed the needle, "You need to close up this wound," she spoke a little clearer and pointed to a small hole she received from being stabbed. "It's sucking air into my chest."

Stinger got out the sutures, willing his hands to stop shaking. Neat stitches were quickly done and he sat back. "Is that better?"

She struggled to steady her hand as she tried to analyze what else was wrong. She winced as she felt a stabbing pain in her head.

"Andy? Talk to me." Stinger cradled her torso but she could feel him shaking.

She focused on her head, trying to find the cause of the pain. She let her hand drop a few seconds later. "Take a deep breath and calm down."

He tried to smile at her. "Once you're okay I'll calm down."

He growled as an explosion was heard in the distance. He forced the anger down. Andy needed him to be level headed. "What else can I do before I take you to the Orion?"

She shook her head, "Raptor can fix me up fine." She smiled, "I love you."

Stinger smiles softly and kisses her. "I love you too."

She closed her eyes, "Don't be alarmed if I pass out soon."

He took a deep breath. "I'll try not to."

He picked her up bridal style and headed for his Voyager. When they arrived, Andy was unconscious. Forcing panic down, Stinger touched his com.

"Everyone, pull back to the Orion. Get any injured to the infirmary."

He climbed in and set course back to the ship.

Raptor was waiting in the voyager bay when Stinger landed. She saw him carry out Andy, "Get her to the infirmary." She followed right behind and then started scanning the girl. "Wait for the others and start first aid on them if they are injured. I need to start surgery for her."

"Surgery!? How bad is she?"

"She has a brain hemorrhage," Raptor grabbed supplies. "Hopefully if I get in there and stop it, she'll be fine. It'll take some time to tell though."

Stinger's face went pale and he stumbled out of the infirmary. He somehow found himself in the Voyager Bay as the others landed. He saw Spada and Kotaro helping a battered Champ out of his Voyager. "Ch-Champ?"

"Aibou," Champ spoke weakly.

Stinger crossed to them. "How bad?" He tried to keep his voice calm.

"Nothing a lot of wiring can't fix..." Champ almost fell over but Spada caught him.

"He took a pretty bad hit," Kotaro informed.

"Take care of him." Stinger looked at Kotaro.

Kotaro looked at him confused, "Are you going somewhere?"

Champ looked over, "Aibou, what's wrong?" He could see the panic in the Sasori warrior's eyes.

Stinger shook his head. "Andy...she's…."

"Is she still alive?" Kotaro looked worried.

Stinger nodded slowly. "Raptor's operating on her now." He looked at the floor dazedly.

"I know Raptor is doing the best she can to keep her alive," Spada assured. "Let's all head to the infirmary. Ok?"

Stinger appeared not to hear him, not moving from where he was standing.

Kotaro grabbed his arm, "Come on, Aniki." He kept an eye on Spada and Champ as he led Stinger down the hall.

Stinger blinked slowly, suddenly realizing Kotaro was leading him towards the infirmary.

"Kotaro?"

"It's going to be ok. I'm sure you haven't been checked out yet, so I'm going to make sure you're not hiding injuries like you normally do..." Kotaro trailed off as he pulled Stinger through the infirmary door.

Stinger shook his head. "I'm not hurt... I don't think I am anyway. How's Andy?" He looked over to where Raptor was still operating. His face fell and his eyes welled with tears, stumbling into Kotaro.

Kotaro pushed Stinger onto a bed and grabbed a scanner.

Raptor spoke up, "I got the bleeding to stop. I'm finishing up now and then we'll just have to wait and see how she is when she wakes."

Kotaro stared at the scanner, "Aniki?"

Stinger opened his eyes. When had he closed them and why were they so heavy?

"What is it, Kotaro?"

"It looks like you were shot..." Kotaro rescanned him. "It must have hit just right so you didn't bleed too much, but there's definitely something there..."

"Really? I don't remember getting shot?"

Raptor spoke up as she stepped away from Andy, "You were probably distracted and then went into shock. I'll be there in a minute to look at it." She looked over and saw Champ was now laying on another one of the beds. "Kotaro and Spada, scan each other and make sure you aren't hurt too."

Stinger let his eyes close again. He felt warm and wanted nothing more than to sleep. He vaguely felt the stirrings of panic. He was forgetting something… but he could remember it later.

Raptor moved to Stinger and injected him with medicine before starting the process to remove the bullet.

"We are both fine, just some scrapes and bruises," Spada assured after checking Kotaro. He looked up to Raptor, "Do you need help?"

"Just make sure you and Kotaro get something to eat," she paused a moment to look up at him, "I'll be in here for a while. After eating, can you check the bridge and just keep an eye on things?"

He nodded and followed Kotaro out of the room. She finished up on Stinger a bit later before moving on to Champ who was now in hibernation mode. Hours of wiring later, she finally left the infirmary.

-Timeskip-

Stinger sat by Andy's bed, holding her hand. It had been a week since the disastrous mission and she was still unconscious. Raptor kept telling him she was fine, just healing. But he couldn't kill the nagging seed of doubt. It always happened like this, he'd get used to being happy and the rug would be pulled out from under him. He felt like a cosmic joke.

"Aniki?"

He looked up to see Kotaro standing in the doorway. "What's wrong Kotaro?"

The teen frowned. "Tsurugi wants to talk to you. I told him you were busy but he insisted."

Stinger kissed Andy's hand and placed it under the blanket, then stood. "It's alright Kotaro. I'll take the call in my office."

Kotaro nodded and slipped out.

Stinger headed for the door, but paused to look at Andy's still figure. "I'll be back beautiful." Then he walked out, heading for his office. He had barely sat down when his monitor came to life.

"Stinger. I have a mission for the Kyurangers. Assign who you want."

Stinger nodded. "President. What kind of mission?"

Tsurugi clasped his hands together. "Reconnaissance. I'll send you details."

"Alright. Is that all?"

"No. How's Andy?"

Stinger took a deep breath. "Still unconscious. But Raptor says everything's fine."

Tsurugi nodded, then spoke. "The Prime Minister and the mercenary you captured on Corrub were sentenced to life today. Thought you'd like to know."

Stinger gave him a small smile. "Thanks Tsurugi. I appreciate it. Send me the mission details."

When he emerged onto the bridge, Champ was there.

"Where's Raptor?" Stinger grabbed her tablet and began inputting information.

"She's checking on Andy again," Champ informed. "Kotaro said Tsurugi called?"

"Yeah. Gave me a recon mission."

"Where are we going this time?"

"We're not going anywhere. I'm going to Aradin 9."

Champ gave an irritated moo, "Why are you planning to go by yourself?"

Stinger busied himself with downloading the information to his blaster. "Because I need off the ship for a while. And it's a short recon. In and out. Should take me at most 3 days round trip."

"It wouldn't hurt to take back up," Champ spoke. Then he reminded, "We're a team, aibou."

Stinger sighed and looked up. "I know we are. But I've done so many of these I can practically do it in my sleep. And you aren't built for sneaking around. Plus, I can't stand being here right now."

"I guess I'm not good at sneaking... What about Kotaro?"

"He's not experienced enough. Face it aibou, I'm the best choice and you know it."

Champ shook his head, "I just don't like you going on your own."

Stinger chuckled as he buckled his blaster on. "You do realize I did this for a long time before I met you right?"

"Yes. But sometimes I wonder how you managed to survive without us," Champ chuckled. "Just make sure you come back safe."

Stinger gave a full laugh. "You have a high opinion of yourself don't you? Don't worry aibou. This is me you're talking to."

He patted the bull on the shoulder and left the bridge.

Champ shook his head once more, "I know it's you we're talking about, that's why I'm worried. Please come back safe."

Andy felt her head hurting before she was aware of anything else. She tried to remember what happened or where she was but nothing was coming to mind. She finally opened her eyes slowly trying to focus on the world around her. Realizing she was on the Orion, she sat up and looked around for a moment. She held her hand up to herself and focused, it glowing as she assessed herself. "Brain injury?" Well that explained some of her confusion.

She carefully pushed herself off the bed and got herself a cup of water from the nearby sink. She then found the infirmary's tablet and checked over her information, "Collapsed lung, stab wound, lots of scrapes..." She set it down still not really remembering the battle that brought her there. She made sure she was steady enough and started heading down to the bridge.

"Andy?" she heard a voice when she was about halfway there.

She looked back at the sound and gave a small smile, "Kotaro."

"Should you be out of the infirmary?"

She smirked, "Probably not."

"We should get you back then," he smiled.

"Only if you update me on what happened. I don't even know what day it is..."

"Raptor told us you might be confused."

"If confusion is my only problem, I'm doing really well. Brain hemorrhages can cause all sorts of trouble." She sat back onto the infirmary bed.

"What do you remember?"

She thought for a minute, "We all watched a movie..."

He nodded, "That was over a week ago. We had a mission the next day where you got hurt. You've been asleep since then."

"Is everyone else ok?"

Kotaro sighed, "Stinger was shot, but he's fine. He's currently out on a recon mission. Champ was pretty beat up but Raptor fixed him."

"Stinger is out on a mission? Alone?" 

"He refused to take anyone with him."

Her breathing quickened, "Has anyone heard from him? Is he ok?"

"Last we heard he was fine," Kotaro assured. "Please calm down."

She looked at him, "Why does he keep going off on his own?"

Kotaro shrugged, "He's supposed to be back later. You can talk to him then."

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

"Is there anything you need? I can send someone else down here if you want?"

She shook her head, "I'll be fine..."

A while later Champ came in to see her, "How are you feeling?"

"Good for what happened."

"Raptor says you still have to rest for a while so hopefully you'll start feeling better soon."

She was about to speak again when a call came through to Champ.

"We have an incoming message."

"Play it," he ordered.

"This is a resistance member stationed on Aradin 9. The Commander didn't arrive back to the base tonight. We're sending out people to search for him, but he probably ran into some trouble with Jark Matter. We'll update you if we get any updates."

Champ growled as Andy's eyes widened in worry. "We'll get him back. I promise." Champ headed off to the bridge to form a plan, leaving Andy alone in the infirmary.

Stinger groaned as he avoided yet another patrol. He was betting the whole planet had been alerted. That meant no going back to the base. He ducked into an abandoned warehouse and collapsed in a far corner. Reaching into his pocket, he removed a small flashlight. Being careful to set the output to low he shined it on his leg.

A blood stained bandage was wrapped around his thigh a few inches below his hip. The wound was still bleeding sluggishly and Stinger sighed. Then he pulled down his sweater's neck. The bandage there was less blood soaked but not by much. Once again Stinger cursed Jark Matter's aim.

"So much for a simple recon." He sat there for a moment wondering if Andy had woken up. He would have sent out an SOS but his Seiza blaster had been hit by laser fire and wasn't transmitting. He pushed himself to his feet, waiting for the room to settle before slipping out the door. He had to get back somewhere safe to wait out the patrols.

About an hour after receiving the message, Champ came back to the infirmary. "We haven't been able to get ahold of him. Spada, Kotaro, and I will be heading out to find him. Don't worry we'll bring him home."

"I'm going with you," Andy insisted.

"You haven't been released from the infirmary yet. You need to rest and just let us take care of things."

Andy smirked, "Champ, you need to learn I'm just as stubborn as Stinger."

He shook his head, "I'll have Raptor sedate you if I have to."

She just smiled at him, "You forget I'm a ninja. I already left in my voyager twenty minutes ago. See you there." The Andy in the infirmary bed disappeared.

Champ shook his head but headed to the Voyager bay to start his mission.

Stinger groggily forced open his eyes as sunlight hit his face. Sitting up, he cursed a streak of words in his native language that would get his mouth washed out with soap if Andy ever translated them. He'd meant to rest for an hour then head for his Voyager. He paused at the thought of her. He hoped she wasn't awake or he'd never hear the end of the lecture.

Checking his injuries, he bit back additional curses. Both bandages were soaked through and he had no spares. If they kept bleeding, he wouldn't be around for a lecture. He had to get back to the Orion fast. Or as fast as he could currently move. He hoped Jark Matter were all sleeping as he shakily forced himself to stand. With a silent prayer, he slowly made his way out of the barn he had taken refuge in.

And stopped as a large group of Indavers aimed their weapons at him. He sighed. "Sorry Andy."

He raised his hands.

Andy scrolled through the information for the planet on the tablet she swiped from the Orion. She circled a few locations she wanted to check first. She finally arrived on the planet and dropped in front of the resistance base. After getting information from them, she headed to check the other places out.

"Andy, have you learned anything?" she heard Champ through her comm.

"I'm sending you a list of locations. I don't know if you guys want to split up, but I'm checking the first one."

The location she picked for herself was the closest Jark Matter base. The resistance members she talked to thought Stinger would most likely be taken there. She morphed and snuck her way there. Staring at the entrance, she noticed multiple guards. She pulled out one of the kyutamas she swiped off the ship and aimed it at them. She fired the Ohitsuji attack at them, making them all fall to the ground asleep. She headed into the building watching for more guards. She silently sliced down the few she passed as she peered into each room looking for her love. Finally, she found a large room with multiple cells. She entered and glanced into each cell. In the last one she finally spotted Stinger. Shooting at the lock, she opened the door and knelt next to him.

"Stinger?"

His eyes opened very slowly. "Andy?"

She took a moment and contacted the others, "I've found him. He's hurt though."

She looked back at him and gave him a soft smile, "Can you move at all?"

He returned the smile. "I can try if it means getting out of here."

She helped him up, "Come on then, I'll heal you some when we get to my voyager." She walked slowly noticing how bad he looked.

He leaned heavily on her as they emerged from the building. She could hear his pained breathing and wished her voyager was closer.

She heard a noise from behind and quickly stopped and turned her head back to look. Cursing, she helped Stinger lean against a tree before she went to fight the indavers that appeared.

She sliced through the first few before firing at the group. She pulled out another kyutama and glanced at it. She shook her head trying to figure out a plan to use it. She fired at them again before placing the Kogitsune kyutama in her seiza blaster and running toward Stinger. She held onto him and fired it, both of them becoming invisible. "Come on," she whispered as she tried to help him walk.

A few of the indavers shot out at them. Andy felt a pinch in her side but she kept pushing Stinger forward to her Voyager.

Stinger forced his legs to move, willing himself to stay conscious. When they were safely in her voyager on the way back he could pass out. Not before. Not while Andy was in danger. He took a deep breath.

When the Indavers started shooting he growled. They weren't all stupid apparently. Sharp pains erupted in his side and head simultaneously. With a muffled cry, he began to fall as his world went black.

Andy gasped as she felt him fall away from her. She called into her comm, "We need backup now!" She pulled Stinger behind a building before releasing the kogitsune kyutama. She looked down and saw the blood covering him. "Stinger..." Her hands glowed as she focused on him, noticing...two. Three. Four? Bullet wounds.

She worked on trying to slow the bleeding. She looked up when she heard footsteps approaching but she relaxed when she saw her teammates.

"We need to get him to the Orion," she spoke but kept trying to heal the ranger on the ground. "I can keep trying to heal him if we can get him into my voyager... but he's going to need a transfusion. He's lost a lot of blood."

Champ gently picked Stinger up and headed towards Andy's voyager. He laid the ranger on the floor as Andy climbed in and set the autopilot.

"We'll meet you there." The bull was quiet, his shock and worry evident in his voice.

Andy nodded and lifted off. She quickly resumed trying to heal her fiancé. She grew frustrated as the wounds closed slowly. If she couldn't get him healed…. she pushed the thought out of her mind.

She felt her headache growing, as well as the pain in her side. She fought through it trying to keep him alive.

When her voyager landed, her teammates found her unconscious lying next to Stinger.

Raptor barked out orders. "Champ get Stinger to the infirmary. Spada you take Andy."

She followed anxiously, arriving just as Spada laid Andy on a bed.

"Aibou!" Champ's shout made her turn. "He's not breathing."

Raptor's heart dropped. Neither she nor Champ needed to breathe. "Spada help Champ!"

Kotaro watched from the doorway trying to stay out of the way, "Raptor, is there anything I can do?"

"Keep an eye on Andy's heart rate and let me know if it drops," she ordered as she grabbed the supplies she needed for Stinger.

"He's got a faint heartbeat," Spada assessed after a couple of minutes.

She nodded and quickly hooked Stinger up to a ventilator to keep him breathing. She then set up the transfusion IV before starting to sew up his wounds. She noticed a couple bullets still in him which she removed. After a while she finally pulled away from him.

"He's stable at the moment, but he could still have trouble. We'll keep an eye on him," she told Champ.

She then went to focus on Andy. Not too long after she updated Champ again, "She had a bullet wound, but most of her problems are from before and exhausting herself trying to heal him. They should both make it but neither are in very good shape. It's just another waiting game..."

Champ moo-ed softly. "They really know how to get in trouble don't they?" He moved to Stinger's side, watching the ventilator breathe for him. "How bad is he?"

Raptor shook her head. "The blood loss was significant but the real problems are the fact that one bullet perforated his lung. And he has a skull fracture from the bullet that hit his head. Between those injuries and the fact, he stopped breathing…. It isn't good."

She looked at the Sasori ranger. "He may not wake up."

Kotaro gasped. "What do you mean Aniki might not wake up?"

Raptor turned to see him in the doorway. "The bullet hit his skull at an angle. Causing a serious skull fracture and possible hematoma. The oxygen deprivation and blood loss make it worse. He may be too injured to regain consciousness."

Kotaro shook his head, "He has to wake up."

Spada appeared and put a hand on his shoulder, "Come on, let's let him rest for now and we can check on him later. Let's get some food into you."

Spada gave Raptor a small smile and head nod before leading Kotaro down the hallway.

"I'll keep an eye on them and let you know if anything changes," Raptor told Champ.

-Time jump-

Andy woke, sitting up quickly before she was overcome with dizziness.

"Hey, calm down," Raptor ordered.

"What happened?"

"You've been out for a few days. Stinger's alive but still hasn't woken up yet" 

Andy looked over at the other bed, "I thought I wasn't going to be able to keep him alive long enough to get here."

"He stopped breathing, and he's not in good shape, but he still could make it through this."

Andy nodded, "And me?"

"Outside of everything you probably know, you were shot."

Andy nodded, "I remember that too. I was just too focused on Stinger."

"Well then, you know you need to rest."

Andy sighed, "I know. I'm going to sit by him for a minute though."

"Don't use up your energy to heal him... If I find you here passed out I'll keep you sedated," Raptor warned.

Andy nodded and pushed herself out of the bed. Her hand weakly grabbed the chair and pulled it over to Stinger's side. "You better make it through this." She tried to squeeze his hand but realized her hand had lost its feeling. She shook her head pushing the thought aside and just stared at him for a few minutes before climbing back into her own bed. Not even an hour later she heard a strange noise coming from the machines Stinger was hooked up to. She rushed off the bed and grabbed the scanner nearby. Holding it up to him, her heart plummeted as she noticed how weak his heartbeat had gotten. She finished scanning the rest of him and noticed how little activity there was in his brain.

Tears began to well up as she realized just how badly he was hurt. Her terror became full blown as the monitor began to wail piercingly. She stood rooted at the end of the bed as Raptor raced in, immediately grabbing the infirmary's defibrillator and applying it to Stinger's chest. As the controlled shock jolted his body Andy's knees gave out.

She begged Stinger, "Don't leave. Please don't leave me." She felt herself being lifted and she looked up at Champ.

"Come on, give her space to work," he moo-ed gently.

Andy leaned against him sobbing, "I can't lose him..." She struggled to get breath in, "We're supposed to get married. You can't leave me before then! Stinger, please!"

Raptor ignored Andy's screams as she kept trying to keep Stinger's heart beating. A flat line began to buzz and she redoubled her efforts. No matter what she tried the flat line continued to buzz on the monitor. "Oh Stinger…" She sadly conceded defeat and turned the monitor off, turning to Andy who was clutching Champ's arm in a death grip. "Time of-" Her voice broke and it took a moment before she could continue. "Time of death 2145 pm." She turned back and began to disconnect the ventilator and the wires from Stinger's body, trying to tune out Andy's anguished cries.

As soon as Raptor was out of the way Andy stumbled forward to Stinger, falling onto him as she cried, "You can't do this to me. You can't do this to the others either! What did I tell you? Kotaro and Champ are here waiting for you; you're supposed to come back to them." She closed her eyes as she squeezed him in an awkward hug, "I love you, Stinger. I can't lose you."

Raptor came behind her and tried to pull her away, "Andy, he's gone."

Andy fought the hand on her not wanting to release her fiance. "He can't be."

She looked up when she heard a noise come from Champ. She saw her kyutama in front of her, the blue light surrounding Stinger. The light lasted for a minute before the kyutama fell into her now open hand.

Raptor rushed over and scanned over Stinger again, "He's alive..."

Stinger sucked in a deep breath, then slowly opened his eyes. "Andy?"

She wiped away some tears before smiling at him, "I'm here Stinger."

He slowly reached out a hand and gently wiped some she missed. "What happened? Are you alright? You're crying."

She laughed, "You're alive, I'm more than alright."

Stinger stared at her in confusion. "Huh? Last thing I remember was you rescuing me and us heading towards your voyager…"

She shook her head unable to explain.

Champ stepped forward, "Aibou..." He paused unsure he could say the words.

Stinger carefully sat up and glared at the two of them. "Just spit it out will you? I know I had some serious injuries so what happened after Andy released me from jail?"

Raptor kept looking at her tablet, "You had 4 bullet wounds, one of which fractured your skull. When you got back here you weren't breathing, but we finally got you back up and put on a ventilator. That was a few days ago... Today your heart stopped and I tried to restart it."

Andy whispered out, "You died again..."

Stinger's face paled. "Oh Andy... I'm sorry." He reached for her hand. "Forgive me...again?"

She very weakly squeezed his hand, "As long as you stay alive, I'll always forgive you."

Stinger smiled wryly. "I am the worst fiance ever." He studied Andy's face. "You don't look so good. Sit down."

"I know I let you up a few minutes earlier, but you are still supposed to be in bed," Raptor reminded. "Though, I can't blame you for having gotten up this time..." She watched Andy push herself back to the other bed, "You have nothing to worry about now, so just rest and focus on healing yourself."

Andy nodded as her hand clutched at the wound on her side.

"I'll get you some pain meds," Raptor assured as she went to search through the cabinet.

Stinger frowned. "I knew you weren't okay." He tried to hide a yawn as he climbed off the bed and headed for the door.

"Where are you going, aibou?" Champ looked at him.

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "My office? I'm sure with me being in here there is a pile of work with my name on it waiting for me. So I should just get it over with."

"I've finished all of your work, Commander," Raptor handed medicine to Andy. "Plus, you just died, so lay back down and don't push yourself."

Stinger rolled his eyes and kept walking.

Andy struggled to talk loud enough for him to hear her, "Stinger?"

He turned and went to her bed. "What beautiful?"

She blinked sleepily, "Stay here. Please?"

He smiled at her, pulling up a chair and sitting. He held her hand till the medicine put her to sleep, then covered her with a blanket. He pushed the chair back and headed out the door.

Champ shook his head when he got a call from Raptor saying Stinger wasn't in the infirmary anymore. He was heading out to look for him when Stinger ran right into him.

"Everything is fine here. Go back and rest," Champ ordered.

Stinger ignored him. "I've rested enough by everything I've been told."

"No matter what kind of magical healing happens to you, I can't imagine you'd be at full strength," Champ answered. "Come on, the infirmary isn't that bad."

Champ noticed Raptor approaching silently.

"Plus, Andy is there. Don't you want to be with her?" Raptor quickly jabbed a needle into Stinger's arm.

Stinger glared at him. "You sneaky-" His eyes slid closed as the sedative took effect. He would have fallen if not for Champ catching him.

Andy woke slightly and glanced around when she noticed Champ carrying Stinger into the infirmary. She opened her eyes all the way and tried to sit up, "Stinger? What happened?"

Champ chuckled, "He was refusing to rest. Raptor sedated him."

Andy smirked, "Sounds like him. I'll try to keep an eye on him but I can't promise that I'll be able to stay awake."

Raptor entered holding a package. "No need to do that." She proceeded to remove a set of restraints and quickly put them on the Sasori ranger.

At Andy's surprised look, the android shrugged. "Custom made to resist certain sharp anatomical parts. Supreme Commander agreed Stinger needs to be kept from doing things occasionally."

-timeskip-

Stinger's eyes opened and he groaned. Attempting to rise, he found himself once again restrained. "RAPTOR!"

Andy rolled over at the noise, "Huh?"

Raptor entered the infirmary, "Yes Commander?"

"Release me. NOW."

Raptor stayed silent as she grabbed the scanner and started checking on him.

"Calm down, Stinger. They're just trying to take care of you," Andy spoke slowly.

"She has entirely too much fun doing this." He attempts to cut through the material.

Raptor laughed, "It is a little fun, I'll admit. But as the medic, I am just trying to take care of you."

Stinger scoffs. "I don't need to be taken care of. And why can't I cut this?"

"Supreme Commander ordered them special just for you."

Andy looked over at him, "Quit acting tough. Sometimes you do need to be taken care of and that's ok."

Stinger gave an exaggerated sigh and lies back down. "So how long am I grounded for?"

"Just a bit longer to make sure there's no complications," Raptor informed. "Then you'll be free."

"It's not like we see people come back to life often," Andy sighed, "we just want to make sure everything keeps running smoothly."

Stinger growled softly but stopped arguing. If the truth be told, he knew he wasn't recovered yet. But the infirmary was too confining, especially after being told that once again he'd died and caused Andy's heart to break.

Andy pushed herself off the bed and pulled up a chair at Stinger's side. "If you didn't fight us so much, they wouldn't have tied you up."

Stinger frowned. "I thought I was used to being taken care of. But then something happens and I revert to my loner tendencies. Doesn't help that I hurt you again."

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it, it's not like you died on purpose." She sighed, "You have a whole team that cares about you, you need to stop the loner act. Plus, you have me, and I'll always be here for you, so you're really never alone."

He gave her a small smile. "I know. Just keep drilling it in every time I get not so bright ideas ok? I mean I could have assigned that mission to someone else."

"You could have, but I've learned you like to take the most dangerous ones for yourself," she smirked. "But that's why I'll always be by your side to try to save you."

"It wasn't supposed to be dangerous…" Stinger blinked his eyes owlishly.

"Yes... and that is totally why you refused to take anyone with you."

"I have more experience. It was just smarter." He yawned.

"But no one else can get experience if you don't take them..." She reminded. Noticing how tired he looked she quickly smiled, "You know, I think as long as you have a medic to keep an eye on you, you should be fine leaving the infirmary... I'm sure we'd both be comfier in one of our rooms?"

He nodded and cocked an eyebrow at Raptor.

"Raptor? I'll keep an eye on him if you untie him."

Raptor sagged and shook her head, "I guess. But you still have a lot of healing to do, so do not push yourself. The moment I find either of you are doing something you shouldn't, you're getting sedated and dragged back here."

Andy nodded and waited for Stinger to be released.

Stinger pouted but said nothing as the android unbuckled the restraints. He sat up rubbing his wrists and yawning. He slowly slid off the bed, stumbling into Andy's arms.

They leaned onto each other, somehow managing to stay upright long enough to get to Andy's room. She sat on the end of the bed and changed her clothes, being careful of her bandages.

Stinger wearily removed his clothes, slipping on his sleep pants. He crawled into the bed and even though he tried to stay awake, he quickly fell asleep.

Andy smiled at his sleeping form as she turned down the lights and laid down next to him. She was soon fast asleep.

She woke, not bothering to look at the time. She rolled over and smiled when she remembered Stinger was there with her. She watched the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed before focusing on his facial features. She gave him a small kiss on the cheek before resting her head back down next to him.

He smiled without waking, wrapping an arm around her. His tail curled around her leg as he relaxed.

Andy closed her eyes as she cuddled into him, but soon heard a knock on her door. She slowly untangled herself from the sleeping Stinger and stood to answer it.

She smiled when she saw Kotaro, but then frowned at the look on his face, "What's wrong?"

"I wanted to check on Stinger. I know he hadn't been doing well and was surprised when Champ told me Stinger was awake."

Andy smiled, "Well, he's asleep right now, but I'll get him for you."

She crossed the room back to the bed, "Hey Stinger, you can sleep again soon, but you need to get up for a minute."

He made a disgruntled noise and burrowed into the covers.

"Kotaro is worried about you. But should I just tell him to come back later?" She spoke softly and ran her fingers through his hair a few times.

"No. I'm awake. Well kind of awake." He rubbed his eyes as he got up and padded into the front room. "How are you little bear?"

"When I left they said you might not wake up... What happened?" Kotaro glanced up at the Sasori Warrior.

Stinger winced and ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to tell him that everyone had been mistaken but remembered the last time he'd kept a secret from the teen. He'd promised not to hide anything and now it had come back to haunt him. "Kotaro, if I tell you can you promise not to get upset?" He shot Andy a desperate look as the Koguma kyuranger slowly nodded.

Andy gave him an encouraging nod.

Stinger took a deep breath. "Raptor wasn't wrong. I was hurt pretty badly and even with everything she did, I apparently didn't improve. In fact, I got worse. My heart stopped and nothing could restart it."

Kotaro's face fell, tears beginning to run silently down his face. Stinger gave him a hug before continuing. "Andy's kyutama brought me back again." He met the teen's eyes. "And I'm telling you this time. I told you no more secrets and I meant it."

Kotaro hugged him again, "Thank you for telling me. I'm just glad you are better."

Stinger chuckled. "Me too. Though I think I need an extra-large coffee to wake up. Raptor says she took care of all the paperwork but knowing Shou he's probably sent more."

Kotaro smiled, "I'll let you get back to sleep then, unless you really do want to go to work."

"Actually there is something I need to ask you about..."

Kotaro raised an eyebrow but kept listening.

"Andy and I are getting married in two weeks. Would you be ring bearer?"

Kotaro's grin widened, "Of course, Aniki!"

Stinger took a deep breath. "I wasn't sure cause normally that is a job for a little kid. So I was reluctant to ask."

"I mean... I am the littlest one here anyway, right?" Kotaro smiled. "I'll do whatever part you want. Thank you for letting me be a part of it."

Stinger ruffled his hair. "What kind of aniki would I be if I didn't let you be a part of my wedding? But are you serious about any part I want? Cause I might have you tape Lucky's mouth shut during the ceremony." He tried to keep a straight face but cracked up.

Kotaro laughed in response.

Stinger stopped laughing to yawn. "You'd think I'd have slept enough in the infirmary."

"Go back to sleep. Let me know if you need anything," Kotaro chuckled.

Stinger gave a salute. "Yes sir!"

Kotaro saluted back before heading back down the hall.

Stinger made his way back to the bedroom, climbing in beside Andy. "Next person to visit better bring news of the apocalypse or risk getting stung."

Andy laughed but stopped suddenly, as the pain in her side reminded her she was still injured.

Stinger looked guilty. "I'm sorry! I forgot you were hurt." He gave her a soft hug.

"I'll be fine," she assured as she hugged him back.

He smiled and curled his tail around her as he lay down.

Andy looked at him. "Can I ask you a question? About your tail?"

Stinger returned the look. "Of course. What do you want to know?"

"Why do you wrap it around my leg?"

He laughed. "Several reasons. It is a sign of being one's mate. It also prevented various animals from crawling into bed on my planet." He winked at her. "Had another function too."

"Oh really? What would that have been?" She grinned.

"Kept other men from trying to steal someone's wife."

She pretended to be shocked. "That's awful." She lost the battle and laughed uproariously.

Stinger joined her until both of them had tears running down their cheeks and Andy's side began to ache.

Andy was working on folding her laundry when she heard a knock on her door. She headed over and opened it, surprised to see her sister standing there. She smiled, "When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago," she held up a box before entering the room. "My little sister is getting married so of course I came early to make sure you are ready."

Andy rolled her eyes but laughed, "So what's in the box?"

"I brought a few things you might need."

Andy raised an eyebrow as she sat on her bed and watched Hammy pull things out, "Raptor told me you don't have a dress or anything picked out yet. You don't have to wear this, but I thought I'd bring it if you want it." Andy looked at the dress Hammy pulled out. It was elegant and white, and had a sash around the middle with red flowers on it.

"It's beautiful."

"It was Moms," Hammy informed, "I've been going through everything in the house..."

Andy felt the silky fabric, "Did you find any pictures of their wedding?"

Hammy smiled and pulled one out from the box. Andy stared at her Mom's face for a moment. It was almost like looking into a mirror how similar they looked. She then glanced over at her dad, tall and strong, dressed in his best uniform. "I wish they could be here. Avery too."

"I brought this too, if you want to use it," she held out a decorative kunai. "It was dads."

Andy smiled, "Thank you."

"I know it's not the same but at least this way they are part of your wedding."

Andy looked up with a couple tears in her eyes and repeated, "Thank you."

Hammy stepped over and pulled Andy into a hug, "They'd be proud of you if they were here."

"I have one final thing for you," Hammy reached over and grabbed the last item from the box.

Andy's eyes widened when she recognized it, "Avery's necklace?"

"I know you've always liked it," Hammy put it around Andy's neck and secured it. "Now our whole family will be with you."

Andy nodded, unsure what to say.

Hammy smiled and set the other items back in the box before sitting on the bed, "No matter what you have a place at home. I moved into Avery's room, so you have our room to yourself. All of your stuff is still there, untouched. I've cleaned out the attic and moved the keepsakes we might want into Mom and Dad's room. I've also finally gone through their closet too."

Andy sighed, "Avery and I couldn't bring ourselves to get rid of anything..."

"I know. I couldn't at first either, but it's been long enough."

"How is everyone?"

"A few new people have joined the group of elders. We've not had any battles lately so everything has been calm and safe." Hammy updated. "I've been working at the school teaching the younger kids. It's hard sometimes but I really like it."

"I'm glad you've found something you like to do," Andy smiled as she laid back. "Have you been on any dates?"

Hammy smirked, "I've been on a couple."

"With who?"

Hammy shook her head, "I'm not telling." She stuck her tongue out.

"Come on," Andy begged.

"Someone I never thought I'd be interested in... He's grown up a lot the last few years and isn't the same goofy kid we knew before."

Andy raised an eyebrow.

"It's Niko."

Andy's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She stared at Hammy like that for a moment before asking, "My best friend Niko, who used to have the biggest crush on me? The absolute weirdest kid in our entire school?"

Hammy smiled, "I know. I know. But like I said, he's changed."

Andy shook her head, "He's a great person, so if you two make each other happy, I'll support it." She laughed, "I just can't believe it."

"Like I said, it's only been a few dates. It's not like we are getting married or anything."

Andy smiled, "I can't believe I'm the first sibling to get married."

"I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy."

The sisters talked a while longer until they noticed the time, "Spada should have lunch ready."

Andy pushed herself off the bed, losing her balance a bit. She caught herself though and straightened up.

"How are you doing?" Hammy remembered the message she got about Andy's injuries.

"Fine. The bullet wound is a little sore still, but other than that I'm great," Andy smiled.

Hammy looked at her with suspicion but followed her out the door.

Hammy was next to Andy at the table listening to Spada talking. She frowned when she noticed Andy drop her spoon, put that hand back down and pick the spoon up with her other hand. She stayed quiet though and didn't bring it up.

After watching Andy's hand shaking later that night she asked, "Why are you shaking?"

Andy shook her head, "I must just be tired." She quickly hid her hand in her pocket.

Hammy watched her sister the next few days before finally going to Stinger. She knocked on his office door, "Do you have a second?"

Stinger looked up and nodded, "Sure."

Hammy entered and sat in the seat across from him, "Andy's hiding something. She keeps dropping things and seems almost clumsy. She's a trained ninja, I know she's not clumsy. I'm wondering if she isn't as healed as she is pretending to be." She sighed, "I talked to Raptor, and even though everything looks ok on her scans, outside of the healing bullet wound, there could still be something affecting her from the brain bleed. Just...see if she'll talk to you?"

Stinger nodded slowly. "I've noticed that too but everything's been so hectic I haven't been able to corner her."

"I just worry..." Hammy gave a small smile, "Thank you for taking care of her."

Stinger's smile was fond. "I love her. If you had told me years ago that someday I would be head over heels for a ninja I would have laughed them out of my sight. Now I can't imagine my life without her."

"I'm happy for both of you and I'm glad to welcome you into our family," Hammy smiled. "Like I told her, both of you will always have a place in our village."

Stinger smirked. "You really want to acknowledge me as part of the family? I tend to cause havoc you know."

Hammy chuckled, "You have a sister now, get used to it. I know full well the havoc you cause."

Stinger grinned. "True enough. I've never had a sister before. Do they nag as much as Andy does?"

"We've been on the same team long enough you should know I'll nag you if I have to," Hammy smiled, "but she can get kind of naggy, can't she?"

Stinger laughed. "Don't I know it. And right now it's full force because I think she believes I am going to ruin the wedding."

"She probably doesn't really care that much about the details, as long as she's marrying you."

"I'm starting to wonder. I've barely seen her in the last week."

"If she is hiding something, she might be trying to take care of it on her own. So maybe that's why you haven't seen her?" Hammy suggested.

Stinger pursed his lips. "She has been distant lately. Keeps telling me everything is fine, but I can tell it isn't. Think she forgets she's talking to a world class bullshit artist."

"Knowing her, she probably knows there's a lot going on right now and just doesn't want to worry anyone." Hammy thought back, "There was one time when our grandpa was really sick so everyone was busy worrying about him and trying to make plans in case he didn't make it. Avery noticed Andy was acting weird and finally got her to admit that she broke her hand while training and had hidden it for a week because everyone else had more important things to focus on."

Stinger looked at her in disbelief. "Definitely going to talk to her. She's always telling me not to hide stuff now it's time for her to practice what she preaches."

Andy was staring at the ceiling when she heard a knock on her door. She wasn't even fully out of bed when Hammy came in, already in a dress, "Are you ready?"

"Do I look ready?"

"You're supposed to be getting married in an hour..." Hammy scolded.

Andy jumped up and sped through getting dressed, "Ok, now I have 59 minutes, and I'm mostly ready now."

Hammy rolled her eyes, "Sit down." She brushed out Andy's hair, "Remember when we were little and we'd play games dreaming of our future weddings?"

"I remember you dreaming of your wedding while complaining that I wasn't being imaginative enough," Andy chuckled.

"You never did seem like you'd want to settle down with someone," Hammy admitted.

"I guess it took the right person."

Hammy took a few strands of hair, twisted them up and secured them on Andy's head. She left the rest hanging down, "You haven't had a haircut in a long time, have you?"

Andy shook her head, "I don't even remember the last time I got one."

"It's down past your butt at this point."

Andy shrugged, "It's normally tied up so it doesn't matter anyway."

Hammy shook her head but sprayed some silver glitter onto Andy's hair. She put on some simple make up on Andy and then stepped back to look at her work.

"Stand up," she straightened out Andy's dress and necklace before helping her secure on the kunai.

"You are such a strong, beautiful kunoichi, Andaka. You look perfect." Hammy smiled.

Andy grinned, "It doesn't even feel like it's my wedding day. I do feel a little nervous though..."

"It's going to be fine. And then we'll get to party and eat all the fun things Spada is making." Hammy smirked.

Andy nodded and followed Hammy out of the room.

As soon as Tsurugi pronounced them as husband and wife, the whole team crowded around to hug them.

Spada finally broke it apart, "The food is set up in the lounge. Let's head over there and give the newlyweds a few minutes to breath."

As soon as the group was gone Andy broke into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

She shook her head, "I'm just really happy."

Stinger grinned, "Me too."

"You look pretty handsome in that tux," Andy complimented.

"You look beautiful, as always." Stinger kissed her hand. "But why do you need a weapon at our wedding?" He pointed at the kunai.

She smiled, "I told you on my planet, weddings are small and short because there's a lot of battles. Well, it's a tradition that the men wear a kunai to protect their new wives in case an attack happens during the wedding." She explained, "Though many women in the younger generations choose to also wear one as a sign she can protect him too." She looked away for a moment, "It was Hammy's idea to wear it. The dress was my mom's wedding dress and the kunai was my dad's. So in a way, they're here in spirit."

Stinger smiled and pulled a necklace from under his jacket collar. It was a silver pendulum ball with a scorpion tail on top. "This was my brother's. He raised me so I felt it was right to wear it today."

Andy put her hand around her own necklace, "Avery wore this everyday..." She smiled up at him, "So both of our brothers were here with us. I wish things were different though and that they were really here and not just in spirit..."

The pair headed to the lounge and spent the next few hours with their friends.

Spada and Raptor came up and handed Stinger a piece of paper, "We're stationed by a nice resort planet. You two have a room there for the night."

When the couple arrived back the next day, the team was waiting for them in the voyager bay.

Lucky greeted them, "We have a surprise for you!"

Andy raised her eyebrow and Stinger rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, it's a good surprise, Aniki." Kotaro assured.

"Go check out your room, aibou," Champ finished.

Stinger sighed and started heading to his room. Andy followed right behind. When they finally opened the door they noticed the room was a lot bigger. One side was exactly how Stinger left it and the other now had a couch and table and the closet on that side had all of Andy's things.

"What...?" Andy looked back at the group confused.

"Well, since you're married now, we all thought you'd want your rooms to be together. We all did some moving but this was the only place we took a wall out," Raptor informed.

"Raptor and I have rooms next to each other now and Garu and Lucky's are next to each other now too," Spada informed.

"But we made signs for each door so we know which room belongs to each of us," Naga added.

"Kotaro and I decorated them!" Balance smiled as he held one out. Stinger winced as he noticed the glitter and bright colors but smiled after reading, "Andy and Stinger."

"Thank you guys," Andy answered.

"Well, I think it's about time for dinner," Spada reminded, "It should be done baking."

Andy entered the room and looked through her closet, "Well, I know we've been staying in each other's rooms, but I didn't expect us to fully have one room to ourselves. It looks nice though."

"I wish they didn't enter my room..." Stinger sighed, "but at least we have a space together." 

Andy sighed, "At least they didn't move everything you had. I'm going to have to reorganize this stuff."

Stinger smiled, "It can wait for another day." He hugged Andy from behind, "Let's go see what Spada made."

Andy smirked, "I wonder if there's still cake left from yesterday."

Stinger chuckled, "I love you."

Andy turned around and kissed him, "I love you too."


	7. Prequel 2

"I can't believe it's been a year already," Andy looked out at her village.

"You've grown up so much," Avery assessed.

She laughed, "It's not like I had a choice." Her smile faded, "I wish we knew if Hammy was ever coming home."

He nodded, "We just have to trust that she's taking care of herself."

"I hate not knowing."

"I know, so do I. She's my little sister, I'm supposed to care for her but she's the one out saving the universe and I'm just here."

"You still have one sister to care for," Andy stuck her tongue out. "I know how you feel though. I wish we were out there with her. Who knows how many people I could help if I could just find a way off this planet."

"Do you really want to leave home that much?"

Andy shrugged, "I mean, you're here. I have some friends here. But I don't know if this is truly where I'm meant to be." She laid back and stared up at the stars.

"You're still young, you have time to figure it out."

"What about you? You might be young still but you're 26. Are you ever going to settle down and start a family?"

He sighed and thought for a moment, "I have you and Hammy. I have a family to care for already."

"Don't you want to find love, maybe have your own kids?" Andy glanced at him, "Hammy and I are both adults now. I don't want us to stop you from finding your happiness."

"Maybe when she gets back and I know you're both safe, then I can settle down." He smirked, "As much settling as a ninja can get anyway."

"Mom and Dad had a few years of peace before battles picked up again. Hopefully we'll have a time of peace like that too where you can relax and find a cute girl you want to marry."

He chuckled, "You seem so insistent on me settling down, what about you?"

She frowned, "Like I said, I want to go help people all over and see the stars. I doubt I'll be able to settle down in an environment like that. Hell, I probably wouldn't be in a place long enough to get to know anyone that well."

"Well, I hope one day you find your own happiness, whether it's settling down or traveling across the universe," he smiled, "I know mom and dad would be proud of how far you've come, and they'd be happy with whatever you choose to do."

"You've really grown up since we were little. They'd be proud of how responsible you've become," Andy remembered when they were younger Avery ignoring his chores and homework to go have fun with his friends.

"Hammy's always been the golden child though," Avery thought back, "I remember as soon as she was born all the attention was on her. I thought it might change when you were born, and it was a bit better, but she always had their full attention."

"I know," Andy nodded, "And I used to hate her for it. But she's always been so nice and caring, I understand why everyone liked her best."

"You've finally come into your own light though since she left. You've become one of the best medical ninjas in the village, you've been practicing and getting better at your other skills, and you've helped me keep up on the housework. You've really blossomed."

Andy wiped a tear away, "I know. And as much as I still want to enjoy this freedom away from living in Hammy's shadow, I really just want her back. We've barely heard any news of the Kyurangers since she left, and the longer we go without hearing the more I worry she'll never come back."

"She's out there somewhere, I know it. We just have to believe everything will work out and she'll come back to us."

"Maybe she can take me with her," Andy thought after a few minutes of silence. "She's traveling across the universe, just like I want to. I'd be putting myself right back into her shadow, but I'd get to help people."

"I don't know what I'd do if you left me too," Avery admitted. "We lost mom and dad, Hammy left, so right now you're the only one I have left. If you leave too, I don't know what I would do."

"You could come with us?"

He shook his head, "I don't think space travel is for me. I'm going to follow in Mom and Dad's footsteps and stay here protecting our village."

"I'm going to miss you if I ever do leave. Just remember if you ever need me, I'll be here for you."

"Thanks, 'Daka. I'm your older brother though, so it's my job to be here for you."

"You've been doing great," Andy assured, "I couldn't ask for a better brother."

Avery smiled, "Thanks, I couldn't ask for a better baby sister." He pulled up his sleeping bag, "And thanks for coming camping with me."

Andy grinned, "You know I'll always take any chance to come to the Outlook." She yawned, "We better actually get some sleep though."

Avery chuckled, "Good night 'Daka."

"Night Ave."


	8. A Mysterious Magical Power

Andy rolled her eyes as Stinger entered the infirmary, "I thought you said this would be a quick easy mission. How did you get hurt?" She moved over to check him over.

"One of the guards wasn't in the room when we used the sleeping gas. We were almost to our voyagers when he showed up and got a lucky shot off."

Andy sighed, "Sit down then." She scanned over him and noticed he had been shot in the shoulder. "At least you aren't bleeding much." She focused her energy into him trying to repair the tendon and nerves. "Are the others ok?"

"Yeah. I was the only one who got hit. At least it was lasers and not bullets this time." He looked at her tiredly.

She nodded and pulled her hands away, "There. I'll give you some pain meds because it will probably hurt for a little while longer." Normally she could easily pop the lid of the medicine bottle with one hand but after a second of struggling, she quickly grabbed the bottle with one hand and then opened it with the other. She poured out a couple pills and handed them out to Stinger before smiling, "Go take a nap."

He made a face as he took the pills. "Ick. You'll handle anything that comes up?"

"I'll be on the bridge planning the next mission with Balance and Naga," she assured.

He nodded and stood, walking toward the infirmary door. Andy started to turn away when she noticed blood on the bed. Looking down she saw a trail leading towards the door. Looking up she saw Stinger leaning on the wall.

Stepping over to him she took his arm, "Come on, lay down." She led him back to the bed and pulled up his shirt. Her hands glowed as she started back on healing him. After a few minutes she dropped her hands, "I'm sorry, love. I should have checked all of you over when you got here..."

Stinger shook his head. "I didn't even feel it. So it's not your fault, beautiful." His eyes drooped as the medication began to take effect.

"Do you want to rest here or do you still want to go to our room?" She smiled down at him.

"The only way I'm making it to our room is if someone carries me." Stinger's words were slow.

Andy bent down and kissed his forehead, "Then I'll clean all of this blood up later... Sleep well." She headed to the door and looked back, his breathing already evening out and slowing. She smiled and headed down the hall.

An hour later, she was staring at the map of the next planet when she felt arms wrap around her waist and a soft kiss on her cheek.

She looked up and smiled when she saw Stinger, "Are you feeling better?"

He nodded and bent to kiss her. "Much better thanks to my own nurse."

Andy slid the map away, "They can update you on the plan we came up with. I better go clean up the infirmary now that you are awake."

Stinger sighed. "You let them plan? You do realize Balance has a love of complicated plans right?"

Andy laughed, "They've survived this long through Balance's complicated plans, so they must not be that bad." She stood and looked at him, "I was supervising though and it did seem to make sense. Plus, the final call is still up to you, Commander." She stuck her tongue out before turning to head out the room.

He grinned and called to Naga. "Can you brief me? Or should I guess?"

Naga walked over and quickly told Stinger their plan, "The treasure is being kept in an airtight room. As soon as the sensors detect movement, a glass wall comes down and the air gets sucked out of the room. All of the reports we can find have it listed as a normal glass which should be easy to shoot through with our blasters, so we just go in, grab the treasure, shoot the glass out, and take down any indavers that show up on our way out."

Stinger sat for a minute thinking. "Any idea of how many indavers there are? And do we have information on what the treasure actually is? It would be bad to find out the treasure is something we can't carry out."

"Rebellion reports say they haven't seen many guards around, probably expecting the airtight room to capture anyone who tries to steal it," Naga glanced at a couple pieces of paper, "The problem is none of the rebellion members stationed there are skilled enough for this kind of task. Tsurugi mentioned it's some form of informational scroll. I don't know what's on it."

Stinger chuckled. "There's only one set of thieves good enough. And they're mine. Alright, we go at 1400 hours."

Naga nodded and headed back over to Balance.

Stinger headed for the infirmary. As the door opened, he took a minute to watch Andy organizing. He frowned when he noticed her struggling to lift a tray with her right hand. She smoothly switched to her left and replaced the tray in the cabinet. She turned and gasped as she saw Stinger.

She smiled, "How long have you been there? I didn't hear you."

He forced a smile. "Not long. I wanted to tell you we are leaving at 1400. I want you monitoring from here. Should be an in and out."

She nodded, "It seemed easy from all the reports." She glanced up at the time, "I should probably make us some lunch soon. Anything you want me to make?"

Stinger shook his head. "The last mission was supposed to be easy too. I'm not really hungry so whatever you want to make is fine." He decided not to mention what he had seen. If Andy needed help she'd ask.

She finished up her cleaning, "I think I'll just heat up some leftovers. If you or Naga want any I'll warm some extras." She gave him a quick kiss before heading to the kitchen.

Stinger returned to the bridge, studying the blueprints of the target building. It was a lot of protection for a simple scroll and he wondered exactly why it was so important. He pushed the thoughts away and focused on the screen.

"The scroll is in our sight," Andy heard over the ships comm. She froze though when she suddenly heard cursing coming through. After a few seconds it suddenly went quiet.

"Stinger? Guys?" She called through to them.

She finally heard Balance's voice, "We just had a slight problem."

She shook her head waiting for more information.

Finally, Naga spoke up, "The wall wasn't made of glass like the reports say. We can't get it open."

"Balance, can you get into the system with your wires and try to open it up?"

Her heart sank when she heard him respond, "Maybe if I was still inside... Stinger pushed us out but he's stuck in there."

"Scorpions can hold their breath a long time though," Naga tried to calm her.

"That doesn't help get him out though!" She snapped on him. "Is there a control room anywhere nearby?"

She paused waiting for a response. Eventually she heard Balance, "Someone went in through a side entrance and grabbed Stinger... We've searched the whole building and can't find him though."

Andy tried to push her panic down and stay professional, "Ok, report back to the ship and we'll figure out a rescue plan." She contacted the resistance members stationed on the planet so they'd send information if they saw anything.

They planned to go search the planet the next day but it was too dark to see now, so she sent the other two to get some rest. She stared at the scroll trying to take her mind off her worry for Stinger. She was confused at the magical power it was talking about and tried to brainstorm the riddle that appeared on it.

Eventually though, she headed to her and Stinger's room and cried herself to sleep as she hugged his pillow.

Stinger woke slowly. His head pounded like he had challenged Tsurugi to a drinking contest. He searched his memory. They had found the scroll exactly where the blueprints had said and there were no guards. Grabbing the scroll had been easy and they were about to leave when the wall had dropped. Their intel had been wrong, as it wasn't glass it was some kind of liquid metal. He'd pushed the thieves out of the way but he had been trapped.

What had happened after? Stinger wasn't sure but he'd put money that some kind of drug had been involved. He took stock of his situation. He was tightly bound on some kind of metal table in a small laboratory. He tested the restraints and wondered if Jark Matter had designed them with him in mind. His stinger couldn't make the slightest tear in them.

He sighed. He'd have to wait till someone came in to escape.

An older gentleman in a lab coat entered the room, "Good to see you awake." He set some supplies on a nearby table.

"Release me or you'll answer to the Federation." Stinger hissed as he yanked at the restraints.

"I'll probably be far away by the time they get here," he laughed. "I'll be here a few days to have some fun with you and then be on my way to perform experiments elsewhere."

Stinger yanked harder at the restraints. He did not like the sound of the man's words.

"Experiments? What kind of experiments?"

"I like studying interesting reactions that happen in different species. The last planet I was on I was studying a creature that could regrow limbs..." he focused on filling up a syringe.

Stinger gave him a disgusted look. "You're insane. The Federation will hunt you down."

The scientist laughed again, "I've been at this for over ten years, I don't expect to be found any time soon."

He walked over and stuck the needle into Stinger's arm.

Stinger screamed as jagged black marks resembling scorpion tails materialized on his face and he exuded a red cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, he was shaking. "Antares? You're using my own poison?"

The scientist laughed, "Yes, your species is very interesting to have this technique. And since you are one of the very few left, I wanted to take this opportunity to test you while I could."

Andy entered the bridge, bag ready with a few medical supplies and extra weapons. Her eyes landed on the black figure across the room, "I didn't realize you were on your way back."

Champ laughed, "I didn't want to miss any action." He noticed the worry on her face, "What's wrong?"

"Our heist yesterday went bad." She grabbed the map, "Stinger was taken... We are heading out today to look for him."

Champ nodded, "I'm sure we'll find him."

"Me too. I'm just worried about the condition we'll find him in..."

Stinger shook as the venom coursed through his veins. Something was different this time- he shouldn't be this close to the end. He tried to control his breathing as another wave washed over him. The pain was excruciating but Stinger knew the worst was still yet to come.

He'd only had a few seconds of the final agony before his brother had removed the venom years ago but he remembered how he couldn't breathe and convulsed uncontrollably.

He thought of Andy and bit back a sob. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her one more time. Fate certainly was a cruel bitch. He screamed, thrashing as the pain grew more intense.

When it had passed, he glared at the scientist. "You did something didn't you?"

"I added in a compound that rushes the poison, that way I could get to the good part and see how your body reacts to the pain," the scientist jotted something down. "You know, most scorpions are immune to their own venom, I do wonder why your people are not."

Champ burst through the locked door, easily breaking it.

Andy winced as she spotted Stinger tied up in restraints but she rushed over to the scientist who pulled out a blaster.

"What happened to the guards who were supposed to keep anyone from getting down here?"

"We took care of them," Balance answered quickly.

"Balance and Naga, go make sure we didn't miss any. Champ, get Stinger free," Andy ordered as she rushed forward to attack.

Stinger screamed, convulsing as Champ tore the restraints off. When the bull finally got a good look at him, Champ paused. "Shit aibou. You got yourself in real trouble this time didn't you?"

"Get him to the ship, I'll heal him when I'm done with this," Andy told him.

Champ cradled the semi-conscious ranger as he kept convulsing and shook his head sadly. "You can't heal this, Andy."

After dealing another attack, she yelled toward him, "What do you mean?!"

Champ tightened his hold as Stinger grew quiet. "It's Antares. Stinger's own poison. There's only one person who could fix this but he's dead."

Andy's heart sank but remembered the thing she had been working on a few months ago. "Get him to the infirmary. Now! In the cabinet there is a vial made of orange glass. You have to give him a shot of that." She dodged another shot from the scientist. She wondered how a scientist could fight so well.

Champ ran for his voyager. Stinger was unconscious, tremors running through his body. The bull remembered the fear he felt when he had arrived on the roof all those years ago. Now it was back but magnified. He carefully climbed in and set course to the Orion.

When he arrived, he headed straight for the infirmary. Stinger hadn't regained consciousness and the tremors had gotten worse. Laying the ranger on a bed, the android searched for the orange vial.

Stinger began moaning, then resumed convulsing. Champ suddenly glimpsed the vial and grabbed it, quickly filling a syringe. Injecting it was difficult, the bull finally resorting to leaning on his partner's upper torso while grabbing Stinger's arm.

Once the liquid was injected, he waited.

Andy grabbed the scientist's arm to prevent him from shooting, "Why did you poison him with his own poison?"

"For science," he answered as she pinned him to the wall, "Studying Antares' effects."

She glared at him, "Well, you picked the wrong ninja's husband to experiment on."

When she was done with her fight, she headed back to the ship, anxious to see if Stinger was still alive. She ran to the infirmary as soon as her voyager landed.

"How is he?"

Champ looked up from where he was sitting beside the Sasori warrior. "His blood pressure has stabilized and the convulsions have stopped. But he's still unconscious and his heartbeat is unstable. The marks have begun to fade."

"Let me see what I can do," she nodded. After Champ moved she stood next to Stinger and stared down at him for a few seconds looking at the marks. She finally closed her eyes and focused on using her energy to heal him.

Stinger's heartbeat settled into a normal rhythm. His eyes slowly fluttered open.

Andy didn't notice he was awake for a few seconds as she kept trying to check him for any other damage. She finally opened her eyes and saw him looking up at her. She smiled, "Morning, love."

"Morning?" His voice was raspy. "How am I alive?"

"Honestly, after being with you long enough, I realized you tend to do stupid things sometimes... So I was thinking of things in case you decided to poison yourself again... I wasn't sure it would work but I was working on an antivenin." She smiled sadly, "Sorry, I just feel like you need to be protected from yourself sometimes."

Stinger chuckled weakly. "Or from insane scientists. Thank you."

Champ moo-ed. "Aibou, you have to stop getting into these situations. We may not be able to bail you out next time." He got up, leaving the infirmary.

Stinger looked at Andy. "I thought-no. I knew I was going to die. But all I could think of was how I needed to tell you I love you one more time."

"I don't know if I'll be able to save you every time, but I promise to try," Andy smiled, "I love you too." She sighed, "I wasn't really expecting to be fighting a crazy scientist. I thought maybe someone would have just wanted to trade you for the scroll or would want you because you are a kyuranger."

Stinger huffed. "The Federation should put a note in the recruitment packet. "You may become the target of mad scientists if you have any unique fighting techniques."

"Well, at least he won't be able to hurt anyone now."

Stinger nodded. "Has anyone been able to decipher the scroll yet?" He pushed himself up and began to swing his legs over the bed.

"I stared at it for half the night and didn't get very far," she admitted. "However, I did lie to the scientist and told him I'd let him live if he gave me any information he had... I now have a usb that might be able to help us."

Stinger laughed as he stood. "You've been spending too much time with Balance again." He swayed, holding on to the bed. "The Federation was insistent that the scroll was important."

"Why don't you head to bed? We can take a look at the information later." She looked down at her blood soaked clothes, "I'm definitely heading to get a shower."

He grimaced. "Please tell me none of that's yours."

"Maybe a little but most of it was the scientists..."

His eyes narrowed. "If you're hurt and hiding it…"

"Just a few scratches. Nothing major, promise."

Stinger sighed. "I'm sorry for all this." He sat down hard on the bed as the room began to spin.

She held out her left hand to him, "Come on, I'll walk you to our room. Plus, it's not your fault a scientist decided to do experiments on you."

"If I hadn't pushed Balance and Naga out…" He took her hand and stood again.

"You were just trying to save your friends. That just means you were being a hero." She helped him stay steady as they left the infirmary.

They were half way to their room when Stinger spoke. "What's wrong with your arm Andy?"

She stopped for a second, "What do you mean?"

He looked at her. "You know what I mean. Struggling with the bottles in the infirmary, dropping silverware...using both arms to lift the surgical tray earlier. Then there's this-" He lifted their hands. "You offered me your left instead of your right."

"Oh." She finished helping Stinger back to their room. After Stinger sat on the bed, she started talking while getting her stuff ready for her shower, "it takes months, sometimes even years to heal from a brain hemorrhage, and even then most people aren't back to what they used to be. I'm really doing well in comparison to most, but I've been having some weakness in my hands, even sometimes where I barely feel them at all." She paused as she went and started the water to warm it up, "I've been doing physical therapy to try to get everything working again. My left hand is pretty much back to normal, but my right isn't wanting to cooperate..."

Stinger frowned. "Why didn't you tell me? You probably shouldn't be fighting."

She gave a small smile, finally looking at him, "That's part of why I didn't tell you. I didn't want you keeping me off missions."

Stinger grew angry. "Do you realize that you could put a mission in jeopardy because of this? Not to mention you're always yelling at me about hiding injuries and going out when I'm not recovered."

"I've been compensating and haven't jeopardized a mission yet. Actually, I'm pretty sure I keep saving your ass. It doesn't affect how I heal people either," she sighed and shook her head. "You have so much to focus on between your own injuries, planning missions, and keeping the ship running. I didn't want to add anything onto that and worry you." She closed the door to the bathroom and got in the shower.

Stinger lay back on the bed. Worry him? She was more worried about stressing him out than her own injuries? He yawned, grimacing as a twinge of pain ran through his chest. He decided to take a quick nap until Andy's shower was done. He closed his eyes.

When Andy was out of the shower she noticed Stinger fast asleep on the bed. She took a second and checked over him making sure everything was still working right, before she headed out of their room. She really wasn't in the mood for a lecture from him yet.

The quiet woke Stinger. He checked the time and realized he had slept a lot longer than he had planned. Andy was nowhere to be seen, probably still angry with him. Gods he could be an idiot sometimes. He decided to go look for her to apologize. He got up and headed out.

Andy stared out at the stars around her. She could see the Orion in the distance but was enjoying the quietness of her voyager. Her mind went a million directions in the couple hours she was out there.

"What do you mean she left?" Stinger stared at Balance incredulously.

Balance shrugged, "Said something about needing space. Though I think she's have less space in her voyager than the ship..."

Stinger growled. "I'm going after her. Keep trying to decipher that scroll." He headed for the voyager bay.

Exiting the ship, Stinger set his voyager to track Andy's. He needed to apologize for being such a jerk. He grimaced as another jolt of pain ran through him. An after effect of Antares, he'd dealt with them for several weeks after he'd used it. He decided not to say anything to Andy- if she wanted to hide things, he could too.

Andy sighed and talked out loud, knowing no one could hear her, "I wonder if my parents ever dealt with this kind of thing..." Her mind went back and played over memories of them, no bad times or fighting, but she wondered if they'd just hidden it from her and her siblings. Maybe relationships were just easier when it's two ninjas from the same planet. She shook her head, 'it doesn't matter how much we fight, I love him.' She passively considered calling Hammy but decided she could wait until later.

Stinger opened his eyes as his computer pinged with Andy's location. A minute later, her voyager came into view. Stinger opened the com channel. "Andy?"

She looked confused for a second before spotting his voyager, "Yes?"

"Can we talk?"

"Sure... do you want to actually land somewhere or...?"

"There's a small habitable moon about ten minutes from here."

"Ok, send me the coordinates."

Stinger did, then flew towards it himself. Landing, he waited outside until Andy's voyager began to land.

She climbed out and smiled to him sadly, "hey."

Stinger sighed. "I'm sorry for yelling. I'm just worried that if you aren't one hundred percent you could get killed. And that would kill me. I should have trusted you to decide if you could still fight."

She shook her head, "You have every right to yell at me." She sat on a nearby rock, "I saw how the team reacted when you kept a secret from them, and then I did the same exact thing to you. I've come close to losing you a few times. I mean you've even been pronounced dead a couple times too. I just... I don't want to lose you. So I thought if I could go on missions, maybe I'd be able to prevent anything bad happening to you. I'm sorry, I won't keep something from you like that again."

Stinger grinned. "You trying to take Lucky's job as the good luck beacon?"

She wiped a few stray tears away before smirking, "Well I _have _helped miraculously bring you back twice now, and saved you from your own poison which should have killed you..."

Stinger laughed for a second, then grabbed his chest. He tried to breathe through the pain but it was more intense and he vaguely felt himself falling to his knees. He heard Andy call his name as his vision blurred, then everything went black.

Andy rushed to his side, called Champ and told him what happened and then focused on Stinger. Her hands glowed as she scanned over him and tried to help steady his breathing. She noticed his heart rate was slow and moved to try to help heal his heart so it could get back to a normal speed.

Her head was starting to hurt and she started feeling a bit dizzy but tried to keep working. Soon, she heard Champ behind her.

"Andy? How is he?" He knelt beside them.

"He's doing a bit better now that I've healed him more, but he's still not perfect." Her hands kept glowing as she kept at her job.

"I thought the antidote had worked?"

"It did, but any time someone is poisoned the antidotes don't automatically make them fully healthy again..." she sighed, "he shouldn't have even been out of bed but I caused a fight..."

"You can't blame yourself. Can he be moved?"

She dropped her hands away, "He should be fine now but I'll heal him more when we get him to the infirmary."

Champ picked Stinger up, placing him in Sasori voyager. "I'll remote pilot it to the Orion." The android climbed into his own voyager and a few seconds later both were gone.

Andy pushed herself off the ground and took a moment to steady herself. She climbed into her voyager and started back.

Champ already had Stinger waiting when she arrived.

Andy entered the infirmary and scanned over him again. After seeing nothing had changed in the last 10 minutes, she got back to work on healing up what she could. She felt herself getting dizzy again but pushed through it.

Champ noticed her pale face and touched her shoulder. "You can't help him if you're in the bed next to him. Sit down."

She paused for a minute, "I can keep going a bit longer." She focused back on Stinger.

Champ dragged a chair over and forced her to sit. "His heart looks okay. You need to rest."

She sighed and let her hands drop to her side, "I just want to help him as much as I can."

Champ moo-ed. "I know but who will help you?"

Stinger let out a groan. "What happened?"

"You passed out," Andy spoke quietly.

Stinger sat up on his elbows. "Really? Sorry. Didn't think the after effects would be that bad."

"Are you feeling any better?" Andy questioned trying to get her eyes to fully focus on him.

"I'm fine now. You don't have to worry." Stinger tried to sit up all the way, fighting dizziness.

"I know you aren't fully healed," Andy responded. "Plus, I'm always going to worry about you. Just lay back and rest some more."

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "And if I don't?"

"I could sedate you," Andy smirked. "But I won't. I'll just keep an eye on you in case you pass out again... if you insist on not resting."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "I do not need a babysitter." He looked over at Champ. "Help me out here aibou?

"I'm not trying to babysit you. I am just trying to help you, but if you don't want me to, then go do what you want," Andy snapped and pushed herself out of the chair and headed out of the room.

"If she thinks you should rest, you probably should," Champ answered.

Stinger cursed and lay back. "I'm an idiot. I just fixed things and now I pushed my luck. Maybe next time I should just let the bad guy do what he wants."

"Aibou, she loves you and just wants to help. You feel the same for her too. You two need to both work together on everything and accept help from each other instead of pushing each other away and hiding things."

Stinger sighed. "I know. Old habits and all that."

"I know you want to be your best self for her. If you keep doing the same thing, she's going to get tired of it and you'll just end up fighting all the time," Champ spoke. "I want you happy, but I care about her a lot too and I hate seeing you two hurt each other. So just... Let her help you."

Stinger nodded. "You think you can calm her down? I'd hate for her to be angry at me if I need her healing again. My luck she'd be so mad she'd finish the job."

Champ chuckled, "if you need her, she'll be there even if she's angry. You are her husband after all and she cares about you more than anything."

Stinger gave a half smile to the android. "You think she'll come back if I ask nice?"

"You might want to rest a bit first, but go talk to her. Everything will be fine," Champ assured.

Stinger grimaces. "That's why I need her to come back. Don't you remember my sleep after Aniki poisoned me?"

Champ nodded slowly, "Do you want me to go talk to her for you?"

"Honestly I can't get up. I feel twice as bad as the first time."

"I'll go talk to her then. Just relax the best you can..."

Champ stood up and headed out into the hall. He knocked on Stinger and Andy's door and was surprised when Andy actually answered.

Worry crossed her face, "Is Stinger ok?"

"He's fine. Resting."

"Good," Andy answered, "Is there something I can do for you...?"

"I just came to tell you he didn't mean to make you angry... I know he's going to have trouble sleeping, you might want to go help him?"

Andy sighed, "yeah... I'll head down there soon."

When she finally made it back to the infirmary she walked in slowly in case Stinger had actually managed to fall asleep.

The sight that met her eyes caused her to gasp. Stinger was in a far corner, tail making stabbing motions at the air. His eyes were unfocused and he was panting heavily. "Stay away from her!" He cried out tail stabbing faster.

"Stinger? It's me. Everything is ok," Andy spoke slow and even trying not to frighten him.

"You can't have her! You'll have to kill me first!" He started to advance on her, tail raised menacingly.

She considered pulling a weapon to help defend if he did attack but realized that wouldn't help him calm down. She next considered sedating him but wasn't sure how she'd get close enough to administer it. She stayed still, just hoping she could get through to him, "Stinger? It's me, Andy. We are both safe in the infirmary. I need you to wake up for me please."

He paused, seconds ticking by. Then his eyes focused on her. "Andy? What-?" He noticed his tail and quickly dropped it looking embarrassed. "I didn't sting you did I?"

She moved closer and pulled him into a hug, "No. I'm fine. You were just having a bad nightmare." She rested her head on him, "While you're already on your feet why don't we go back to our room? It'll be comfier there."

He nodded slowly not meeting her eyes. He followed her down the hall not saying anything.

She opened the door and headed over to the bed. She sat down and waited for him to join her. When he finally did lay down she rubbed his hair, "I'll be right here for you if you have another nightmare."

"I'm sorry." His voice was so low she could barely hear it. "I keep pushing you away."

She slowly kept rubbing his hair, "I know. I wish you'd quit, but whether you do or don't I'll always be here for you when you need me. I love you, Stinger."

"Why? Everyone who gets close to me either dies or gets hurt. That's why I tried not to join the team in the first place. After Champ-" His voice breaks, but he recovers a minute later. "I tried to settle my own problems without involving anyone else."

Andy sighed, "I married you, didn't I? I gave you my whole life. And I will do anything I can to help and protect you as long as I'm alive. Even if you try to push me away, I'm going to do everything in my power to still help, because no matter what, I love you and I'm yours whether you like it or not."

Stinger burrowed into the covers. "I'm going to get you killed. You should be on your planet safe with Hammy, not here with me."

"I wanted to leave my planet to help more people, I probably wouldn't be there right now even if we weren't together." She leaned against the headboard, "I don't think you're going to get me killed, but like I said, I gave you my life. If I die protecting you, I'll die happy."

Stinger's face paled and he tried to hide. "Don't ever say that...please."

"I'm sorry..." she closed her eyes, "People in my village fight to protect the children and their loved ones. If they die in battle, it's an honorable death because they died for their people." She thought back to her parents, "As long as the village was protected, they could die happy. You're my village now, Stinger."

He raised his eyes to hers. "My planet was slaughtered because of me. The thought of losing you scares me more than the idea of Don Armage somehow reviving or anything Jark Matter throws at us. I know I couldn't handle losing you. I'd probably do something stupid just to join you."

Andy gave a small chuckle, "I don't plan on going out easy, you know. I don't think you have to worry about me dying any time soon." She shook her head, "But if something did happen to me, I'd want you to keep living for the both of us. You have other people who care about you too that you need to live for."

Stinger scoffed. "Kotaro has Jiro. Champ will outlive me anyway." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You didn't realize you married a problem child did you?"

"Just because Kotaro has Jiro and Champ will live longer doesn't mean it won't hurt them to lose you. And you already died at least once before we got married, I knew you came with problems. You just have to realize you married someone as stubborn as you who will stick with you even when you are being stupid. I might get mad and storm off sometimes, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. I'm going to be here for you no matter what." She smiled, "Now get some rest, you need it."

Stinger gave her a soft smile, his tail wrapping around her leg as his eyes drifted closed.

"We've deciphered a bit, but there's notes in the information Andy got that mention a special glass that can see hidden markers in the scroll. So our best bet is to go get this glass," Balance updated.

"From everything we've figured out, there's a planet a couple days away where we could find it," Naga added.

Stinger frowned. "We need more information. The last time we had bad intel and we saw how that went."

"Are there any rebellion members on this planet?" Andy wondered.

"Not that they'd have the best intel either," Champ reminded, "we got the last intel from rebellion members..."

Stinger began to pace. "We know Jark Matter is afraid of whatever information this scroll contains. We know that they want it back. What we don't know is how to decipher the scroll. If we go to this planet and get the glass are we sure it will work?"

Balance shrugged, "I mean, I guess we won't know until we get it, but it's the best clue we have right now."

"Alright. We go as soon as everyone's ready."

Naga put the course in the system, "It'll take about 38 hours to arrive in the planets orbit."

"Let me know when we arrive." He headed for his office.

Andy showed up a while later and knocked on his door, she noticed he was kind of zoning out, "What are you thinking about?"

"Trying to piece everything together. Jark Matter was nearly wiped out a few months ago when I picked you up from headquarters. Then suddenly they are back to launching full scale invasions. Then the intel about the scroll. How is it connected?"

He closed his eyes, rubbing his temples.

"It's been more than a few months since you picked me up from headquarters," she chuckled before sitting across from him, "Don Armage's been gone a few years now but Jark Matter keeps coming back at almost full force. The indavers can't be smart enough to plan these attacks so either the malistrates have managed to find a way to work together or they now have someone else in charge." She thought for a moment, "One of the planets near us was always starting battles. Even after we got rid of their leaders, they kept attacking. Someone will always step up to take over... We just need to find a way to stop them permanently. For us, we finally worked out a peace treaty and trades. I doubt we could do the same with Jark Matter, but there has to be something..." She sighed as she finished her thoughts.

Stinger grimaced. "We do not need a Don Armage wannabe. At this rate, we'll never get to retire." He opened his eyes. "We need to find out what that scroll says soon."

"We'll get to retire eventually. We just need to stay positive," Andy smiled. "I know we can figure it out."

Stinger chuckled. "You want positivity? Go call Lucky. I'm the realist on the team." He sobered, staring out the window. "Reality says our luck has to run out sometime. Hopefully later rather than sooner in this situation."

"I'm not saying everything will be perfect, but it's better to have hope than not. Hope gives us something to look forward to, without it, it feels like we'd be giving up."

He turned to her. "Ever feel afraid to hope? After my brother I refused to hope. Lucky forced me to during the first war. Now I find myself afraid again."

"So far, hope hasn't let me down. Hammy left at the same time our parents died, so Avery and I bonded together from that. There were times I'd worry we'd never see her again, but he always just told me to keep positive. I did, and eventually she came home," Andy sighed. "I know what it's like to be afraid, but I'd rather fight the fear and be hopeful than to give into it." She stood up, wrapped her arms around him and smiled, "But if you refuse to hope, I'll just have to hope hard enough for the both of us."

He chuckled again, holding her tight. "What would I do without you to give me a swift kick when I need it?"

She just laughed in response, "I guess I should let you get back to work."

He shook his head. "What work? Raptor-"

"Yeah, Raptor isn't here. So unless you push it off on Champ, you probably actually need to do it," she smirked.

He huffed. "You're right like always." He let go of her and sat down.

"If you hear me yelling, it's probably because one of Shou's memos have been read. If you hear blaster fire come quick because I probably shot myself due to said memos." He shot her a grin.

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss, "Get some work done, but if you do need a break after a while, I'll be down in the training room."

"You are definitely having a better day. Shoo then." He turned his attention to his tablet as she left.

Two hours later, Stinger wandered down to the training room. Peeking in, he watched quietly as Andy threw shuriken at Indaver targets. She never missed and he once again was happy she was on their side. If he ever had to fight her in earnest, he had no doubt he'd be dead. He clapped his hands as she finished.

She turned and threw a shuriken, hitting the wall next to Stinger. She smirked, "Did you actually do some work?"

Stinger pulled up it out, twirling it in his hands. "Some… too preoccupied with this scroll business. Luckily none of Shou's memos actually made me want to shoot myself. I think he's just as worried as we are."

"You guys have done so much over the years including finally defeating Don Armage. We can get through this too."

He sighed. "I just wish it was already over." He quit twirling the shuriken and looked at her. "I thought I'd be a fighter forever. It was all I ever knew. Then I met you. Now I actually look forward to never fighting again."

"I know love. Most of the others aren't on active duty, I wish you could get away from all of this like they have," she gave him a kiss before taking her shuriken back. "If I could permanently clone myself I would and then I'd take over as commander so you and I could go somewhere far from all of this."

Stinger grinned. "Your clone would never forgive you."

She chuckled, "I promise, it might not be this year or the next, but we will get through all of this. We'll go somewhere fun and settle down, not having to worry if we'll still be at war the next day."

The Orion suddenly shook violently as Stinger's com came to life. "We're under attack aibou!"

Stinger ran for the bridge as he answered "Any idea who?"

"They aren't morimarz."

The ship shook again and Stinger grabbed Andy to keep her from falling. "We'll be there in five. Evasive maneuvers."

They exchanged looks and kept running.

"Can we remote pilot some of the voyagers and see if they focus their attacks on them instead?" Andy suggested.

"The remote pilot program only works if somebody is piloting their own and someone's else's."

Stinger touched his com. "Champ. Change of plans. Meet me in the voyager bay." He turned to Andy. "You're in command. Champ and I will see if we can distract them so you can use the cannon."

He didn't wait for her to answer, just spun and raced the other direction.

Andy cursed at him under her breath as she headed to the bridge. "Balance, keep trying to evade hits. Naga, try to pinpoint the attackers exact locations." She tried to formulate a plan that would avoid Stinger and Champ getting in harm's way.

Stinger quickly ran through the checklist and touched his com. "Sasori voyager ready to launch."

He waited for Andy's acknowledgment as Champ relayed his own readiness.

"Do you plan on remote piloting any of them? If so how many?" Andy answered.

Stinger considered the question. "I'll use Tenbin and Chameleon." He activated the program.

"Tenbin and Chameleon ready for launch."

Andy nodded, "You won't listen even if I tell you not to go, so just be careful." She thought for a moment, "You two stay close to the Orion and send Tenbin and Chameleon out further to see if the attackers move toward them."

She looked over, "Naga, did you pinpoint any of their locations?"

"There's four small ships, but they don't seem big enough to be on their own."

"They might have a cloaking device on a larger ship," Balance answered.

Andy nodded, "Let's keep an eye for any new little ships to appear and see if we can find the bigger one. Balance how are our shields?"

"Still holding," he nodded.

Stinger hit the launch button on the remote program, then his own. He came out and swung around, staying close to the Orion. Pressing a button, he sent Tenbin into the battle, watching the way the smaller ships moved.

"Stinger to Orion. These definitely have a parent ship somewhere. They don't have the power to get this far on their own. I suspect the big one to be near the planet's moon." He tapped out some coordinates.

Andy looked around for a moment before talking through the comms, "We'll try shooting in that direction and see if we get anything..." She sighed, "Just make sure to stay clear." She looked at Balance, "Ready the cannon. Naga, have we caught any more of the little ships in our sights?"

He shook his head, "Not yet."

"All ready," Balance informed.

"Ok, fire then," Andy ordered.

Stinger grew alarmed as a little ship suddenly appeared, heading straight for the bridge. Cursing, he hit the boosters and swung towards it, hoping he would make it in time. Calculating the trajectory, the Sasori warrior adjusted his aim. The shot deflected off the shield but turned the smaller ship's attention away.

His voyager rocked with the repeated fire, systems shorting out and going dark. Stinger's last thought before losing consciousness was a prayer for Andy's safety.

Andy's heart sank as she saw the Sasori voyager out the window, getting attacked. "Stinger? Come in, Stinger?" She watched the Tenbin and Chameleon voyagers stop moving.

"Champ, can you take control of the other two voyagers?" She spoke through her comm. She looked back to where they had fired and saw a few stray pieces of metal floating around. "Balance, fire the cannon again." She kept her eyes focused on it this time and noticed an almost rippling effect of the cloak, "Keep firing, the ship is definitely there. If we can get it to uncloak we can better see what we are up against."

"I have control of them," Champ answered finally.

"Attack the smaller ships the best you can," Andy ordered. "Naga see if you can get the tractor beam running to pull the Sasori Voyager back in."

The Tenbin and Chameleon voyagers began firing on the little ships making them explode. Suddenly the cloak rippled and vanished, revealing a large dark ship.

Balance aimed the cannon and fired on it, exclaiming loudly when it exploded with a huge fireball.

Naga spoke. "Sasori Voyager is now in the Bay."

"Champ, bring the other voyagers back," Andy looked at the BN thieves, "Let me know if anything else shows up. I'm going to check on Stinger."

She rushed to the voyager bay but slowed down when she noticed how badly it was damaged. She opened the door and noticed Stinger slumped down unconscious.

Climbing in, she reached for his kyutama. Removing it, she waited for him to demorph. Gasping, she reached a shaking hand to his neck.

His hair was blood soaked, one side of his face coated in it. His pulse was strong though and she relaxed slightly as Champ appeared beside her.

He reached in, removing the ranger's limp form. Carefully he followed the ninja towards the infirmary.

Andy's com buzzed. Naga's voice came through. "We will be at the planet in 5 hours."

Andy struggled to keep her voice calm. "Acknowledged."

She grabbed some supplies and started cleaning the blood from Stinger's face. A bruise was starting to form in a few spots where he hit his head but only the one hit hard enough to bleed. She set the alcohol and peroxide aside before her hands started glowing. She focused on trying to repair his broken blood vessels to prevent further bruising.

He groaned, eyelids twitching as he tried to open them. "Andy?"

She paused and brushed a strand of hair from his face. "You're ok, don't worry." She then focused back onto his healing.

He nodded, losing consciousness again.

Not taking her focus off of Stinger, Andy spoke to Champ who was standing behind her, "Stop by the bridge and see if there's been any more reports from the resistance members on the planet. If there are send them to me. Then get started on making repairs to the voyagers. If you need help, ask Balance to come with you, just make sure Naga is keeping an eye on the controls. I'll be back here if you need anything."

"Alright." Champ left quietly.

Stinger's eyes blinked open. "Owww." He gazed up at her. "Are we safe?"

"Everything is fine," she stopped her healing and lowered her hands. "That threat is gone, we are on our way to the planet, repairs are being made to the voyagers. You have nothing to worry about." She smiled down at him.

"Anyone else hurt?" He tried to sit up, one hand gingerly touching his head.

"Unless Champ got a little beat up and I missed it, we are all fine. He's down at the voyager bay if you want me to double check on him when I'm done with you."

"He's probably fine. What's the damage? All I remember is the ship firing on me repeatedly."

"You bumped your head a few times. Mostly just some bruising, no lasting damage. One hit was just right that you bled some, but head wounds tend to bleed a lot even if they aren't serious," she sighed. "The Orion's defenses took a bit of a hit, but it shouldn't be too hard to repair. Your voyager needs the most work because you took so many hits, but the others need a bit of work too. And we've continued our trajectory toward the planet to get the glass for the scroll." She held her hands back up to his head and focused on healing the now scabbed wound.

Stinger rubbed his face. "We aren't out of the woods yet. Those ships were privateers. Means there will either be more attacks the closer we get or they'll wait till we land and try to take us out there. We'll have to be extra vigilant. Recalibrate the sensors to detect any more of those cloaked ships…" He stood as he ticked off the list.

"You should rest a bit longer. I'll go have Naga recalibrate them and then check on how the voyager repairs are going," Andy offered.

Stinger nodded quietly, sitting then stretching out on the bed. He closed his eyes.

Andy kissed his cheek before heading out into the hall. She quickly went and gave orders to Naga before heading to the voyager bay.

"How are repairs going?"

"We should have them done by the time we get there," Balance answered.

Andy nodded, "Stinger thinks we might run into more trouble so make sure they are in top shape. Also, please try to prevent him from flying off into trouble again," she sent Champ a quick glance before moving back toward the bridge.

Stinger awoke and sat up. Rubbing a hand through his hair, he yawned. Noticing he was alone, he decided to head up to the bridge. Sliding off the bed, he frowned as his right leg buckled. Holding on to the edge with one hand, he massaged it till he could stand. With a sigh, he left the infirmary.

As the doors opened, he could hear Naga giving a status report.

"The sensors haven't detected any ships in the area, but there does seem to be significant movement on the surface. The glass has not been moved."

"Have you heard anything from the resistance members?" Andy wondered.

"Nothing." Naga replied.

"They may have been wiped out." Stinger walked onto the bridge. "If they have, we're on our own. There's no way headquarters can send out reinforcements in time."

Andy looked thoughtful for a second, "Can't we wait it out for a bit? Attack anyone who comes at us and protect our ship while we wait for reinforcements?"

"Are the voyagers repaired yet?" He quickly sent a message off to Shou and Tsurugi explaining the situation.

"They should be done within the next half hour. Balance was retesting them," Andy answered.

He nodded, grimacing as a bolt of pain shot through his temple. His leg buckled again and if he hadn't been holding on to the console, he would have fallen. He hoped no one had seen. He raised his head. "We go with Andy's idea. I've sent a request to Supreme Commander."

"Stinger?" Andy looked at him with concern.

"It's nothing. Naga, anything on sensors yet?" His knuckles tightened on the console as another bolt of pain struck.

"Stinger, let's go back to the infirmary so I can check you over and heal you up some more," Andy said softly.

Stinger's eyes were clenched shut. "I can't move my leg. And I think my head's going to explode."

Andy took a second to calm herself before she moved over to him. She moved a chair over and pushed him into it, cringing at how pained his face looked.

"Naga, let me know if you spot anything. Call Champ and ask him to grab pain medicine for Stinger from the infirmary."

Andy knelt in front of Stinger and checked him over. She gasped when she noticed a blood clot stuck in his leg. She focused her energy into trying to break it up and promote the flow of blood back to the rest of his leg.

Stinger relaxed as his leg regained the feeling. It hurt but it was better than not feeling it. However, his head didn't want to follow the example. It still felt like it was going to explode but he didn't know if it was related to his leg or the blows he'd received in the space battle.

He lifted a hand and rubbed his temple, willing the headache away. He could not afford to be out of action with this many Jark Matter troops on the surface. They had to get that glass so they could decode the scroll and discover what Jark Matter was hiding. But the pain intensified and he felt himself blacking out.

When Champ arrived she had him carry Stinger back to the infirmary. She injected him with some pain medicine and tried to focus on healing him more.

She left a clone with him to make sure nothing else went wrong while she headed back to the bridge to help the others keep an eye out for attacks.

"Andy, we have contact. Two of their cloaked ships have launched." Champ spoke as she entered.

"How long till they reach us?" She stood next to him.

"10 minutes give or take."

She pursed her lips, strategizing in her head. "Balance, Champ do the remote piloting again. Naga, get the cannon ready. We don't know how many ships they have but we have to hold on until the reinforcements Stinger requested can get here."

As they acknowledged and left the bridge, she didn't add 'if they get here'.

"Ready to go," Balance reported.

"Do like before and you two stay close to the Orion while the empty ones go further out," Andy responded.

She looked to Naga, "Fire on the bigger ships first, but if you get a chance, get the little ones too."

Stinger could feel the ship shaking as he regained consciousness. He stayed still, checking the state of his health. His leg throbbed slightly but his headache had disappeared. With a deep breath, he sat up. The room stayed still so he proceeded to slide off the bed and stand. 

"Let me check you before you leave," Andy appeared at his side.

"What's happening?"

"Two of the cloaked ships are attacking. Champ and Balance are out in the voyagers while Naga and I are running things on the bridge. Reinforcements still haven't arrived," she sighed.

"Dammit. No sign of them?" Stinger grew agitated as the ship shook again.

"Not yet," she stepped closer to him, "The defenses are still holding. We've taken a few of their small ships out but haven't gotten the big ones yet."

His tail twitched. "We have to get down there."

"To the planet?"

"Yeah. If they move or destroy the glass, we'll lose our chance to decode the scroll." He looked at her. "Do I pass muster?"

Andy scanned over him, "I guess." She paused for a moment, "I have an idea. Let the voyagers and the Orion keep them distracted. Clones of us will go down, that way if something bad happens it's not a big deal, and we can see what we are dealing with. If we can't get it, we'll at least have better intel for when we go back down." She looked up at him, "We have the Futago kyutama on the ship so we can clone you. If you like the idea that is."

"Clone me? What happens if we run into trouble?" Stinger cocks his head.

She looked at him confused for a second, "From what I understand on the reports, using the Fugato kyutama will create a clone. I don't know if you would know what clone you is doing or seeing like I can with my clones, but it also won't use up any of the original you's energy. We can take down one voyager, and see what we can figure out. Consider it a recon mission with very little actual danger. I would know what's going on both here and there in case our clones get destroyed."

Stinger looked at her. "I'm more concerned if our clones run into a lot of guards and you get hurt. Would my clone be able to protect you? And what if we lose the glass because we're fighting guards?"

"I'm not even saying we have to go grab the glass, I just thought it'd give us a chance to figure out what we are up against. And if we manage to get it, awesome. If not, we'll have more information than before."

"I would feel more comfortable if you cloned yourself like on Andaria. We can go down together and recon. My worry is Jark Matter moves the glass when they realize how close we are."

She laughed for a second, "You do realize you are talking to my clone right? I'm on the bridge running the ship like you told me to." She smiled, "Go get the Fugato kyutama from me, then we can head out and try not to cause a scene when we land. I'll go start up my voyager"

Stinger rolled his eyes. "You're not funny." When he stepped out onto the bridge, he saw Andy trying not to laugh. "I should spank you."

She held out the kyutama, "I wasn't going to leave you alone in the infirmary in case something bad happened again but I wasn't going to leave the bridge either."

She looked over at Naga, "Is the cannon ready to fire again?"

He nodded. "Waiting for the command."

Stinger took the kyutama and kissed her. "I'll be back in a minute."

She looked at him confused, "Aren't you staying here?"

Stinger wiggled the kyutama. "I'll clone myself in the Bay and then come back up here."

She squints her eyes at him, "Why can't you clone yourself here?"

"Easier to clone myself and just climb into my voyager right?"

She frowned at him, "You know that sounds like bullshit right? Just clone yourself here and send the clone down to your voyager."

Stinger pouts. "I'm not winning this am I?" He loaded the kyutama in his blaster and fired.

He sat down in his chair as the clone left the room.

Andy stood up and put a hand on his back, "How are you feeling?" Her hand glowed as she secretly scanned over him. Shaking her head, she waited for his response.

Her clone stood in the doorway to the voyager bay waiting for Stinger

When she finally spotted him she asked, "Did you really think you could fool me?"

"I figured it was worth a try. How did you figure it out?"

"Clone's energy feels different."

He sighs disgruntledly. "Why are you so insistent on this clone idea?"

"The clone can fight just as well as you can. But if the clone dies, you're still fine. I just want to keep you safe, love. Is that such a bad thing?"

He sent her a small smile. "No. I just think there's too much at risk to lose this battle. And I don't know if the clone will work as well as yours. I could always go as well as my clone?"

She pulled him into a hug, "I know this battle is important, but so are you. I'm not letting you put your life further at risk on top of everything else. Our clones will work fine."

His eyes narrowed. "Is there something you're not telling me? You didn't give me a straight answer earlier."

Andy sighed, "Technically, there's nothing preventing you from fighting... but you did have a blood clot in your leg and I just want to stay close to you in case another one appears. Outside of that, your head still isn't fully healed and I don't want something happening and it getting worse." She looked up at him, "Your head already is pretty bruised. If something were to happen and it start bruising up more, it could become very serious very fast. On top of that, I just don't want you going out there," she gave him a small smile.

He was shocked. He hadn't realized his condition had become that serious. And he was trying to fight? He really was stupid.

He smiled back. "Sorry for being stupid. I wasn't trying to be you know. And if I'm perfectly honest I feel like crap. Forgive me?"

"Promise you won't try to pull off any other stupid ideas today?" She smirked.

"If I don't?" He grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"You'll probably be sedated," she joked.

"Hmm. I promise not to be stupid but the sedation actually sounds good." He stopped and looked at her. "Did I just say that?"

She chuckled, "I've been doing pretty well leading this mission, I could just sedate you and keep staying in charge."

He grinned again. "Be my guest. You know I hate this job ninety percent of the time."

"Come on, let's get you to bed to rest a while," Andy held her hand out to him.

After walking him to their room she gave him some more medicine and gave him a kiss on the forehead, "Don't worry about anything, it'll go fine. I'll update you if something goes wrong though."

She watched him finally drift to sleep, the medicine kicking in.

The real Andy, who was on the bridge, took a few seconds to figure out what she needed to do.

One of the two cloaked ships had just been destroyed, cannons aimed on the other. Champ and Balance were still taking out the little fighter ships. The real Stinger was now asleep, but she still didn't want to leave him alone if something went wrong. She also still needed a clone to go with the Stinger clone down to the planet.

She focused for a few seconds as she formed another clone. Clone 1 would stay with Stinger, Clone 2 would go to the planet, and real Andy would keep giving orders.

Andy focused just enough energy into Clone 1 to keep an eye on Stinger. As long as nothing went wrong and she didn't need to heal, this clone wouldn't drain her much.

Clone 2 set off with Clone-Stinger to the voyager bay. This fight would probably be where she had to focus most of her energy but until they landed she kept her real body focused on attacking the ships.

"Fire the cannon," Andy ordered Naga. She called through the comm, "Champ, Balance, how many of the smaller ships do you see still?"

Champ answered. "Only a few. We can pick them off."

Andy nodded, "Keep me updated."

Andy's second clone searched the planet for a good place to land. Finally, she spotted an empty area surrounded by forests. "We can walk from here and stay hidden up in the trees. At least until we get there. If it looks like we won't be able to take them, we can head back and create a new plan," she decided.

Stinger's clone nodded. "If the scans were right, the majority of troops are around the buildings. So we'll be able to get there without too much hassle."

They landed and climbed out of the voyager. Stinger looked up. "You may be able to jump from tree to tree, but I'm not that skilled. However, I am skilled at digging. So you go high and I go low?"

Stinger quickly dug a hole and disappeared.

She jumped up into the trees and darted ahead quickly. She eventually got near the edge of the forest and stopped, hiding in the leaves so no one would see her.

The real Andy who was on the bridge smiled when she heard Champ over the comms, "We've finished off the last of the little ships."

She responded, "Try to attack the last big ship. One more hit and their cloak should go offline so we'll be able to see it better." She then ordered Naga to fire again and watched as the ship appeared in front of them.

She grasped onto the console when the ship suddenly shook, taking a hit from the enemy's cannon.

Stinger's eyes flew open. He stayed still a moment evaluating himself. Headache? Tolerable. Leg? No pain. He sat up.

The clone next to him heard his movements and opened her eyes even though she couldn't see him well with the lights off in the room, "Don't worry, love. The battle is still under control."

Stinger jumped, then took a deep breath. "You scared me. Are you still the clone?"

"One of them. Real Andy is on the bridge. A second clone is down with your clone on the planet," she answered, "I just didn't want to leave you alone..."

He smiled and kissed her. "Have I told you lately how much I love you beautiful? I'm going to the bridge."

"I love you too," she smiled. "I can help you walk there if you need it," she offered.

"I think I may take you up on that. My head still doesn't want to cooperate."

She stood and held her hand out for him, "Do you want any more pain medicine before we head down there?"

"Low dose. Need my head somewhat clear to help you. Any word from the clones?"

She grabbed him some and handed them to him before getting him a glass of water, "We landed in a good area. I'm currently hiding in some trees trying to figure out what's going on while you decided to dig underground. Not sure what you're doing yet."

Stinger took the pills, downing the glass of water and handing it back. "I'm probably thinking we possibly can get into the building from underground. The troops won't notice anything." He headed for the door slowly.

She came up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, "I'll let you know if anything changes down there and I'll update you on everything else when we get you to the bridge."

He nodded and gave her a weak smile. "How many clones can you make? And doesn't that drain you?"

She smiled, "Theoretically, I could create a million. However, it does split up my energy into multiple places, so if I made that many they'd all probably be really weak."

"That's an even better reason to go to the bridge. You need that clone on the planet strong."

She helped make sure he got to the bridge safely before disappearing. The real Andy spoke up, "We have one large ship left but it's weakened our defenses. We are trying to focus all of our energy into taking it out before our shields completely go down."

Stinger checked Champ's console. "I think we should concentrate on the engines here." He pointed to a place on the hologram. "If we can get one good hit I think we'll be okay."

Andy pressed the button on the comm, "Champ, Balance, try to hit here while we charge up the cannon again," she drew a circle before sending the picture to them. "Naga, how long until we can fire again?"

"Fifteen minutes."

Stinger concentrated on the console looking for other potential weak spots. There didn't appear to be any and he growled softly.

Andy raised an eyebrow at the noise coming through the comm, "Orion? Come in Orion."

"Orion here," she answered.

She smiled recognizing the next voice. "Your backup is here," Kotaro informed.

"Any chance your cannons are ready to fire?" She wondered.

"Three minutes to full charge," another resistance member answered.

"Let me know when it's ready," she ordered before calling Champ and Balance, "Get clear. Reinforcements are here."

She saw the enemy fire, "Brace for impact."

She held tight to the console once more as the Orion took damage.

Stinger was concentrating on the console. He grabbed hold but when the ship rocked he lost his grip. He fell, hitting the side of his head on the edge. The world went black.

She paused for a moment focusing on her clone to see what was happening there. After a moment she was broken out of that concentration by the resistance ship answering, "We're ready to fire."

"Alright, fire," Andy commanded. She took a few seconds watching the explosion before she made more orders, "Kyurangers convene on the Orion. All others who are battle ready head down to the planet. There's a lot of indavers on the surface and you coming down to attack can double as a distraction for our people on the planet."

Andy turned to Naga and Stinger to start working on further plans when she noticed Stinger laying on the ground. She rushed to his side and quickly noticed blood. She straightened him out and noticed the scab on his head had broken open. Scanning over him quickly, she started trying to heal him.

She heard noises as her team entered the bridge.

"What happened?" Champ appeared worried.

"Can you carry him to the infirmary?" she finally answered before letting her hands drop.

"Is he ok?" Kotaro came up.

Andy nodded, "He will be."

She tried to push herself up but stumbled. Hammy quickly caught her, "Take it easy."

Andy looked over and smiled, "Didn't know you were coming."

"Well, here I am," Hammy answered. "Why don't you sit down for a minute?"

Andy shook her head, "I have to take care of Stinger, come up with a plan here, and work on getting the glass from the planet."

"You can't do everything at once. Slow down."

"I'm already on the planet with a clone of Stinger working on the glass. If the resistance can distract Jark Matter, we can sneak in and get it."

"Ok, breathe." Hammy ordered. "You get to the infirmary to take care of Stinger. Kotaro can stay here and keep an eye from the ship, while the rest of us go down to the surface and take over the mission getting the glass."

Andy sighed, "Alright." She finally noticed everyone was back on the bridge, "Like Hammy said, Kotaro you stay here, contact me if anything changes. I'll be in the infirmary checking on Stinger, and the rest of you meet up with the clones and try to get the glass safely."

She headed out of the bridge and slowly made her way to the infirmary. She started scanning over him again to see if anything changed.

"Andy?" The words were slurred, his eyes unfocused. "What's happening?" He reached out for her. His hands were shaking and his tail was twitching slowly.

She took his hand in hers, "Everything is fine for now. The ship has been taken care of and the team is heading down to the planet to get the glass."

"Why am I here?" He gave her a puzzled look, one hand going to his head. When he brought it down, the blood on his fingers seemed to surprise him.

"You hit your head again. I think when we took the attack from the enemy ship," she informed. "It doesn't look like you are hurt too badly, I just need to stop the bleeding again and try to do what I can to help your headache. You probably have a concussion by this point."

He slowly nodded, his eyes slipping closed and his hand relaxing in hers.

She moved her hand away and cleaned up his wound. She bandaged it up before she worked on pushing her energy into him, slowly healing the swelling.

Andy's clone jumped down when she spotted Stinger's. "We have back up coming. Hopefully they'll put all their attention into fighting so we can sneak past. The other kyurangers are coming down too to help us."

Clone Stinger nodded as he watched the troops. "They've barely moved. Their orders are probably to keep the glass secure at all costs. We're going to need a big distraction."

"Kotaro mentioned about a hundred resistance fighters were here. Hopefully that's big enough."

Clone Stinger turned to her. "The tunnel leads straight to the door so we won't be seen till then. But I'm not sure the level of security on the actual door and we don't know what to expect inside. Be careful."

She heard noises in the distance making the troops turn. "I think that's the resistance." She thought for a moment, "As soon as our team gets here, they can take the door while you and I rush in and figure out what exactly is going on inside."

Clone Stinger nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Andy spotted the others approaching and grabbed their attention. Starting in on the plan, the others distracted the guards at the door, working on taking them down. The two clones saw their shot and rushed in.

They spotted a few guards standing near a safe. They quickly took them out.

"Do we need Balance or Naga for this?" Stinger wondered staring at the box.

Andy shook her head, "I can probably get it." She put her ear up to it and listened to the clicks. She smirked as she finally pulled the door open.

She grabbed the odd looking glass, "Now we just have to get it back to the ship."

Stinger frowned. "Hopefully with all the chaos it won't be hard."

They made their way out, Stinger back to back with Andy watching for any troops showing an interest in them.

The other kyurangers had joined in with resistance fighting off armies of indavers. Luckily though, the clones got almost to the voyager before noticing a group of enemies.

"Watch out," Andy spoke quietly before she threw a few shuriken out at the indavers she spotted.

Stinger turned in time to see a malistrate aim a weapon at Andy. "Get down!" He pushed her as the weapon fired.

Real Andy looked up through the clone's eyes and watched Stinger getting hit. Watched as his face contorted in pain before he vanished before her eyes. She froze in panic before she remembered he was only a clone and the real Stinger was safe right in front of her. She opened an eye and glanced at the Stinger she was healing before closing it again to focus back on her task.

Clone Andy stood and fired attacks at the malistrate as she rushed herself toward her voyager. She climbed in and then used her voyager's beams to finish the malistrate off. She quickly took off and set her voyager on autopilot back to the Orion.

She called Kotaro, "I have the glass. I don't think this clone will last much longer, but it should be safe in my voyager."

Andy tried to keep focusing on keeping her clone long enough for it to return to the ship as she also worked on healing Stinger's head. Eventually though, the clone disappeared right before Andy passed out.

Stinger forced his eyes open. Everything was blurry but he could tell he was in the infirmary. What had happened? He squeezed them shut again as he tried to remember. Andy had been healing him but why? He had a brief memory of a cloaked ship. Suddenly he sat up. The Orion had been under attack. Where was Andy?

Hammy heard a small noise behind her. She turned and noticed Stinger sitting up, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Like Don Armage used my head for batting practice. Where's Andy?"

Hammy stood up and headed over to him, pointing at the other bed, "She'll be fine. I can see if I can find you some medicine? That's the best I can do though, but I don't know what you've even had today."

He looked at her through heavy eyes. "I can't remember much of today so honestly I have no idea."

"All I know is you hit your head multiple times," Hammy chuckled softly. "Everything worked out on the planet so you have nothing to worry about."

"Really?" Stinger squinted at her. "So the clones worked?"

"The rest of us all were fighting. Kotaro got a call from Andy saying the glass was in her voyager but outside of that I don't know what exactly happened. You'll have to talk to her about it. But we did get the glass and Naga and Balance are trying to decipher the scroll."

"That's a relief." His eyes weren't getting any better, so he shook his head. And immediately regretted it as a jackhammer started behind them. "Shouldn't have done that." He carefully lay back down.

She winced, "You should probably just go back to sleep. Andy can probably check you whenever she wakes up, but until then none of us can do much for you."

He sighed, closing his eyes with a grimace.

Ten minutes later he was still awake, head in agony. He tried to stay quiet so as not to disturb Andy, but he couldn't resist the groan after a particularly sharp stab of pain lanced through.

Andy winced in her sleep at the noise but stayed unconscious. Hammy got up again to look for some medicine. "Here. Even if you've had some you obviously need more." She held a bottle out to him.

He took it unsteadily and tried to focus on opening it. After the fifth try, he sighed. "I hate this."

Hammy held her hand out, "Sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking." She took the bottle and opened it before handing it back.

Andy slowly woke thinking she heard voices. She listened for another few moments before realizing her sister was there, "Ham...?"

"Hey," Hammy moved back over to her and smiled, watching Andy sleepily blink her eyes open. Andy tried to glance over Stinger's way and grinned when she finally spotted him.

He met her eyes with a tired but happy smile. "Glad to see you awake beautiful." His voice was soft, his eyes semi focused.

"Hi, love," she responded.

"You two need to go back to sleep," Hammy noticed.

"I'm fine," Andy tried to push herself up to seem more awake.

Stinger chuckled, half awake. "Hammy's about to kick your butt, beautiful. Take the advice you keep telling me and rest." His eyes finally closed, breathing evening out.

"...ok." Andy yawned before closing her own eyes and falling asleep within moments.

-Time skip to a few days later -

"So how long are you staying?" Andy asked her sister while they sat on Hammy's bed.

"The power this scroll is talking about is big. I think you guys will need all the help you can get," she smiled, "So you're stuck with me at least until we get it."

Andy laughed, "I have missed you."

"It's been weird at home without you. Or anyone else..." Hammy spoke sadly before smiling again, "I'm figuring things out though."

Andy glanced at the time, "It's time to eat. As long as Stinger actually remembered it was his day to cook." She smirked before standing.

Andy smiled at Stinger who was stirring something on the stove, "How many more days until we reach the next planet?"

Stinger grinned as he tasted. "At least two, if Balance's calculations were right." He turned off the heat and began ladling the soup into bowls. "Help me?"

Andy took a couple bowls and started setting them out on the table before greeting Naga and Kotaro who finally entered the kitchen.

Stinger finished, bringing two more bowls out. He sat down, waiting for Andy.

She went to grab her own bowl but sighed when she realized her dominant hand was shaking. She quickly picked it up with her left hand and made a mental note to get back to her physical therapy. It was definitely a lot better than before but some days her hand still wanted to act up. She finally sat down next to Stinger and smiled.

His eyes darkened for a moment, then he pushed the feeling away. He couldn't yell at her when he was still having issues himself. "So do any of us actually believe what the scroll says?"

"There probably is some kind of power. I'm just wondering if we'd be able to make it through these tests to get it," Andy mentioned concerned.

"Sounds like it will be fun though," Kotaro smiled. "Like an adventure movie."

"Aren't our whole lives already like an adventure movie?" Hammy chuckled.

Stinger huffed out a laugh, taking a bit of soup and swallowing. "I'd prefer not to have to fight anyone. Why do scrolls always make things complicated?"

Andy smirked before joking, "Because everything you deal with has to be complicated."

"Balance is very excited to see what kind of treasure we'll find," Naga finally spoke up.

"I bet he is." Stinger grinned at Andy. "Are you including yourself in that statement?"

She started giggling, "You already know I'm the most complicated of them all."

Stinger started laughing. "I love you my crazy complicated ninja."

"I love you too, you stubborn scorpion." She finally stuck her tongue out before going to take a bite of her soup.

Hammy shook her head, "You two are both crazy, but I'm glad to see you happy."

"Yeah, if Andy wasn't here, Aniki would probably still be super grumpy all the time," Kotaro smirked.

Stinger mock glared at him. "I can still be super grumpy if you don't get those grades up."

He finished his soup, getting up to put it in the sink. His head was throbbing, so he got a glass of water and shook out a pill from a bottle. Taking it quickly, he made his way back to the table.

"Do you want me to help you?" Andy noticed him taking the medicine.

"I don't know why I haven't healed yet?" He looked at her quietly. "Think you can help me to our room?"

She nodded, wrapping an arm around his waist. They made their way slowly down the hall.

"Healing head injuries can take a while. Hopefully you have no lasting damage, but it has only been a few days so you still have a bit to go. I'll see what I can do though." She opened their door, "I can heal internal bleeding or swelling but outside of that, brains are just complicated with jutsu or not."

Stinger managed a weak grin at the word complicated. "Do you think Kotaro was sufficiently cowed to do his math homework?" He sat down on the bed with a relieved sigh.

Andy chuckled, "His grades are great outside of that, maybe it's just not his subject." She smiled, "You could always try to tutor him."

"I'd rather fight Don Armage again. I used to tutor him when he first started. Let's just say I don't have the patience and leave it at that okyu?"

"Hammy's been working as a teacher lately. Not in math but she would have the patience to try to help him at least," Andy suggested. "If they are both going to be here for a while."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Why didn't I think of that? And I forgot they were staying for a while." He flopped back onto the bed. "I really am an idiot."

"You hit your head multiple times in the last week, we had a big mission, and now we are basically going on a treasure hunt. It's understandable you'd forget some things." She moved to sit against the backboard and started rubbing his hair slowly.

He closed his eyes with a smile, his breathing slowing. "I'm the luckiest man in the universe right now."

She smiled, "I'm the lucky one." Her one hand kept rubbing his hair while she moved her other over him to try to do some healing.

He murmured something too soft for her to hear, the medicine taking effect and putting him to sleep.

After a few minutes she moved down and cuddled into him. Soon she was fast asleep too.

The group stood in front of a cave, surprised they hadn't run into any guards.

"Are we ready?" Andy looked around.

"Everyone just be careful," Stinger ordered.

The group nodded before heading into the cave. There was a pathway forward through the cave which they followed. Before long they noticed a bunch of vines moving toward them.

Hammy voiced, "Guys, watch out!"

After fighting them for a few minutes as the vines continued to wrap around them, Andy took a moment to stop moving and take a deep breath. Pushing the panic away, she tried to figure another way out. She noticed the vines stopped trying to take her over, "Guys, calm down and stop moving."

"I can't!" Stinger argued.

"Just do it!" Andy ordered. The vines fell away from her as she turned and watched her teammates. They soon fell away from Naga and Hammy too. Balance struggled to stop fighting them but eventually did. 

Watching Stinger struggling, Andy spoke up again, "Love. Trust me. Just calm down."

He finally did and they started moving away.

Andy shook her head, "Let's keep going."

"I've only seen vines like that once and they ripped someone apart in front of me," Balance mentioned an old memory.

"At least none of us were ripped apart," Naga answered.

Soon they came to an odd table that had five glasses of a dark blue liquid on it. The cave seemed to end so they looked at each other confused.

"Maybe we have to drink it?" Naga looked thoughtful.

"I can't actually drink though..." Balance reminded.

"We have no idea what it will do to us. What if it's poison?" Stinger sighed.

Hammy looked at Andy, "With the vines we just had to calm down and they left. Maybe we just have to accept what is happening and do it?"

Andy nodded in agreement before picking up one of the glasses.

Balance shrugged and picked one up, pouring it on himself.

Naga took one and drank it. His eyes focused on the back of the cave wall and he raised an eyebrow.

"Ready?" Hammy looked at Andy who was staring at the liquid.

Andy smirked, "cheers!" She held her little glass out and clinked it against Hammy's before the two downed the potion.

Stinger shook his head but finally did the same.

"The cave got bigger," Hammy assessed.

"Maybe it was always like that and the drink just allowed us to see it?" Naga questioned.

"Let's go get some treasure!" Balance skipped forward.

Eventually they came to another table and another cave end. There was nothing on the table except a few words carved into it.

"Jiruma Maagi Magiiro?" Stinger looked at the confusing looking words.

A mysterious voice suddenly filled the cave, "You've proved your courage. Use the power well."

A golden kyutama appeared with an odd M shape on it.

As soon as Stinger picked it up they found themselves back out in front of the cave.

"That seemed almost too easy," Balance slumped.

"Most people would have died from the vines or refused to drink the liquid," Hammy noticed, "the voice did mention we had courage."

"We can talk about it later, let's get this back to the ship," Stinger decided.

Andy entered the bridge and noticed there was only one other person there. "Anything interesting here?"

Champ turned. "All quiet." He glanced at her. "Everything alright?"

She sighed, "Yeah... Stinger just hasn't left his office much the last few days. Always talking to Shou and Tsurugi trying to figure out what this kyutama can do."

Champ moo-ed. "Has a lot on his mind. Don't take it personally."

"I know. I just wish I could help him quit stressing out," she admitted. "And they all shot down my idea of just using the kyutama to see what it could do..."

Champ laughed. "We did that a few times and it never turned out the way we planned. And talking to Shou always stresses Stinger out."

"I know," she smirked, "I'm surprised he hasn't actually destroyed his comm by this point."

"Well, if we hear his blaster fire we'll know he finally snapped."

Andy chuckled before sitting down. She stared at the lights on the console for a moment before speaking again. "I wonder if we could talk Stinger into a vacation? He needs to destress."

Champ thought a minute. "Probably not until we have answers for what's going on."

She nodded, "You're right... I might try suggesting it anyway though."

Champ huffed. "Good luck with that."

Andy was about to stand and head to Stinger's office but froze when the bridge comm lit up.

"Everyone meet on the bridge in five minutes, we have a mission," Stinger ordered.

Andy looked over at Champ, "Guess we definitely don't get a vacation."

The others filed into the bridge finishing with Stinger, "We have a report on a massive attack on Kaladria. It's only a few hours away so we are going to go help protect the planet's people."

Stinger stared grimly at his tablet. "And when I say massive I mean it. Remember Minona? That was a tiny battle compared to the size of this one. Headquarters reports read like all of Jark Matter has appeared."

"Do we have a plan or just going down and kicking butt?" Kotaro questioned.

"Right now the plan is to try to repel as much as possible. Reinforcements are on the way but we have no way of knowing how long it will take to arrive."

He put the tablet down. "It's like our last battle against Armage. Except we don't have the same advantage we did there. Anyone who wants to sit out can." He looked pointedly at Andy.

"I can't imagine any of us wanting to sit out a battle this important," Andy answered staring right back at him.

He shook his head with a wry smile. "Okyu. Let's go kick some Jark butt." He glanced at each of them. "You all better come back alive."

"You better too, aibou," Champ added.

"Go get ready and meet down in the Voyager bay in one hour," Stinger ordered.

Andy headed to their room to grab her bag and make sure she had any supplies she might need. She turned when she saw Stinger enter.

"Are you sure you want to go? I doubt there will be a safe place to heal?" He stopped just inside the door watching her.

"First off, sometimes we do healing on the battlefield if someone can watch our backs," she informed, "Secondly, I am skilled in more than just healing you know."

He nodded solemnly. "I do know that. It's probably why I'm still alive. But this is a battle I'm not sure we can win."

"Then why don't you stay here and stay safe?" She suggested.

He chuckled humorlessly. "Cause I'm the Commander. Even with all of Shou's laziness, he never ran from a battle if he could help it. And that was before he was a real Kyuranger. Can't let him outdo me can I?"

"Well, I'm not letting you run off into battle alone, so don't try to talk me into staying."

He sighed. "You're too stubborn for that. Just promise me you'll be careful. And remember what I told you when you first joined?"

She chuckled, "I learned how to be stubborn from the best, you know." She sighed, "I'll be careful if you do too. You've told me a lot of things over the last few years though, especially when I joined. Which one are you talking about?"

Stinger rolled his eyes. "The one thing you keep disobeying. The one about hopeless cases?"

She remembered back, "Right. Well, I haven't found a case I thought was hopeless yet. Except you dying... but my kyutama didn't think that was hopeless so it still worked out somehow."

Stinger sighed and walked over, wrapping his arms around her. "I know, beautiful. But you have been spared seeing the full force of what we were up against before you joined. There was a reason Lucky's final plan involved what it did."

She nodded before resting her head on him, "I know. And Avery proved I can't save everyone... but it's not going to stop me from trying."

"That's what I love about you. I just don't want your heart ripped out again should something go wrong here. I want you to be healing people for years."

"I'll find a way to manage if that happens..." Andy held him close, "but until then I'm going to go fight and do what I can to keep everyone else safe."

Stinger whispered "I know" into her hair softly and they just stood like that for a few minutes.

-Battle-

Andy fought off indaver after indaver, the group never ending. She looked over and saw her teammates facing the same troubles. Her heart sank when she noticed Stinger and Champ having trouble with a malistrate.

Stinger hissed, his tail working overtime as he slashed indavers behind him. His arms whirled his spear in front of him, but he was weakening. There were more coming and he backed into Champ. "Aibou, don't know about you but this is way too deja vu for me."

"Me too," Champ answered trying to take out more.

Andy tried to get over to them to help but were kept back by another group of indavers. After getting a few more hits in she glanced over again just to see an explosion surrounding Stinger and Champ. She was knocked out of her panic though when she took a hit from an indaver. Knowing she couldn't help anyone else until she got through these foot soldiers, she took a moment to formulate a plan. She remembered Stinger handing her the new kyutama with a warning to only use it if things went really wrong. Still not knowing what it would do, Andy figured it would be of some help anyway and decided saving her husband was a good enough reason to use it.

She placed it in her seiza blaster and fired. A large M symbol appeared before 5 people in different colored jackets appeared.

The five glanced around quickly before the one in the yellow jacket grabbed the red one, "Kai what did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything!" Kai defended.

Andy stared at them confused for a moment, as did the indavers, before the battle started back up. Thinking the kyutama was a dud, she just yelled at the people, "Get out of the way!"

She went back to attacking the indavers and trying to prevent the five from also getting injured.

"Another ranger?" the pink jacketed one asked.

"Let's help her then!" the red one smiled before pulling out a phone.

The five nodded and pressed buttons on their magiphones, "Maagi Magi Magiiro!"

Andy looked back surprised at the noise and was shocked to see other rangers. "Who are you?"

"Mahou Sentai Magiranger," the green one answered.

Andy tried to catch their names as she blocked another attack. "We're the Kyurangers."

"These aren't zobils... or Hades beasts..." Urara noticed.

"They are Jark Matter. They are trying to take over the universe."

"Take over the universe? Wouldn't we have heard of them?" Kai wondered.

"This could be another one of those weird worlds like the ones sensei takes us to," Urara answered.

"Well, let's go then," Tsubasa rushed forward and started taking out indavers.

Andy saw an opening and rushed over to Stinger and Champ.

Champ was trying to move but struggled with his injuries. Stinger was motionless but she saw faint breathing. Noticing the pink magiranger fighting her way over, Andy called to her, "Can you cover me?"

She focused on scanning Stinger and tried to quickly heal the worst of his injuries.

He was heavily bleeding from multiple places, chest being the worst. It was bubbling from his lips every time he took a breath along with his abdomen. As she cradled him, he cracked his eyes at her. "Don't...that's an order." He gasped for breath. "Remember… what I told-" His eyes slid closed as he went limp in her arm.

Tears fogged up her helmet, "Stinger! Don't... please..." She started coughing as sobs wracked her body. She held her shaky hands up trying to check over him and keep him alive but soon realized she was fighting a losing battle.

She spun when she heard Hammy yelling her name. She watched as her sister jumped in front of her and took an attack. Andy froze as she watched her sister fall to the ground, unmorphed. "Hammy!" She moved quickly to her and tried to heal her.

She was so focused on her task that she didn't even notice when the battlefield finally went silent. She finally looked up when she heard Kotaro yelling, "Aniki!"

Balance and Naga limped over, trying to calm the young teen down.

The Magirangers unmorphed and moved toward Andy. Urara bent down and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't..." Andy's words were cut off as she continued.

Houka looked at her phone quickly as it chimed, "There's a new spell."

"Spell?" Naga looked confused.

"Who are these people?" Balance added.

Houka pressed the three buttons on her phone and watched as both teams were surrounded by light.

Andy looked up and took a deep breath to calm herself, "It's healing energy..."

"Kotaro? Where's Andy?" Stinger stared at the scene in confusion.

"Aniki!" The teen tightly hugged him as he looked for Andy. Meeting her eyes, he relaxed and returned the hug.

Andy stood slowly after seeing Hammy open her eyes. She wanted to rush over to Stinger's side but she remembered the other team.

"Thank you."

"We should probably be going," Makito analyzed.

"How do we get home?" Kai responded.

Andy remembered the kyutama, "This called you here, if I remove it you might go back." She smiled, "I don't really understand what happened but we really owe you."

"Hopefully we'll see you again in the future," Urara nodded.

"In a better situation," Andy answered before removing the kyutama. The team vanished before the kyutama did the same.

Andy stood there for a moment, trying to process everything that had just happened.

"Beautiful? Want to get little bear off of me?"

She turned and laughed before rushing to his side. After Kotaro moved away she pulled Stinger in for a long kiss.

He returned it wholeheartedly as his memory returned. He'd put her through another hopeless situation. He had to fix this.

Andy entered Stinger's office in a rage, "This letter just came through." She threw it on the desk, "Are you really trying to reassign me?!"

Stinger grimaced. He should have known she'd find out. "I think it would be safer. Jark Matter is continuing to get stronger and your planet could use the reinforcements."

"So you want to just send me away? What about us?!" She glared at him, "Don't you think I want you somewhere safer too?"

"We've been through this. I can't just leave. However much I want to. This last battle wasn't fair to you."

"War isn't fair! I know that! You really think I want to leave you up here fighting while I'm safe at home? I worry about you, and the best thing I can do is stay here and help protect you."

He smiled sadly. "How many times can you watch me be injured, or worse die before you start to hate me? Because that would kill me more. Seeing your eyes lose the love I see just because I can't change who and what I am."

"I would rather be here with you, even if I had to watch you die in front of me a hundred times. I could never hate you for that. You trying to push me away over and over again, that I could hate you for. And you're doing it again." She wiped away the tears that were starting to form in her eyes, "If you really want me to go, I will. Just don't expect me to ever help you again."

Stinger bowed his head. "I want you safe."

She took a deep breath trying to keep her voice steady, "I guess this is goodbye then."

She disappeared from the doorway, went to their room and grabbed a bag full of her belongings before heading to the voyager bay.

She spotted Kotaro and Champ working on one of the voyagers.

"Andy?" Kotaro looked at her worried.

She shook her head, "I'll miss you guys."

"Where are you going?" Champ stood up.

"I've been... reassigned," she pulled Kotaro in for a hug, "If you two ever need anything let me know and I'll be there for you. I'm going home."

Kotaro looked sad, "What about Stinger?"

She froze before answering, "We're over... Try to keep him alive though, will you?" She glanced up at Champ before hugging him too. She waved sadly before climbing into her voyager and flying toward home.


	9. The Couple's Reconciliation

She'd been home a month and Andy still hadn't been able to bring herself to go in to work at the hospital. She tried to use her anger to fuel her but more often than not the sadness won out and she'd stay home crying.

She opened her eyes and blinked at the bright sunlight shining through her window. She scanned over herself trying to figure out why her stomach was hurting when she suddenly froze. "This can't..." She pushed herself out of the bed and finally made her way to the hospital to double check her findings.

When Hammy came home from the school she was surprised to see Andy wasn't home. She searched around and finally found her at the Outlook.

"I'm glad to see you out of the house," Hammy smiled.

Andy nodded, feeling numb, "I need to quit feeling sorry for myself. I have more important things to focus on now."

Hammy looked at her confused, "What do you mean?"

"Hammy... I'm pregnant."

Hammy's eyes widened as she sat down, "You have to tell Stinger."

She shook her head, "I made it clear that we were over. He knew what he was doing when he pushed me away. I never want Stinger in my son's life, because all he ever does is cause heartbreak."

"Son?" Hammy raised an eyebrow.

"I just found out all of this today," Andy admitted. "I've decided though I'm going to name him Avery."

Hammy gave a sad smile, "You know I'll be here to help you. I still think you should tell Stinger though."

Andy shook her head, "I can handle this without him.

Hammy walked to Stinger's office as soon as her voyager landed on the Orion. She knocked on the doorframe.

Stinger looked up. "Hey Hammy. Everything okay?"

She shook her head before entering and closing the door. She sat down before admitting, "I've been trying to decide for the last month if I should come talk to you, but I really think you should know this..."

Stinger's eyes narrowed. "Know what?"

"Andy doesn't want you to know this, but she's pregnant."

Stinger froze in shock. When his voice returned he stuttered "Pre-gnant?"

Hammy just nodded in response.

He took a shaky breath. "And it's ours? And she didn't want me to know?"

"It has to be yours. She spent a whole month after getting home without even leaving the house..." Hammy admitted. "She's finally pulling herself back together but she's insistent on doing this herself."

Stinger swore softly, holding his head in his hands. "I'm such a fuck up. Do you think you can get her to meet me?"

Hammy sighed sadly, "She doesn't even know I'm here right now. You know how stubborn she is... I don't want her mad at me too. You could tell her you found out another way, maybe through command because they'll have to know at some point."

"I'll just say Balance hacked her file." A small smile flitted across his face. "I won't rat you out."

He looked at Hammy. "Any idea on gender?"

Hammy smiled, "She's going to name him Avery. She decided that the day she found out." She glanced out the window for a moment, "I'd love you two to figure things out and be the best parents you can be for him... She's still mad at you, but underneath it all she really misses you. I hope everything works out..."

Stinger exhales. "I hope so too."

Andy looked confused as Hammy handed her a bag of food and her sleeping bag.

"What's going on?"

"The Orion is in orbit right now," Hammy admitted. "I know the team is going to try to visit. I figured you could go camping to the Outlook to avoid them?"

Andy sighed, "I wish Stinger wasn't there so I could see everyone. Tell them all I miss them, ok? They've become my family too... I just don't want to deal with Stinger yet."

Hammy nodded sadly, "Have fun and stay safe."

Andy took the supplies and headed off.

Stinger sat in a tree, remembering the first time he'd been here. Just like last time, Andy had been angry with him. Just like last time he was recovering from injuries though she didn't have to know that now. He hummed softly to himself while keeping a look out.

Andy looked confused as she heard a noise she recognized. She finally found the source before smirking as she remembered Stinger falling from the tree the last time she found him out here. She considered jumping in the tree and scaring him but decided she really didn't feel like talking to him. She threw a shuriken, hitting the tree right above his head, before she disappeared back into the forest.

Stinger jumped as something slammed into the branch above him. Looking up, he pulled a shuriken and grinned. He jumped out of the tree, grimacing as the action pulled his stitches. "Andy? Can we please talk?"

She noticed his pained look as she watched him through the leaves. She shook her head before jumping down, "We have nothing to talk about."

He nodded his head. "I deserve that. It's just… I'm sorry. I was being stupid overthinking things again. I should never have written that letter."

She refused to meet his eyes, "well, you did. So we have nothing to talk about."

Stinger sighed. "I know about the baby, Andy."

She froze in her spot trying to think of what to say but she ended up just staying silent.

"Balance hacked your Command file. Are you really going to cut me out of our baby's life?"

She tried to formulate her thoughts, "You keep saying you want me and then you push me away. You keep ripping my heart out, I just don't want you to do the same thing to him when you decide to go off on your own again."

Stinger's face fell. "Okyu. Just take care of him alright? I had put in for a reassignment here but haven't heard back from Shou. I'll amend my request when I return to the Orion."

He turned away, grimacing when he felt wetness seeping through his sweater. He bit his lip and tried to covertly examine the damage.

Within seconds, Andy had grabbed a needle from her bag and stuck it into Stinger's arm. She watched him fall, the medicine quickly sedating him. She healed him up before slipping her jacket under his head and heading off.

Stinger groggily looked around. Andy was nowhere to be seen and he tried to remember what had happened. She had rejected his plea, then he'd noticed his stitches had broken. With a hand he lifted his sweater. And found nothing where previously he'd had about twenty stitches in his side. He gave a soft sad smile and rose, heading for his voyager.

"How was everyone?" Andy asked Hammy.

"Good," Hammy smiled, "They miss you."

Andy nodded, "I ran into Stinger..."

Hammy raised an eyebrow, "how did that go?"

"Not the best..."

Hammy wrapped her arms around Andy, "Everything will be fine."

"Stinger lost all of his family... I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing trying to keep the baby away from him?"

"That's for you to decide. You'll figure it all out, I'm sure."

Andy nodded before heading to her room. She didn't sleep that night, and eventually tried contacting Stinger with the comm in her seiza blaster. After no response she called the Orion. Just hearing silence, she realized they were already too far from the planet's range.

Come morning, she had a small bag packed.

"Where are you going?" Hammy noticed the bag on the table as Andy was cooking breakfast.

"I'm going back to the Orion. I want to talk to Stinger," she pulled a few plates out of the cabinet.

"Let me know what happens. If you want to come back here, you know you always have a place. But I know you want to be on the Orion."

Andy smiled sadly, "I'm sorry I keep going back and forth about everything."

"I just want you to be happy. Whatever you think will make you happy, I'm ok with." Hammy smiled as she took one of the plates, now filled with food.

After quickly eating, Andy flew off in her voyager.

"Message for you Commander."

Stinger looked up at Naga. "Who's it from?"

"Supreme Commander."

Stinger took a deep breath. "I'll take it in my office."

A few minutes later, he pressed the video button.

"Supreme Commander. I need to amend-"

"Stinger," Shou spoke sadly.

"Sir?"

"I got a message from Raptor. The Iruka voyager crashed onto Bellatia. Andy's alive, but barely."

Stinger went numb. "Request permission to go to Bellatia."

Shou nodded, "It's been about a year since Raptor ran checks on the Orion and we don't have any missions at the current moment. Your new mission is to go to the Dorado system and get the Orion checked out." He smiled, "And to see Andy."

Stinger nodded. "Okyu." He contacted the bridge with the change of orders.

Stinger was out of the Orion before it had finished landing. He raced for the hospital full of dread.

He hadn't heard any news since they'd stayed in warp the whole journey.

Raptor met him in the waiting room. "Please tell me she's alive…"

Raptor nodded, "She is alive. Doing a little better but still hasn't woken up. I do have some bad news though..."

Stinger froze. "What's wrong?"

"I know you two had been fighting... Did she tell you she was pregnant?" Raptor started.

He nodded slowly. "Going to name it Avery after her brother…"

"I'm sorry Commander... the baby didn't make it."

Stinger's knees buckled. Andy was going to be devastated. Knowing her, she had probably tried to catch up with the Orion after he'd taken off. So he was guilty of not only breaking her heart but killing their baby too...

Raptor went to his side and tried to help him up, "Do you want to see her?"

Stinger frantically shook his head. How could he tell her that their baby was gone because of him? He turned and fled back to the Orion.

Andy groaned as she came to consciousness.

"Andy?" Raptor spoke quietly.

Andy opened her eyes and focused on Raptor.

"Hey, good to see you awake," Raptor looked down at her.

"What happened?" Andy whispered.

"Your voyager had a lot of damage before it crashed here. I think you were attacked."

Andy nodded before trying to push herself up.

"Hey, take it easy," Raptor ordered. "You were hurt really badly. Most everything will heal fine but it will take a while. There's a couple things you should know though."

"Like what?" Andy sighed as she winced in pain.

"Your baby died... and there was too much damage in the area so we had to perform a hysterectomy... You won't ever be able to have a child."

Andy paused, feeling overwhelmed with sadness. She pushed herself off the bed, feeling dizzy.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to tell Stinger."

Raptor lightly grabbed her shoulder, "He already knows."

Andy looked confused, "He was here? Where is he now?"

Raptor shook her head, "I don't know. The Orion left our orbit a couple days ago."

"My voyager?"

"It's all fixed up," Raptor answered. "You need to rest though."

Andy shook her head, "I'll rest in my voyager. Please... I just want to go see him."

Raptor sighed before grabbing a couple things, "Here." She held out some medicine and a bag of food. "But you better be careful."

Andy nodded and forced her way outside to her voyager.

Within a day she had caught up to the Orion. She landed and checked their old room and the office before heading to the bridge. She spotted Champ, "Where's Stinger?"

Champ looked over at her, "It's good to see you, Andy."

"Where is he Champ?"

"He went on a mission."

"Where?" she worried.

"Ventos Prime helping the Rebellion with guerrilla warfare."

Andy sighed, "How far from here is it?"

"About four days. Andy, it's a Jark Matter stronghold. No place for you right now."

She shook her head, "I don't care. I'm going anyway." She turned and went to leave the bridge.

Champ moo-ed. "You almost died a week ago. Are you so stubborn that you intend to die with him?"

"I'm going to try to prevent him from dying."

"Good luck. Shou just told them to evacuate because Jark was about to overrun their defenses."

She sighed, "You know Stinger won't evacuate. Hopefully I can get there quicker in my voyager..."

Down on the planet, Stinger pushed several Rebellion members towards the last transport. "Get on board now!"

"Sir?" One of them looked at him, an unasked question on his lips.

Stinger shook his head. "I have to set the self-destruct. I have my voyager. Now go!"

He watched them scramble in, the transport immediately taking off. He wished it luck as it disappeared, then ran for the main building. If he could set the charges quick enough and lure enough of the attackers close, then Jark Matter would be hurt seriously.

Contrary to what he had told the resistance members, he had no intention of using his voyager. There was no reason to anymore. His baby was gone and for all he knew Andy was too. Better he go out fighting as he's always planned to. Maybe she'd forgive him on the other side.

Andy flew around the planet looking for any sign of where Stinger could be. She watched as a transport ship flew off. She landed as close as she could before testing a new jutsu she'd been trying to learn. She looked down at her hands and could see right through them. She smiled as she headed toward the big building nearby. Troops didn't see her sneaking past them. She paused at one point, grabbing her stomach in pain before she continued on. Finally, she found Stinger looking at a map. She walked up next to him before releasing her jutsu, becoming visible again.

He didn't look up. "You missed the last transport Private. Guess we go out together."

She smirked, "That would probably be appropriate."

He dropped the map in shock. "A...Andy? You're alive?"

"Well, I appear to be, don't I?"

Stinger looked about to cry. "I'm sorry beautiful… It's my fault."

"Nothing is your fault, love," Andy argued.

Stinger shook his head. "If I hadn't sent that letter...our baby…" He finally broke down sobbing.

She moved closer and wrapped her arms around him, "It's not your fault. I decided to come talk to you...It was wrong of me to try to keep your only blood family away from you," she tried to prevent herself from crying but couldn't, "and now our baby is gone and I can't ever give you another one."

Singer held her close and processed the information. After a minute he whispered "I don't care. As long as I have you. But you should go wait for me on the Orion."

"I told you I'd always be here for you no matter how much you tried to push me away... I'm sorry I broke that promise," she sighed before pulling away from him before smiling, "And I'm going to stay here and be of as much help as I can be. So what do you need me to do, Commander?"

He gave her a crooked smile. "I already set most of the charges. I was trying to figure out where to place the rest. The plan was to lure enough troops, then blow the building."

Andy nodded and thought for a moment, "Let's set them quickly then get in our voyagers. I can have a clone down here lure them in and set it off."

Stinger grimaced. "My voyager is on the other side of the planet. I took a transport here."

"We can both fit in mine and then remote pilot yours?" She suggested.

He nodded, hefting the charge bag. "Let's hurry."

She created a clone, and followed him helping set the rest of the charges. "Come on, my voyager isn't too far but we might have to fight our way there. I snuck in here but I can't sneak both of us out."

He gave her a determined look. "I'll fight Armage again if I have to as long as you stay with me."

He morphed, hefting his spear. "Let's go."

She nodded and morphed, following him out the door.

She sliced through indavers as she moved forward.

Stinger fought viciously, carving a path to her voyager. He continued taking down indavers as he waited for Andy to join him.

Andy fought her way up to him but noticed an indaver aiming at Stinger. She rushed over and pushed him out of the way. She fell as she got hit with the blast.

"ANDY!" Stinger raced to her side after slicing the indaver in half. "Andy talk to me. Why?"

He cradled her, waiting anxiously for a reply.

She blinked up at him, "I'll be fine." She tried to sit up but winced in pain.

"Yeah right. Just relax, I've got you."

He lifted her, quickly climbing into her voyager. After starting the remote pilot program, he lifted off and set course for the Orion. "If you would blow the charges now beautiful."

She focused on her clone and pressed the button. The clone disappeared before the explosions started going off.

Andy glanced out at the planet and watched the lights of the explosions.

"We'll be back on the Orion soon. Do I need to do anything?" Stinger anxiously asked her.

She shook her head before reaching down and grabbing the bag Raptor gave her. She took a few pills before asking, "Hungry?"

Stinger shook his head. "Not until I know you're fine."

Her hand shook as it glowed and scanned over her, "I'll live." She reached over and scanned him over too, noticing a few small injuries. She focused her energy into trying to heal him.

She finally spoke again, "How did you plan to get to your voyager if it was that far away?"

He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I didn't."

She nodded, "Another suicide mission? Why do you seem to care so little for yourself?"

He looked at her sadly. "After what happened to you, do you have to ask why?"

"Yes. Because I've told you multiple times no matter what happens to me, or with me, I want you to stay alive and try to find happiness."

He shook his head. "I was almost certain you were dead. Our baby is. I thought if you did survive, that you would hate me even more. So I chose to go out fighting."

"If anything you should hate me..." she whispered.

"Why? I'm the one who sent you home, then came to the planet and practically begged you to take me back. If I hadn't written the letter, if I hadn't gone to you then our baby…" He forced the tears back. "It's my fault and mine alone. I don't deserve your forgiveness." He pointedly refused to meet her eyes.

"I could have tried to see your point of view in the first place. I shouldn't have pushed you away," she wiped a couple tears away, "I was going to keep your own son from you! And then when I finally tried to fix things, I managed to get ambushed and crashed my voyager. Maybe if I could have evaded better things would be different."

Stinger cupped her cheek. "None of this is your fault. I forced you to leave, then couldn't leave you alone like you asked me to. If you haven't noticed, I'm not the best role model. It was right to consider not having me in his life. I still worry what kind of example I'm setting for Kotaro."

"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes... that doesn't make you a bad role model," she finally met his eyes, though she could barely see them through her tears. "I realized I had made a mistake, and for that day or two that I was on my way to talk to you, I was so happy with the idea of giving you a family. You lost your family, your whole planet. I was so happy that I could give you a child and that you could have a new chance at happiness. And then I felt so bad finding out that the baby didn't make it. I was more upset for you than I was for me. And my biggest thought was how I just wanted to apologize that I couldn't make that a reality for you."

He hugged her close. "Have you been paying attention? I push people away and frequently jump into situations I know I have no way of escaping. Most of the time I don't intend to either. I've actively been more or less suicidal since I was a teenager and my brother betrayed me. I'm not a good role model. But you are my happiness. Though I still wonder why you love me most days."

"Like I said... a few mistakes," she smirked before looking down, "I love you so much, and I just want to make you the happiest and give you the family you deserve, but I can't do that anymore."

He chuckled. "That's your idea of a few?" He looked at her. "If you still want kids after we retire, we'll just adopt."

"I just thought with there not being anyone from your planet left, it'd be nice for you to have a child, so you wouldn't be the only one," she chuckled, "though he seemed to be just human and not scorpionish..."

He laughed. "Can you imagine two of us being set loose on the universe?" He mock grimaced. "No, definitely a bad idea. Beautiful, I never even considered having children. When Balance told me I nearly passed out."

"I never did either..." Andy admitted, "but then I found out I was pregnant and then I couldn't imagine anything else. When I was still mad at you, I was excited to raise him in my village and train him as a ninja, just like how I grew up. And then I saw you and I tried so hard to stick with my decision, but then I just kept thinking about you and decided I was wrong. Then for that day or two I just kept imagining how cute you'd be trying to raise a baby, and how happy we could all be together." She wiped her tears away, "Sorry..."

He smiled. "Don't be. It would have been wonderful. Though honestly ask Kotaro how well I did trying to raise him."

"He's turned out fine," Andy laughed. "That was probably just him trying to do the opposite of you though... You're a role model in a different way?" She shrugged. "Seriously though, I think you would have been a great dad." She saw the Orion in the distance, "Looks like we are home."

Stinger relaxed. "Good. You're going straight to the infirmary and staying there until you're well."

"You need to get checked out too, I don't think I healed all of your injuries," she reminded.

He rolled his eyes but gave the kyuranger salute. "Yes ma'am."

They were quickly brought aboard and whisked to the infirmary where Raptor waited. She made them both lay down while she ran scans.

"I'm fine!" Stinger protested.

"You aren't fully fine, but you're good enough to get out of here."

Raptor moved over to Andy and scanned over her. Andy sighed, "I know, I'll be here for a couple of days."

Raptor nodded before handing her some medicine.

Stinger pulled a chair up beside her bed. "Go to sleep, beautiful."

"Promise you'll be here when I wake up?" She blinked sleepily.

"Where would I go?" He brushed her hair out of her eyes.

She smiled, "With you I never know what to expect."

He chuckled. "I'll be right here. Now sleep."

When her eyes closed, he dropped the smile and grimaced. "Thanks for lying for me."

He looked at Raptor.

"Let's get you stitched up," Raptor shook her head. "I only did that because she doesn't need to be worrying about you on top of everything else. She should not have been out fighting but I wasn't going to try to stop her."

"I wholeheartedly agree on the first two statements. You could have sedated her though." He hissed, biting back a curse as he removed his jacket and sweater.

"And make her mad at me?" Raptor laughed. "You should understand that."

He had to laugh at that. "You'd think I would know better by now right?" He lay down on his stomach with a sigh.

She cleaned the slash on his back and stitched it up. She held out some medicine, "It shouldn't knock you out. That way you can still be awake if she wakes again."

He nodded and took it. "I'm going to need a clean sweater. I'll be back in a minute." He left the infirmary and headed to his office, quickly grabbing a dark sweater and rushing back. He sat down and watched Andy sleep.

A few days later, Andy was finally released from the infirmary. She headed down to her and Stinger's room. She felt odd as she entered, not having been there in a couple months. The things she left were all in the same place, dust now covering them. Taking her bag off the bed she went to unpack her few things. She smiled when she saw Stinger open the door.

"Finally got sprung huh?" Stinger gave her a grin.

She nodded, "It'll be good to get back to normal. Or whatever normal actually is now."

He looked at her quietly. "I'm glad you're back."

"Me too. The couple weeks I actually did work in the hospital at home, it was pretty boring. Now there'll be some exciting things between fighting Jark Matter and keeping you from trouble."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Think you can actually do it?" He grinned challengingly.

"I can try," she smirked. She frowned suddenly remembering, "Did anyone ever call Hammy? All she knew was I was heading to the Orion to talk to you."

Stinger nodded. "Raptor did after she called Shou. She'll be here as soon as she can." He looked at the dust covering the room. "We need to do some housekeeping."

"She's probably glad she won't have to keep taking care of me..." Andy sighed, "and yeah, I noticed you gave up on cleaning."

He looked uncomfortable. "I was busy." He made a face. "I better go supervise Balance before he decides us organics like burnt food." He almost ran out of the room, leaving Andy to wonder what had happened.

She frowned for a moment, knowing Balance was never one of the ones cooking. She wanted to follow him but also wanted to clean, so she smirked as she made a clone. It snuck out and followed Stinger while the real Andy focused on cleaning their room.

Stinger began heading for his office but thought better of it, finally opting to sit in the voyager bay.

He shook as he tried to breathe slowly. He'd thought it would have been easier with her there but apparently that had made it worse. He could only hope he'd be better by the time sleep was actually required.

Andy's clone kept an eye on Stinger. She was worried about him but didn't want to push things if he didn't want to talk, so she stayed distant.

The real Andy got their room cleaned quickly, dusting everything and changing the sheets on the bed. She then sat down and just focused herself into watching Stinger.

He'd finally calmed down, but now he could feel sleep pulling him. After attempting to fight it, he sighed and curled up under his voyager.

Andy frowned as she headed out of their room and went down to the voyager bay. After arriving, her clone disappeared, and then she approached Stinger. She didn't say anything just sat next to him and started rubbing his hair.

He stretched into the touch for a minute, then his eyes flew open. He was panicked, then embarrassed as he saw her.

"Sorry..." she pulled her hand away, "I can go if you want to be alone..."

He shook his head. "No... please. I don't want you to go. I just didn't want you to see me like this."

She frowned, "Love, I've seen you through everything. Terrible nightmares, to the point you were attacking your teammates in your sleep. Suicide missions. Literally dying a couple times. You don't have to hide anything from me."

He sighed. "The room wasn't like that from not cleaning. I wasn't using it." He looked at the floor.

"Why?"

"I couldn't sleep there without you. I tried, but the nightmares came back. Luckily we had antivenin. Raptor even tried sedating me but it made it worse. We finally decided I had to pass out naturally. I ended up practically secluding myself in the office, though I still couldn't sleep more than a few hours. That's how I got hurt before I saw you at the Outlook. Not moving fast enough."

Andy laughed, "I didn't do very well being apart either. I really only slept after wearing myself out crying. Most days Hammy had to force food into me. I didn't even leave the house the first month I was back. I'd leave my room occasionally, but I'd get reminded of my parents or Avery and then I went back to crying..." She shook her head, "I only pulled myself together a bit because I found out I was pregnant. I figured I had to try to be strong if I had someone that relied on me..."

He chuckled humorlessly. "We are really a pair aren't we?"

"Honestly I'm a little surprised we've survived this long. We really do owe our teammates a lot... They've at least been trying to keep us alive. Especially Raptor."

Stinger looked sheepish. "I owe most of them a lot, but Raptor deserves a raise. Did she ever tell you I poisoned her just to keep her quiet once? During my not so bright reign of chaos after Champ…"

Andy grabbed Stinger's hand and gave it a light squeeze, "Yea, she definitely needs a raise." She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand for a few moments before asking, "Do you want to try to go to bed? I just put new sheets on it..."

He took a deep breath. "Stay with me? Just in case?"

"Of course. I'm not going to leave your side," she assured.

He nodded as she pulled him up and led him back to the room. He changed into his sleep pants and wearily collapsed into the bed. She waited till he was comfortable, then climbed in beside him. He wrapped his tail around her leg as his eyes closed. She began to rub his hair again and felt him relax. His breathing slowed, evening out and she smiled to herself.


	10. Jark Matter versus Earth and Ophiuchus

Andy was straightening up the infirmary, making sure everything was cleaned. She had a checklist of supplies and she was making a list of the ones they would need to pick up the next time they were at headquarters.

She turned when she heard Stinger in the doorway.

"Hey beautiful."

"Hey. How are you?" Andy smiled at him. "We need quite a few supplies... We have enough to last a while but if we have any major battles it might be a problem."

"We will be stopping by Headquarters soon. You can restock then. How am I...?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

She looked at him a moment, "What's wrong?"

He smiled sheepishly, then grimaced. She suddenly noticed how he was holding his side with one hand, the other behind his back.

She approached him with a frown, "What did you do?"

"Training. Naga got in some lucky hits."

Andy sighed, "Come on, I'll fix you up." She waited for him to sit before scanning him over. She cleaned up a wound on his arm before wrapping a bandage around it. Next she focused her hands over his chest as she tried to mend his cracked ribs.

"Before you say anything, I know I'm distracted."

She paused her healing a moment and met his eyes, "Why are you distracted?"

"Jark Matter appears to be massing for an all-out attack on Earth. Shou wants us prepared. Naga was trying to get me to relax. But I can't." He sighed and wrapped his good arm around her. "I just want us to be able to stop fighting."

She nodded, "I know. But at least we are helping other people have longer and safer lives..." She then pulled away with a smirk, "I could think of a few better ways to help you relax than training though."

He raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Is that right? Do tell."

She just chuckled and winked at him before focusing back on healing.

"Okay people. Gather round." Stinger looked grim. "Reinforcements are on their way. We need to stall for time. Kotaro, are the Scouts ready?"

Kotaro gave a nod, "Yes. They're ready to go whenever you need them."

Stinger smiled. "We are going to take out as many as we can while still trying to stay safe. We'll lure indavers into traps, set charges, and try to figure out any information we can. Kotaro and the scouts will work on protecting civilians. Naga and Balance can work on hacking into any Jark Matter systems they can find to get information."

The group saluted before heading off to their voyagers.

"Let us know when the resistance members show up," Andy smiled at Raptor who was typing on her tablet. She turned to Stinger, "Do you have ideas of where to put charges or are we just winging it?"

He thought for a minute. "Targets of opportunity. If you find a ship you can blow safely, do it. Whatever will cause the most chaos for Jark Matter and cause them to rush somewhere Raptor can blast them." He kissed her. "I'll see you down there as soon as I update Shou."

Andy nodded, "Stay safe." She headed to the door, "Come on, Champ, let's cause some trouble."

She flew off in her voyager and found a good spot to land. She snuck around avoiding the large groups of indavers. She smiled when she finally found an area with ten Jark Matter ships. She wasn't sure if there were any troops on them but she knew it would still hit them hard, especially with all of the indavers surrounding the ships. Trying to figure out a plan, she remembered the jutsu she learned that could make her invisible. Within minutes she had snuck in and placed charges on each of the ships. She snuck back out and released her jutsu before blowing them all up. She felt the ground shake at the power of the explosions.

She started to head off to find more ships, but a group of indavers appeared. She started fighting them off, taking a few hits, but finally she finished them off. Before continuing on, she received a call from the Orion.

"Andy, I need you to come back up to the infirmary. We have a couple injured but I can't leave the bridge."

"Be there soon." She rushed back to her voyager, only running into a few stray indavers along the way.

She was surprised when she entered the infirmary to see Jiro and Kotaro.

"What happened?" She started pulling out supplies.

"I'm not hurt that bad, but Aniki dragged me here," Jiro complained.

"I wasn't going to risk you getting hurt worse," Kotaro answered from his own infirmary bed. "Indavers found one of the places we were hiding civilians. We finally finished them off and the other scouts are watching it."

Andy scanned over the younger first, "Just a couple of blaster burns. We can heal those right up, ok?" She smiled trying to calm him. She then moved to her teammate, "Blaster burns and it looks like you broke your leg."

Kotaro nodded, "I tried to do most of the fighting to keep the scouts safe..."

Andy nodded before grabbing medicine. She handed each brother some as well as glasses of water to take them with. She quickly bandaged up Jiro's burns and healed them a bit to stop the stinging. Moving to Kotaro she made sure his bone was in the right position before wrapping it up. She focused on healing his burns first but was stopped midway as she heard Balance and Naga show up.

Balance carried an unconscious Naga into the room and set him on a bed, "We were ambushed. I did get a bit of information though so I'm going to get it to Raptor."

Andy watched how slowly Balance was moving, knowing she'd have to do repairs on him as well.

Andy started scanning over Naga when she heard Raptor on the comm, "Reinforcements have arrived and have joined the attack." She frowned when she noticed multiple slices across Naga's body. She quickly made a clone and both started stitching him up. After cleaning all of the wounds and stopping the bleeding, Andy started healing up Naga using her energy. Balance reentered the room so the clone started checking him over.

Champ exited his Voyager and began to head towards the door. He stopped when he caught the sound of a soft groan coming from the side of Stinger's. He walked around and found him busily attempting to bandage a burn on his shoulder. The bull took in the bandaged leg and ribs, then cleared his throat. He would have laughed at the scorpion's startled look if he hadn't been worried.

Stinger glared for a minute, then returned to bandaging. "You should know better than to sneak up on me."

"I wasn't trying to, aibou. You should get yourself to the infirmary though instead of trying to take care of it yourself."

"Andy's a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Not going to burden her." Stinger sighed and closed his eyes. "Believe me if the infirmary was empty I'd go." He gave up trying to wrap the injury, settling on holding a bandage over it. Champ noticed the wrapping on the leg injury was beginning to change color from white to red.

"You know she's going to get mad at you if you don't let her help you," Champ answered. "It might be better for you to go in there now than to deal with her angry later."

Stinger huffed out a laugh. "I'd rather her be mad than wear herself out on healing me and not be able to help someone who really needed it."

"Are you sure you don't really need it?" Champ motioned to the leg wound. "There's plenty of infirmary beds, we can at least get you in there to rest until she's done with the others."

Stinger grimaced, standing slowly. When he tried to put weight on the leg, it buckled. At the same time, he grew lightheaded and his eyes began to roll up in his head.

"Come on, aibou." Champ caught him and lifted him up before starting to walk to the infirmary.

Stinger tried to smile, but couldn't be sure it showed. The lightheadedness was getting worse and just before they got to the infirmary door his strength gave out.

Andy's clone looked up from her tablet which she was entering in lists of injuries to the ranger's charts. The real Andy was still focused on Naga but she stopped when she realized Stinger was there.

"What happened?" Andy asked Champ.

The android shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I found him trying to treat his injuries in the Bay."

Andy sighed as she watched Champ put Stinger on a bed. She was glad there wasn't anyone else because there weren't many open beds left. Her clone grabbed new supplies as Andy scanned Stinger over. The clone unwrapped his leg and started stitching it as Andy focused on trying to heal the blaster burns.

Stinger regained consciousness and tried to rise. "I'm fine. Don't exhaust yourself. Just going to go… to the bridge."

She lightly pushed him back down, "No you're not."

He tried to glare at her. "There will probably be more injured. You can't wear yourself out."

"Unless more kyurangers came with the reinforcements, our team is taken care of. There's other medics who can focus on the resistance members," she kept trying to focus, "No one here is perfect but they aren't going to die."

"Just let her help you, Aniki," Kotaro spoke up from across the room.

Stinger sighed, then sagged as he passed out again.

Andy shook her head as she kept healing him. Her clone went and filled a syringe of medicine and stuck it into Stinger's arm. Soon though she felt herself getting dizzy so she released her clone, making it disappear.

After another couple minutes though she felt worse. She stopped healing and tried to step over to a chair but fell to the ground unconscious.

Champ quickly picked her up and moo-ed as he discovered she was herself injured. He touched his com. "Raptor to the infirmary please." He lay Andy on the nearest empty bed and waited.

Andy woke up and pushed herself into a sitting position. She noticed the brothers and Balance had been released but Naga and Stinger were still asleep. Raptor came over when she noticed Andy, "Did you realize you were hurt and ignore it or did you not know?"

Andy chuckled, "Which answer would get me in less trouble?"

Raptor shook her head, "You had bled quite a bit from the gash in your side. I stitched it up and bandaged it. There wasn't anything else big though."

Andy nodded, "How are they?"

"Alive. Healing. You better not work on healing them or else I will restrain you."

Andy smirked, "I know you will. Don't worry." She pushed herself up out of the bed and pulled a chair up next to Stinger, before she held onto his hand and rubbed circles into it with her thumb.

He stirred, eyes blinking open slowly. "Hey beautiful."

She smiled down at him, trying not to show how tired she was, "Hey love."

"You okay?" His eyes narrowed and he started to lift his hand to her cheek.

"I'll be fine love," she assured. "How are you feeling?"

"Not sure right now." He gave her a grin, then growled when he realized he'd been restrained. "What the hell?"

She frowned, "I don't know why you're restrained. Raptor did it." She stood slowly and went to get the key to unlock it.

He lay back and tried to relax. He hated being restrained and Raptor knew it. He wondered if something had happened to force it.

Andy undid the restraints before she noticed Raptor come back into the room. "What happened?"

She shook her head, "I came in to him freaking out. I think it was a nightmare, but once he settled enough I restrained him in case it happened again. I didn't want him getting up and stinging anyone by accident."

Stinger nodded. "Good idea. We don't want a replay of ..." He cut off his statement and tried not to look at Andy.

Andy frowned before sighing, "I wish I could take all of your nightmares away..."

Stinger kissed her cheek. "It's fine beautiful. You do a good job of keeping them away usually."

"What happened?" She asked quietly. "Was it while I was gone?"

He rubbed a hand through his hair. "Remember when I told you I was grateful for antivenin?"

She nodded slowly in response.

"I tried sleeping in the rec room the second night you were gone. Naga and Champ came in while I was having one. I stung them, then I stung myself. Champ managed to call Raptor in time. That's when we tried sedation."

Andy winced, "I'm sorry..."

Stinger chuckled. "Not your fault, beautiful. That screw up is completely on me and I've told you that."

"I could have refused to leave the Orion..." Andy suggested, "Maybe a lot of things would be different if I had."

She looked up when Raptor approached with her tablet.

"Now that you're awake, Balance found some information." She held it out to Stinger.

Stinger took it, reading quietly. Then he stopped and read aloud. "General Kojan has 'requested' all Jark Matter people swear loyalty to him." He grinned broadly. "Hmm, I'm requesting Balance gets a raise. He just discovered who took Armage's place."

He returned to reading. Suddenly he froze, face paling so quickly Andy got scared.

"Stinger?" She watched his eyes moving as he read quickly. "What's wrong?"

"I need to talk to Shou now." He tried to climb out of the bed, wincing as his injuries protested.

Andy rushed to his side and let him lean on her for support. After Raptor shot them a look Andy assured, "We'll come back soon."

Stinger growled. "You'll be back. I won't." He stood and almost fell as a wave of dizziness washed over him. "I've got too-"

"Love, you get to make one call to Shou and then you are coming back here. Honestly, you could probably make the call from here, so just get back in bed. I don't care what kind of thing is going on, you aren't in a position to deal with it yet," Andy insisted.

Stinger protested as she pushed him back. "I can't be on the sidelines right now."

"Don't make Raptor restrain you again," Andy pleaded. "You can go fight when you are released from the infirmary. Until then just tell Shou what's going on and let him take care of things."

Stinger frowned. "Jark Matter is about to invade Ophiuchus in 12 hours."

He leaned back as pain flared through him.

"Ok, but it's not like you are the one and only person who can stop them. I know you want to help, but you have to take care of yourself first. You can't take care of anyone else if you don't take care of yourself."

Andy noticed the look Raptor gave her and knew she'd bring up how Andy had been healing the others while she was injured, "Don't even."

Stinger would have laughed if he wasn't fighting the urge to pass out.

"Raptor, go call Shou and tell him about the attack, then set a course for Ophiuchus," Andy ordered. She watched Raptor leave the room before she lifted her hands up to Stinger and started healing him, "I know you're going to try to fight no matter what, so I might as well heal you the best I can so you are at least semi useful." She smirked.

He chuckled painfully. "Semi useful huh? Smartass. And I order you to stop right now."

She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow but kept her hands steady in the same spot.

"Dammit Andy, I said stop!" He grabbed her hands. "I know you got hurt too, so stop. I'll be fine so you better rest."

She took a deep breath trying to prevent herself from snapping at him. She spoke quietly without meeting his eyes, "You're hurt worse than I am and you're the commander. You want to fight so badly but you can barely stand. It's either I try to heal you so you can fight like you want to or I can sedate you."

"I don't want to fight but I have to." He released her hands before continuing. "And you wouldn't dare." He met her eyes challengingly.

"You don't have to. That's the thing you can't seem to get through your head. No one would blame you for sitting it out because you are injured," she stood up. "I'm going to go see what the plan is. I'll tell you when I get back, ok?"

She headed out of the room but left a clone in the hall to prevent him from sneaking out. When she got back she noticed he looked asleep so she quickly filled a syringe with sedative and stuck it in his arm. She then pulled the restraints back around his wrists.

Andy went down to the bridge and looked at her teammates a moment before speaking, "I've restrained and sedated Stinger. So unless one of you wants to be in charge, I'll do it." She looked at Raptor, "How long until we get there?"

Raptor cocked her head. "Why did you do that? And we will arrive in eight hours."

"He is insisting on fighting but isn't letting me heal him to at least give him some kind of chance at surviving," Andy informed. "How long until resistance backup arrives?"

Raptor consulted her tablet. "Two or three hours after we do."

"At least they'll make it in time..." Andy thought as she sat down. "Kotaro, how are the scouts doing on Earth? Have there been any left over indavers attacking?"

"Earth is safe for now. Jiro is back down there too. I'll probably head back after we save Naga's planet."

Andy nodded, "Balance and Raptor, tell us any knowledge on Ophiuchus that you think would be helpful. Let's figure out a plan." She looked around, "I know I'm still hurt, and we are down Naga and Stinger, but I know we can get through this and win."

After an hour of discussion, a plan was made. Andy went down to the infirmary, half to check on Stinger and half to see if Naga was awake to give any more information.

She found Stinger halfway out of the restraints and pissed. "I can't believe you actually did it."

"You need to rest," she scolded.

He glared at her. "What's happening?"

"We are on our way there and have a plan. There's literally nothing for you to worry about right now."

He ignored her look and continued wrestling with the restraints. He gave a small gasp, reaching for his leg with his free hand.

She shook her head and approached, raising her hands to start trying to heal him again.

He growled. "I _will _sting you. Stop." His hand moved, coming away red. He looked down with a frown. "Dammit."

She put her hands down, "First off, I want to say I've been trying not to argue with you today, but you make it so incredibly difficult. I don't know how many times I have to say, from a medical standpoint, if you aren't released, it doesn't matter if you are the commander or not, it's my job to keep you here until you are healthy. It doesn't matter what else is going on. My priority as a medic is making sure people are healthy. Doesn't matter if my patient is Supreme Commander, President Ohtori or you. You brought me aboard this ship to be a medic, don't complain when I do my damn job." She stepped away for a moment and grabbed some stitching supplies. She came back and started restitching his leg up, "From the other standpoint, as your wife, I just want to protect you. I was hoping after everything else we would finally quit fighting about this shit but you are still as stubborn as ever. I just want to keep you safe, because I love you. Yet you keep trying to fight when you are in no shape to and keep arguing with all of us even though we are just trying to help you. I don't know what else to do at this point except restrain and sedate you when you get like this. You're more likely to die if you go out fighting when you are already hurt. I'm just trying to keep you alive." She cut the string and cleaned the wound up again before placing a new bandage over it.

He hung his head and chuckled humorlessly. "I was ten when Scorpio left the first time. I was seventeen when he betrayed me. Our parents died when I was too young to really remember. I have been alone most of my life. I'm not even sure anymore why I can't accept help. Especially from you. I must be an idiot." He looked up and gave her a wan grin. "I'll cooperate with whatever you think needs to be done."

She reached down and kissed him, "I just want to keep you safe." She pulled away before quickly sticking a needle in his arm, "Just rest and relax. Everything is going to be fine. I love you."

He smiled before his eyes closed and he slumped on the bed.

She sighed and watched him a moment before fixing up his restraints. She made sure all of his limbs were tied down, including his tail. She then set up an IV drip to hopefully keep him asleep throughout the whole battle.

She checked the unconscious Naga over before giving the sleeping Stinger another kiss, then she headed back up to the bridge.

Andy shook her head as she saw more indavers approaching. She'd been in a decent area, trying to find out what she could while avoiding fighting. She had a few small tussles but had been doing well until the indavers found her position. Fighting off as many as she could, she knew she would still be outnumbered. No one on her team was nearby so she couldn't call for backup.

She pushed herself, taking out indaver after indaver, until she finally saw the world blurring in front of her. She felt herself start to fall before completely blacking out.

She woke up hearing talking, she fought to bring her attention to focus when she heard something about a trade.

Stinger had just become conscious when there was a video flashed on every monitor in the infirmary.

"We have this girl. We will trade her for the Kyuranger Commander. You have three hours to decide. If you try to rescue her she will die quite slowly and painfully."

Andy took in the words they were saying and her heart sank, "Don't do it!" She yelled hoping her teammates heard her. "Please don't let him do it!" She suddenly felt really dizzy as pain erupted in her head. She tried to look up at what caused it but fell unconscious before she could fully lift her head.

Stinger swore as he wrestled with the restraints. How the hell had Andy gotten captured? He angrily yanked as he thought about it. Three hours was plenty of time to get down there IF he could get these damn things off. He froze as the door slid open.

Raptor glanced up from her tablet noticing Stinger was awake. "Commander, you are in those for a reason, please quit fighting them." She shook her head as she tried to decide if she should up the IV dose or just give him another shot full of sedative.

"Let me go. I have to save her."

"Oh you heard that?" Raptor shook her head, "Don't worry, we are trying to come up with a plan."

She decided to up his IV so she fixed it up before retightening his restraints. "Just rest."

Stinger tried to argue, but his eyes slid closed as the sedative quickly put him to sleep.

Andy tried to push back the nausea as she came to consciousness again. She noticed her hands were tied together, before realizing her hand was numb. She wasn't sure if it was from the ties or an injury but she hoped if she made it through this alive she didn't have any more permanent damage.

"Time for the show," she heard a voice and tried to look up but pain shot through her head the second she tried to move it.

She remembered the ties on her wrists being grabbed but the next thing she could focus on was bright sunlight hitting her eyes making her wince.

Looking in front of her, she saw Champ and Kotaro in their suits. The others were nowhere to be seen and she tried to figure out what they were doing.

"Hand her over now." Champ's voice boomed.

"Where's the commander?" The voice she recognized from the video spoke.

"Sorry, but he's unavailable." Kotaro replied calmly. "So give Andy back."

"I told you, I will only trade her for the commander. If he's unavailable I guess she'll just have to die," he laughed coldly. "I can make an example out of her."

"Even if you kill one of us, the others will keep fighting," Andy growled out.

The Malistrate backhanded her, then punched her in the ribs. "We are going to kill all of you eventually. But our leader wants the commander who keeps getting in our way first."

Andy coughed before whispering, "Even if you kill us, more people will join our side and fight against you."

The malistrate smiled menacingly. "No one will join after they see what we do to you."

"You'll never win," she spoke softly but confidently.

"We'll see about that won't we? Take her to the execution site."

Stinger groaned. Damn Raptor. He had a plan but no one would listen. Jerking his tail in annoyance, he lay thinking.

Champ walked down the hall heading to the bridge. He glanced into the infirmary as he passed by and stopped when he saw Stinger was awake.

"How are you feeling, aibou?"

"Like I had a night out with Tsurugi. What's going on?"

Champ shook his head, "Just working on some plans. Trying to figure out our next move."

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me your plan didn't work."

"Just hit a snag. We'll figure things out."

"Unh huh." Stinger was unconvinced. "Would you like to hear my plan?"

Champ sighed and fully stepped into the infirmary, "What's your plan?"

"I can use the futago kyutama and clone myself like before. That way Andy will be released. Then the clone will disappear."

Champ stared at him for a moment, "That could work. What if they don't release her?"

"I can hold my clone long enough to figure something out. If she's able, I'm sure we can get away without too much trouble." Stinger rattled the restraints. "But you gotta let me out of these. Clone would look pretty ridiculous."

Champ chuckled, "Maybe." He was quiet while thinking, "So the real you will stay here on the ship?"

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Yes. I will stay." He grumbled, "bunch of mother hens…"

"We just care about you, aibou." Champ answered. "I guess it's the best option we have right now." He reached over and started undoing the restraints.

Stinger rubbed his wrists. "I'll get it and clone myself, then meet you on the bridge."

He left the infirmary, heading for their quarters. Grabbing the kyutama, he quickly cloned himself. Whispering in its ear, he waited till it left the room before hurriedly exiting the other direction.

Andy winced as the straps around her were tightened, pulling the spiked board behind her closer. She could feel a few hundred spikes driving into her skin, blood dripping from each one. She kept a confident look on her face though, trying to not give her captors a show.

"You might be strong now, but soon enough you'll start feeling the effects of the poison that was on those spikes," The malistrate laughed.

She sighed, wondering why she didn't think to expect poison, but then felt a jolt of pain rushing through her head that reminded her she probably had a concussion so she wasn't thinking clearly anyway.

She felt pain suddenly, almost blinding her. If she wasn't restrained up to a board she probably would have fallen. Once the wave died down a bit she slid her arm the best she could, scraping it across the spikes, to reach her leg. Her hand glowed for a second as she analyzed her own energy and confirmed the poison.

A few indavers came and pulled the straps tighter starting with the ones on her wrists. She also had some on her ankles and one across her middle that were soon tightened as well. She worried thinking of how long the spikes could be and wondering if they'd soon start digging into any organs. She could tell they were already more than half an inch into her body.

Soon she felt her lungs struggling to take in air, making her take short and increasingly painful breaths. She focused on attempting to ignore the pain, and was just thankful it was her instead of Stinger going through this.

"STOP! I'm here so you can stop with your demonstration now."

Andy opened her eyes at the voice, hoping she was just hallucinating it. Her eyes landed on Stinger and she struggled to talk loud enough for him to hear, "Who let you out?"

Stinger shot her a cocky grin. "Champ. And don't worry, I have a plan."

She was about to answer when pain coursed through her again making her squeeze her eyes shut.

Stinger's lips tightened as he turned to the malistrate. "I came as agreed. Let her go." He waited for the response. His hand tightened on the vial of antivenin he'd liberated from the infirmary. He had to give it to her soon or it would be too late.

"Your three hours has passed," the malistrate chuckled as he waved a hand. "But I'll still take you anyway." A large group of indavers suddenly surrounded Stinger.

Stinger raised his hands. "I'm unarmed." He showed his wrist which was empty of his blaster. "Let her go and I'll come willingly."

"I don't think you are really in a position to make offers." The malistrate waved once again making the indavers point their weapons at Stinger. "At this point, I don't care if you come willingly. You had your chance and you failed to show. You're both mine now." The indavers started attacking him trying to push him down to be tied up.

Stinger fought, knocking several back. Until one came up and slammed his weapon into the scorpion's head. He fell, semi-conscious as the indavers quickly bound him.

Andy had been trying to focus on the fight silently rooting for Stinger. She cringed when she saw him go down and they tied him up. She tried to focus enough energy to make a clone or do anything that could help him but all her focus went into trying to stop hurting as the poison made its way further into her bloodstream. She desperately wanted to talk to him, remind him that she loved him, but she couldn't manage to make her mouth open.

The malistrate laughed before ordering, "Keep him still. You two, go get another board so he can feel the same pain his teammate is dealing with."

Stinger weakly struggled, feeling stupid. Had he really thought this plan would work? He met Andy's eyes, silently apologizing. The indaver holding him tightened his hold and the Sasori ranger grimaced. As the others returned, Stinger considered attacking them but ruled it out. The risk to Andy was too great still.

Andy finally got her face muscles working a bit and silently mouthed out, "I love you," to Stinger before pain took her over again.

He returned the sentiment sadly as the indavers finished setting up the stand. As they marched him up beside her, he lost his footing and bumped her arm. He winked as she felt a needle pinch. Then he was being strapped in, much faster than she had been.

He refused to let anything show even as the indavers kept tightening the straps. The only sign of the pain he was experiencing showed in his eyes. His mouth was a straight line, his adam's apple bobbing faster with every breath.

His back arched but he still refused to make a sound. His breathing was slowing, his eyes drooping.

Andy looked over at him, when she realized she was feeling a little better. She moved her hand just enough to analyze herself again, noticing there was antivenin in her system fighting the poison but still knew she couldn't do a lot with the injuries she had.

She noticed the indavers and malistrate were entirely focused on Stinger now so she put her energy into making a clone. She winced as she heard the Malistrate striking Stinger but didn't look over. She got the clone to untie her before taking her hand and being yanked off the spikes. She had tried to stay quiet but the pain made a groan escape her lips. She looked up quickly noticing she had gained the attention of the indavers. She used her clone to help her fight them off, finally taking them all down. She turned and watched the malistrate hitting Stinger again, pushing him further into the spikes.

"Stop hurting him," Andy growled out before the clone started fighting off the malistrate.

Andy rushed over to Stinger and undid the restraints, "Are you ready?"

Stinger forced his eyes open, nodding weakly.

She took his hand and tried to ease him off the spikes. Her clone kept the malistrate busy but was not doing much outside of being a distraction.

Andy helped Stinger sit, "Stay here."

She ran over and helped her clone fight the malistrate. Even though she had the antivenin in her system, she had injuries from the spikes, her head was still screaming, and the stitches from the wound on her side had popped hours ago. She knew she wasn't going to be able to fight much longer. She let the clone disappear hoping to save herself a little bit of energy.

Stinger forced himself up. The only clear thought he had was that Andy needed him. He shook uncontrollably from the poison and blood loss, but refused to stop. He summoned the last of his energy reserves and kicked the malistrate several feet away. Then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed in a heap.

Andy looked up at the commotion, seeing her teammates coming toward them. She dodged an attack from the malistrate before rushing to Stinger's side.

Champ tossed her a syringe before running straight at the malistrate. She quickly stuck it in Stinger's arm before scanning him over. She knew he'd be able to start clotting again now that he had antivenin but she focused her energy into trying to heal him and stop the bleeding quicker. She only got about a minute of healing in before she passed out, landing on top of her still unconscious husband.

Champ glanced back and shook his head before he punched the malistrate. Grabbing his axe, the bull slashed the creature, causing him to explode. Turning away, he went over to where his teammates lay. "Dammit aibou." The android picked Stinger up as Spada and Kotaro took Andy. They headed for their voyagers quickly.

Andy sat up quickly upon waking up, gripping her side in pain as she looked around the room. She calmed down a bit noticing where she was. She sighed and shook her head when she noticed Stinger was in the next bed still unconscious. Finally, her eyes landed on Champ who was sitting nearby, "How is he?"

"Alive. Barely." The bull moo-ed in annoyance. "The idiot."

"He said you let him out..."

The bull snorted. "Yeah I did cause he told me some crap about a plan that actually sounded good."

She nodded, "Sounds like him. I'm not mad at you though. Him on the other hand..."

The android stood. "I'm mad at me. I should have known he was going to do something stupid. But his idea did work the way he intended on me."

Andy shook her head, "I just don't know what to do with him. I think I finally get through to him and convince him to quit running off and trying to do dumb things, but the next thing I know he's doing it again." She wiped a stray tear away, "I told you a couple years ago how he just keeps playing with my heart like a yo-yo. With how far we've come, I know he loves me and I don't question that. But I'm still being a yo-yo going from being sad and worried when he's hurt and just wanting to let him deal with it himself because it's his own damn fault he's hurt. I don't plan to ever leave him again, but I wonder how long I can keep dealing with this dumb scorpion."

"Don't worry." Stinger's low voice answered. "This is the last time you'll have to." He slowly rolled off the bed.

Andy cringed when she realized he had probably heard everything she said. She pushed herself up and slowly moved over to him, "Love, I might complain about you sometimes, but more than anything else I love you. I just wish you cared about yourself as much as I do."

Stinger shook his head. "No, you're absolutely right about everything. And I'm sorry. You deserve better, the Kyurangers deserve better." He looked at Champ. "There's a set of envelopes for Shou and Tsurugi. Make sure they get them."

He gave Andy a sad smile. "Remember I love you and I always will." He headed for the door, trying to keep his face neutral.

Andy rushed after him, "Where are you going?"

He didn't turn. "Somewhere I can't hurt anyone again."

She grabbed his hand trying to stop him, "I'm not letting you go anywhere without me. I don't care how many times you hurt me, or any of that. I love you and I'm going to follow you wherever you plan on going."

He removed her hand. "You're now in charge until Shou or Tsurugi say otherwise." He gently kissed her. "Live your life and be happy. Don't wear yourself out too much, though without me I don't think you'll have to. Goodbye Andaka."

He left the infirmary and went to the voyager bay. Minutes later, the Sasori voyager flew out and disappeared.

Andy looked at Champ with tears in her eyes. She was fighting off the panic attack that was trying to take her over, "I... I'm going after him. I don't know... just watch the ship," her thoughts were racing faster than she could process. She pushed through the pain and made her way to her voyager, setting it to search for his. She flew off, hoping she could find him soon.

Stinger clutched the controls, desperately trying to stave off the darkness creeping on the edge of his vision. He had to stay conscious long enough to get where he was going. If he crashed afterwards it would be well deserved and too long coming. He forced himself to focus as the planet came into view. Keying in the sequence, Stinger attempted to land. Within seconds, he knew he'd made a mistake. A large sandstorm rammed into the voyager and he was bounced around the cabin until his head hit the shield glass hard. As he blacked out, he hoped Andy would finally find happiness without him.

Andy had tracked Stinger down and watched his ship hit a giant wave of sand. She tried to take control of it after calling and getting no response. Unfortunately, she didn't get control in time and she watched it crash down onto the planet. She landed carefully trying to avoid the wind. The second she landed she was out of her voyager running toward his. She opened it up and noticed his head was bleeding.

She considered trying to heal him there but noticed some sparks coming from the controls. She quickly made a clone to help her carry him over toward her voyager. She then grabbed the first aid kid she always had stashed away and started bandaging him up. Before healing him, she checked the systems. She shook her head when she realized where they were. Planet Needle. Stinger had fled home. She was at least thankful that they weren't likely to run into Jark Matter. She moved back to where she had laid him out and focused on healing. When she felt herself getting dizzy and tired she just lay cuddled into his side, before falling asleep.

Andy woke up and panicked when she realized Stinger was gone. She pushed herself up and out of her voyager running back in the direction of his voyager. She stopped suddenly when she noticed Stinger.

He was slowly stumbling toward something she couldn't see. As she followed, she realized he was crying. He fell to the sand several times, but always rose and continued. Passing his voyager, the kyuranger finally stopped and let himself sink to the ground in the middle of several dilapidated and destroyed tents. He slowly curled into a ball and sobbed.

"Stinger?" She approached slowly not wanting to startle him. "Love? Can you hear me?"

His body was shaking, but his voice was clear. "Why did you follow me?"

"I told you, I love you so I'm going to follow you wherever you plan to go," she stayed a few feet away not wanting to push things.

He shook his head. "I release you from your vows. You need to go find someone who can make you happy."

"You make me happy. Yeah I get pissed at you, yeah you can be a pain in the ass. But none of that matters compared to how much I love you. I don't care if you want to release me from my vows or whatever, I'm not leaving you. I don't care if I have to spend every moment of my life chasing you across the universe. I am not giving up on you."

He stared at the destruction in front of him. "I almost died here." More tears began to streak his face as his fists clenched. "I _should_ have died here. Would have saved everyone a lot of grief." His voice grew soft. "I won't hurt anyone but myself anymore." His tail rose and approached his own chest. He closed his eyes as it prepared to strike.

She rushed over, almost instantly appearing in front of him. She wrapped a hand gently around his tail, "Don't you realize if you do this you'd be hurting me and everyone else on our team?" She tried to talk quietly to calm him, "You survived for a reason. I don't know what reason, but there has to be one. Don't just throw that away." She looked at him confidently, "If you still want to do this, I guess I won't stop you. Just remember, I will follow you _anywhere."_

He froze, opening his eyes. His face was panicked. "Don't say that. Don't_ ever _say that! I'm trying to keep you _alive_! That's why I left. I won't be able to stand it if one of my stupid plans gets you or one of the others killed! This way everyone lives…" His tail lowered as he was wracked with sobs again.

She pulled him in for a hug, "Remember how you keep telling me you don't think you could ever find happiness again if you lost me? That's how I feel about losing you. Even when I was being stubborn and left when you wanted me reassigned, all I did was stay in my room depressed, not really living. Plus, your way doesn't let everyone live, because you aren't counting _you_ in everyone." She rested her head against his chest, "I love you."

He sighed, the sound desperate. "You deserve someone who doesn't make your heart a yo-yo. I'm tired, Andy. So damn tired." He grimaced as he wrapped his arms around her.

"You don't get to decide who I deserve. I want you," she took a deep breath. "I wish I could take all of your pain away and make you the happiest you could be. I'm so sorry that I can't."

He held her tighter. "The fact you want to is more important to me."

He took a deep breath as his body reminded him he hadn't recovered fully yet. He wasn't about to remind Andy of that though.

Andy was about to say something else but she swayed a bit. She stayed half hugging him but focused on keeping herself upright. She pulled one hand away momentarily to touch her side and make sure she hadn't started bleeding again.

"Are you okay?" Stinger looked at her worriedly. He pushed his own discomfort away and concentrated on her.

"I'll be fine," she nodded. "Neither of us should really be out of the infirmary yet..."

"Yeah," He admitted slowly. "I didn't expect you to follow me."

"You should just assume by now I'm going to come after you no matter what." She sighed, "Though I didn't think this through either honestly. I just didn't want you to be out here alone."

Stinger chuckled. "After what you told Champ I figured you had had enough. I was certain no one was going to come after me. I was hoping for it honestly."

Andy smirked, "I'm sorry if I ruined your plan." She looked up at him, "Champ and I care about you more than anyone else. Sometimes we just need to rant a bit when you piss us off. That doesn't mean we want you to run away like this..."

Stinger smiled wryly. "This last mission really rattled me. Seeing you like that…" He grimaced at the memory. "And my stupid plan. All it did was get both of us hurt."

"Part of being on a team is trusting your teammates... I was happy knowing you were safe, and I knew the team would be there to try to rescue me eventually." She shook her head, "I'll admit I wasn't doing very well by the time you showed up... but I had hope things would work out. You need to trust that your teammates can still take care of things when you are hurt."

He rolled his eyes. "I do. But when Champ said his plan hadn't worked… all I thought was you were going to die."

"Sometimes the first plan or even second plan doesn't work but is eventually something will." She frowned, "I'm sorry I got captured and made this whole mess in the first place..."

He narrowed his eyes. "If you're apologizing for that then I have to apologize for every time that's happened to me." He shook his head. "Don't go there or we'll be here for months."

She chuckled, wincing at the pain she felt in her chest. She scanned herself over a moment before remembering the malistrate hitting her there. Of course she had cracked a rib. She realized she never actually managed to check what was wrong with her in the infirmary before rushing off after Stinger.

"Why don't we go sit in my voyager for a few minutes?" She suggested. "We can talk more there, but we both probably need to rest."

Stinger nodded tiredly and followed her back. By the time he reached it, he felt like he was going to pass out.

She reached up and kissed his cheek, "Let's nap. We can talk again after and figure out where we are going from here, ok?"

He gave her a soft smile as he climbed in and closed his eyes. He was asleep in seconds.

She curled up against him and used his chest as a pillow, following right behind him in falling asleep.

Andy woke up hearing the steady beat of Stinger's heart. She smiled before lifting her head off his chest. She lifted her hands and scanned him over noticing all the damage he had taken. She focused, starting on the worst wounds, as she pushed her energy into him using it to heal him. She frowned when she noticed her hands shaking but accepted it knowing it wouldn't affect how she healed.

"Andy? You need to stop." Stinger's eyes were partially open, his voice hoarse. "Concentrate on resting and healing yourself. Don't worry about me."

She opened her eyes and looked at him before letting her hands fall. "You were hurt worse than I was though," she spoke softly.

He tried to hide a grimace. "My plan. I take the consequences." He tried to rise, but fell back. He was quite clearly in pain but trying to hide it from her.

She got up and grabbed the first aid kit again. She struggled for a moment, trying to open up some medicine, but finally managed to get it. She grabbed one of the emergency water bottles before sitting back down and giving them to Stinger.

He shook his head. "You need them more. I'm going to see if I can reach the Orion." He gingerly sat up, waiting until the pain grew tolerable enough to move more.

She held the medicine out again, "I'm the medic here. Don't tell me I need them more when I'm the one who knows what injuries we both have."

He raised an eyebrow at her, ignoring the medicine. He kept trying to stand.

She sighed and set the medicine down on a little ledge nearby before watching him.

He slowly moved to the controls and tested the com before returning. "Must be another storm brewing cause I can't get a signal." He sighed, then reseated himself still ignoring the medication.

"How often are there storms around here?"

"Quite a few. Mostly sandstorms but occasionally we'd get floods." He tried to find a comfortable position. "Not sure if you saw the storm that took my voyager out but that's a small one."

"Some time, if you would be ok with it, I'd like it if you'd show me around... you know when we aren't hurt though."

He looked at her thoughtfully. "I might just do that." He avoided her eyes as a bolt of pain lanced through his abdomen. Damn malistrate had had a hell of a right hook.

She watched him and wondered why he seemed to be trying to hide his pain when it was so obvious. Even if she hadn't scanned him over and knew what injuries he had, she'd be able to see how bad he looked. "Please take the medicine, love."

"What if something happens and you need me?"

She pointed to each of her fingers as she silently counted off arguments, "I have weapons on me, I have my seiza blaster, my voyager has blasters too, and like I said, I'm still in better shape than you right now. You just need to focus on resting."

He chuckled for a moment, then grimaced. "Fine. I'll take the pills."

Her hand reached weakly out to grab them but their shaking caused one of them to fall. She noticed it slid by Stinger so she just held out the one she did have a grip on. "Sorry."

"I'm the one who should be sorry." He downed the first pill, then found the other one and downed it as well. He laid down with a smile, his head in her lap. "You don't mind do you?" He winked.

She smiled at him, "not at all." She struggled as she tried to steady her hand more to rub his hair.

He took her hand and kissed it. "Relax beautiful."

She sighed, "I hate when my hands don't want to cooperate. I don't know if it's from worry, the concussion, after effects of poison and antivenin, or just my brain still being dumb from that hemorrhage..."

Stinger shrugged. "Probably all of the above." His eyes were starting to close. "I'll try to stop worrying you though." He gave her a sleepy smile.

"Even when you aren't out doing dumb things I worry about you," she admitted. "Sweet dreams love."

"Really?" The words were slurred as the medicine dragged him under. "That's sweet…I think."

She sat there and rubbed his hair for a couple hours before he shifted off of her. She took off her jacket and made a pillow for him out of it.

She stood slowly and stretched her legs out before making a mental note of the things they needed to do. She could fly Stinger back to the Orion in her voyager but his wouldn't be able to make the trip. If they couldn't get ahold of the others because of storms, they were on their own.

She scribbled a small note on the package for a bandage, "Be back soon. At sasori voyager."

She slid it in front of Stinger before making her way out to see if the repairs were something she could manage.

A chittering roar woke him. For a second he lay trying to get his bearings. Then he heard it again and his heart dropped. Frantically he glanced over. No Andy. There was a note though and he read it as he reached for his blaster.

"Dammit Andaka." He opened the Iruka voyager and raced out, ignoring the protestations of his body. He slid to a halt as one of his boyhood nightmares appeared.

Andy pulled herself up from underneath the control panel of the sasori voyager when she heard a weird noise. She glanced out and noticed a scorpion the size of a voyager staring her direction. She pressed buttons quickly trying to get the voyagers blasters up and running.

Stinger saw Andy's alarmed face in the cockpit and took a deep breath. This was probably going to earn him another lecture, but if he _didn't _do it Andy wouldn't be around to give it to him. Attaching his blaster to his wrist, the kyuranger aimed and fired. It bounced off the thick shell, but he was only trying to distract it. As it turned towards him, he dove for cover and continued firing.

Andy's eyes grew wide as she noticed Stinger was awake and shooting at the attacker. She watched as the blasters finally turned on, quickly aiming and firing at the creature. After a couple shots, it finally quit moving and fell forward. Andy rushed out to check on Stinger.

He lay unmoving on his stomach, head on one arm. Slowly he rolled onto his back and looked at her. "You are still trying to give me a heart attack aren't you?"

She winced, "I knew there was no people here... I forgot there could still be giant scorpions..."

He shook his head in dismay. "My fault. I should have warned you they were still around." He very slowly sat up, breathing very shallowly.

"Let's get you back inside." She held out a hand to help him up, "I think I'm almost done with the repairs on your voyager. Let's go there and I'll finish them up after I look you over again."

He took her hand and pulled himself up. His face paled, but he said nothing as he followed her.

After getting into the voyager she looked for the first aid kit. She pulled it out and approached Stinger. She held out the medicine from it waiting for him to take it.

He stared dazedly at it for a second, then took them dry. He almost fell but caught himself. "Remind me never… to do that again." He gently wrapped a hand around his ribs as he struggled to sit down.

She helped him down before scanning him over and working on healing him some more. She closed her eyes as she focused wishing she could just instantly heal all of his injuries.

He felt awful. The only time he could remember feeling worse was after using Antares. He tried to stay awake, but finally gave in to the blackness threatening him.

Andy kept healing him for a few more minutes before finishing up the repairs. She decided Stinger would be able to heal better on the Orion so she made sure he was safe before flying the Sasori voyager up into the sky. She remote piloted her own voyager and quickly found the Orion. When she landed, Champ met her in the bay.

"I figured you two might need some help."

Andy blinked sleepily, "thanks." She waited for him to get Stinger before heading to the infirmary. She was going to check over him but Raptor soon entered and insisted she could take care of it.

Andy climbed into one of the beds before quickly falling asleep.

Stinger's eyes opened as Raptor began the scan. Groggily, he tried to sit up looking for Andy.

"Lay down, Commander. Andy's fine she's just asleep," Raptor informed.

He looked at her for a minute, then did as requested with a relieved sigh.

She wasn't sure Stinger would stay awake through her scan but she spoke, half to him and half to her tablet to record for his chart.

"Stitches still healing on the leg wound from the Earth battle. Shoulder wound also from that battle is still healing. Hundreds of spike wounds, bruises, and two broken ribs from Ophiuchus. A few of the spikes pierced one of his kidneys. Those are still healing. New wounds include another broken rib, more bruising, and a head injury."

She looked down at him. He always looked younger than he was when he slept. She set up an IV but decided against the restraints for now. If he tried to leave again though, she'd permanently attach them to the bed.

Andy woke slowly, hearing Raptor talking. When she finally opened her eyes she realized Naga was getting released from the infirmary. She sat up, pain rushing through her head. After a few moments the pain died down. She looked over and smiled when she saw Stinger sleeping peacefully.

Stinger's eyes slowly blinked open. He lay there trying to decide if he actually wanted to stay awake or not.

Andy watched him for a few seconds before asking, "Are you ok?"

Stinger raised his head to look at her with a smile. "Am now." He pushed himself up on his elbows. "Just trying to decide if it's worth it to be awake right now."

Andy yawned, "You probably need more sleep." She sighed, "I wish these beds were a bit bigger so we could just lay next to each other."

He nodded. "Me too. Especially since I can't really move right now." He motioned to the IV.

"And if I did, Raptor might lecture me."

Raptor reentered the room and looked at both of them, hearing the last few words he said, "Why am I lecturing you this time?"

Stinger looked sheepish. "If I moved over to Andy you might yell. Or worse restrain me again."

Raptor looked at the couple before shaking her head. She headed over to Andy, "Can you stand?"

She raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "Probably." She pushed herself off the bed and watched Raptor push her bed over to Stinger's.

After locking the two beds together Raptor laughed, "With you two always in here I've considered just making a double bed like this, but it makes it harder to restrain you. For now, though, I think it can be allowed."

Andy smiled and gave thanks before climbing in and cuddling against Stinger.

Stinger thanked Raptor with a chuckle as he wrapped an arm around Andy.

Once Raptor left the room again, Andy looked up at Stinger, "How are you feeling?"

Stinger sighed. "If not for the IV I probably would be very grumpy."

"You are always grumpy in the infirmary," Andy smirked.

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Alright you have a point. What I meant is I would be in a lot more pain." His tail twitched a little where it was wrapped around her leg. "I wish I'd gotten to destroy that creep instead of Champ."

"You'll have plenty more creeps to destroy," she smiled before closing her eyes. "I'm glad the IV is helping, but I kind of meant how are you feeling emotionally?" She paused before adding, "You were just back on your home planet and had been feeling suicidal again... I just worry about you."

He paused, thinking. "I think I needed to go back, to lay those demons to rest finally. I don't think you'll have to worry about that particular problem anymore."

She nodded against his chest, "Even if I seem mad at you, remember I'm always here. I'd rather you talk to me and tell me how you are feeling than having to chase you across the universe..."

Stinger chuckled. "I know, and I promise I will from now on." His eyes were heavy but he fought the pull of the medicine. He and Andy needed to finally settle this. "I am not going anywhere of my own free will. My heart is completely yours now and forever."

Andy was finding it hard to stay awake with how comfortable Stinger was as a pillow. She spoke quietly, just loud enough for him to hear, "I love you, Stinger."

His arm tightened around her. "I love you too, Andy. More than you will ever know." He smiled, finally surrendering to sleep.


	11. A Scorpion Birthday

Andy woke up smiling as she remembered what day it was. She grabbed her notepad off the nightstand and glanced at a few of the pages. When she noticed Stinger stretching out and waking up she kissed his cheek, "Happy birthday, love."

He grinned sleepily. "Is that today?"

"Yep. And we have lots of fun things planned," she smiled. "I'm going to cook dinner and Champ and Kotaro are picking out a movie to watch tonight. I will need some input on the recipes though and thought maybe you'd want to go shopping for the ingredients with me? I can show you when you're more awake."

Stinger groaned. "No Disney movies okay? And I'll be fully awake once I get coffee."

Andy laughed, "Bring up the Disney thing with Kotaro. Come on, I'll make breakfast if no one else has gotten up and started it." After they headed to the kitchen and Andy handed him a cup of coffee, she set down a pile of recipes that Raptor helped her find. "I wasn't sure which ones you'd like."

He gulped half the cup. "Anything spicy?" He thumbed through the pile.

"There's a few," she nodded.

He stopped on one, reading the ingredients silently. "This one. But we need more spice."

"Well you can add as much spice as you want to it," she smiled. "Kotaro says there's a shop we should be able to get most of this stuff at on earth. We already will be near there picking him back up so it works out."

Stinger grinned happily and kissed her. "Have I told you how much I love you lately?"

"You might have mentioned it," she smirked before checking the food she was preparing on the stove.

He laughs and finishes his coffee. "Well now I have reports to read. Gotta do the work before I can have fun."

Andy shook her head, "Raptor is doing everything. You have the day off, unless something massive happens."

He let out a relieved sigh. "Hopefully the universe takes a day off too."

Andy held Stinger's hand as they walked down the road. She glanced into some different shops, "Is there anywhere you want to check out before we get to our destination?"

"I don't know. Never really went sightseeing with everything that was going on back then."

"Well, today is all about you and whatever you want to do. So if anything sounds fun, just let me know," she smiled up at him.

"I'm having enough fun being here with you." He bent and kissed her deeply.

"I love you," she spoke when he pulled away. After walking a few more steps, she spotted a shop that caught her eye, "Do you want to check this place out?" She suggested looking at the clothes in the window.

Stinger shrugged. "Are you modeling?"

She raised an eyebrow before smirking, "Did you want me to?"

He leered at her. "It is my birthday…. And you said if anything sounded fun…"

She laughed, "You get to pick what I try on then."

He grinned wide. "Hmmm... decisions, decisions."

She opened the door and entered, starting to look around. She found one or two items she wanted to try on before she looked over at Stinger, "Anything look good?"

He wiggled a hanger with a mischievous look.

She rolled her eyes but chuckled before taking the clothes into the changing room. She tried on the first item she picked, which was a blue dress. She decided she liked it but opened the door to get Stinger's opinion. "What do you think?"

He cocked his head, then nodded appreciatively. "It's beautiful." After a second he grinned. "The dress is nice too."

She blushed and smiled at him before closing the door to change again. This time she tried on a green shirt with a flowery design. She frowned when she realized it didn't fit her like she hoped but opened the door anyway to show Stinger.

He gave her a thumbs up. "That color is nice on you."

She looked down and shrugged, "I think I'll leave the green to Hammy." She closed the door before fully looking over what Stinger handed her. It was a swim bikini that matched the color of her kyutama. There were some pink and orange flowers on it for accent. She was surprised to realize she liked it once she got it on. Maybe they'd have to go swimming more often...

She opened the door to see his reaction.

A slow smile spread over his face and he whistled. "Wow… It's even better than I thought." He came over and cupped her cheek. He gave her a soft look and a gentle kiss, then dipped her with a laugh. "We have to go back to Atria now."

"We could actually use the pool on the ship for once..." She smiled. "Guess I am getting this then."

He chuckled as she went back in the changing room.

She got back into her regular clothes before stepping out. She put the shirt back, paid for her items, and left the shop, "Let's go get our groceries." She grabbed his hand lightly and kept walking down the sidewalk.

He grinned and let her pull him along for a minute, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "This is the nicest birthday I've ever had you know."

"Really?" She glanced up at him, "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything fun the last few years... I would have if we weren't busy fighting Jark Matter."

He kissed her forehead. "We didn't have big celebrations growing up. And after, I tried to ignore it. So this is nice." He gave her a soft smile. "And I already have the best present I could ever want."

"I love you," she responded before spotting the store they needed. They quickly found all of the ingredients and headed back to the ship. As she was taking some items out of the bag she commented, "I hope Kotaro and Naga can handle spicy food..."

He laughed. "If they can't, just means more for me." He got a bowl out and skimmed the recipe directions before starting to mix ingredients together.

She glanced at the pile of leftover recipes still on the counter, "Do you want us to make some of these other ones sometime now that we've found some recipes from your home?"

He paused for a moment. "Some time." He returned to mixing.

She frowned for a moment but then smiled, "Did you used to eat this a lot?"

He smiled a little, but his eyes were sad. "My brother made this once a year for me."

She came over and hugged him, "I'm sorry."

His eyes brightened. "Don't be. This is a fresh start. No more dwelling in the past. Only the future." He looked at her. "Let's do this."

She kissed him quickly before getting plates out.

Andy and Stinger sat down once the food was done. "It smells good," she noticed, waiting to see his reaction to it before trying it herself.

He took a bite, chewing slowly. He swallowed and smiled at her. Then his eyes got big and he started to pant. He laughed as he poured himself a large drink. "Wow… I may have overdone it just a bit."

She chuckled before taking a bite. She smiled, "It's really good." She watched him keep taking sips from his glass as she took another bite. "We should put this into the regular meal schedule."

He glanced at her. "Little milder I think. I must have been crazy to add this many peppers." He took a deep breath and ate another bite.

She shrugged, "I mean, it is spicy, but it's not that bad. We could probably add some more in..." She took another bite, still not having taken a drink.

Stinger stared at her silently for a moment then shook his head. "On second thought, you're the crazy one."

She laughed, "What? Are you sure you're not just overreacting to the spiciness?" She noticed Kotaro and Naga finally enter the room. "The food is great. Plates are on the counter and the food is staying warm in the oven. Tell me if you think it's too spicy."

They looked at Stinger who kept sipping his drink.

"It smells spicy," Kotaro noticed when he opened up the oven. The two got their plates and sat down. "Is it really hot, aniki?"

Stinger nodded as he put the glass down. "Lunatic here thinks it should be spicier." He made a face.

Andy laughed as she kept eating. The couple watched the other two try the food. Naga almost spit it out before he started gulping down water. Kotaro tried it next and had a similar reaction to Stinger.

"It is a bit too spicy..." Kotaro agreed.

When Naga could finally talk he mentioned, "I've gotten used to different spices since leaving my home but I've never had anything like that..."

Stinger looked at Andy, his face saying 'See?'

She shrugged, "I don't think it's that bad... but next time we'll put less peppers in it so you wimps can handle it." She joked.

Stinger mock glared, then started tickling her. "Who are you calling wimps?"

She just laughed before pulling him in for a kiss.

-A few weeks later-

Andy and Stinger were in the training room sparring when they heard a voice at the door.

"Hey."

Andy paused and looked back, smiling as she noticed her sister. "Hey!" She rushed over and pulled Hammy into a hug.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner. There's been a lot of stuff going on at home."

"It's fine. We've had a lot going on here too."

"A couple of the teachers were lost in battle so I've had to teach twice as many classes," Hammy admitted.

Andy looked sad, "Have there been a lot of battles?"

She shook her head, "Not too many. Just a few Jark Matter ships here and there. But two of the elders passed away. Not from battle, just age. One of them was Elder Aggie..."

Andy frowned but tried not to focus on it. "Why don't we go to the lounge?" She glanced at her sister before glancing back at Stinger.

The three headed down there and sat down on the chairs, talking for a while. Finally, Hammy pulled something from her bag, "I finished this but I didn't know what you wanted to do with it. I honestly am surprised to see you in such a good mood, given the date."

Andy looked at her in confusion before glancing at Stinger. Stinger pulled out Andy's notebook and glanced through it, "It's November 29, but you don't have anything written about it."

Andy started shaking when it finally hit her. "Oh." She unwrapped what Hammy was holding out. The blanket that they started making when she found out she was expecting. She rushed out of the room before the tears started streaming down her face.

Hammy shook her head when she looked at Stinger, "I'm sorry. I thought she would have realized what day it was..."

Stinger sighed, "What is today?"

"Her due date," Hammy informed.

Stinger winced before closing up the little notebook and putting it back in his pocket. He stood hoping to go after her. Hammy stopped him though, "What's that?"

He frowned, "After the battle on Naga's planet she's been forgetting little details. We've started carrying a notebook to write things down so she can remember them." He noticed the worried look on Hammy's face, "She's had just a few too many head injuries... She's staying strong through it though." He headed out into the hallway.

Andy was surprised she had even made it to her room. She heard a noise but ignored it as she kept hugging the blanket and sobbing.

"Beautiful?"

Andy took a deep breath and tried to stop crying, "Sorry."

"Why?" He curled up next to her.

She spoke slowly between sobs, "I forgot what today was... I never remembered to tell you when your son's birthday would have been... I ran off crying..."

He hugged her tight. "You have nothing to be sorry for beautiful."

"I got caught up in all the battles and injuries, and though I didn't forget about him, I guess I just pushed it out of my mind enough to never fully process and get over it."

Stinger shook his head. "I didn't want to think about it. Still feeling guilty I guess."

"You have nothing to feel guilty about. It wasn't your fault."

"Tell that to my conscience."

"Let's just try to both believe it wasn't either of our faults," Andy sighed wiping away the rest of her tears as she stared up at the ceiling. "Technically, it was Jark Matter that shot down my voyager so let's just try to blame them for all of our problems."

Stinger laughed and kissed her cheek. "I can get behind that. Come on, Hammy's waiting."

Andy nodded, "Right." She stood and took a look at the blanket, giving a small sad chuckle at the words stitched on it, the silly rhyming phrase they made for their brother, before folding it and setting it on her desk.

Stinger waited for her by the door. She tried to push the rest of her sadness away as she shut the door behind them.


	12. Prequel 3

The three siblings were sitting around the table as they watched their mother preparing dinner.

"I can't believe you get to go on missions now!" Andy looked up at her big brother with excitement.

Avery shook his head, "I'm really nervous actually. What if I mess something up? What if someone dies because I don't have enough skill?"

"You're going to be the best ninja ever!" Andy grinned.

He smiled at her sadly, "Thanks for the confidence, but I'm sure you'll know how I feel when you grow up and finally graduate."

Hammy look at him thoughtfully, "You just have to be brave, and trust that you can do it."

Andy's eyes widened before she started giggling, "Find your bravery, Avery!" She looked at Hammy, "All that thinking for a good saying and I finally think of one on the spot…"

Avery chuckled at his sisters, "I'll try to be brave. But I don't think you realize how dangerous the real world can be."

Hammy spoke up, "It might be dangerous… but it's our jobs as ninja to protect our planet and our family."

He stared at her for a few seconds, "You sound really too wise for your age. You sound like an Elder when you're only ten."

"Aren't you old enough to be an Elder yet, Aniki?" Andy questioned.

He shook his head laughing, "I'm only sixteen, I'm far from being an Elder."

She looked at him in wonder, "Well, you seem old to me."

"Well, you are only eight, 'Daka. Once you hit sixteen I'm sure you'll realize it's not that old," Hammy answered.

Andy glared at her, "You're only two years older than me, don't go acting like you know everything," she stuck her tongue out.

"Settle down," their mother turned toward them smiling, "Go find your father and tell him dinner is ready."

Hammy and Andy raced out the door trying to get to their dad first as Avery just shook his head, hoping he'd be able to protect his sisters from danger now that he was graduating as an adult ninja.


	13. A Kyuranger Christmas

"Do I have to dress up _again_?"

Stinger grumbled as Andy unwrapped the Santa suit.

Andy shrugged, "Shou sent it for you. So yeah." She handed it to him, "You'll look cute." She then went and changed into her dress that made her look like an elf.

Stinger's eyes widened. "Can we just have a private party in our room?"

She smirked before winking, "Maybe later. We'll get in trouble if we are late though."

He pouted a little. "I'm going to kick Shou's ass for this. And I'm the commander. The party won't start until I arrive."

"Seeing as Shou and Tsurugi will be here, it'll start when they arrive because they outrank you..." She reminded. "It won't be that bad. All you have to do is have fun."

"Dressed like Santa? I doubt it." He reluctantly changed into the costume.

"You look cute. Just stop worrying about things, including your outfit," she pulled him in for a kiss. "And if you _really _hate the outfit, we could burn it later?" She chuckled.

His face brightened. "I like that idea. We can make smores. Maybe we can have dragon steaks..."

Andy rolled her eyes but grinned, "Good luck with that. Smores do sound good though." She glanced at the time, "Let's go. Everyone else will probably be dressed up too. I wonder what they are wearing?" She lost herself in her thoughts as she straightened up her dress. Glancing back at him she headed to the door and waited.

Stinger smiled wryly. "Naga's probably a tree again." He joined her and they made their way to the rec room.

Andy chuckled to herself when she saw her teammates. Naga was, in fact, a tree. Balance seemed to be trying to look like a star. There were at least a few dressed as reindeer and one or two other elves.

She approached Hammy and chatted for a few moments before the final guests arrived. Spada had a whole table of food set out and Raptor was helping him carry in even more. She noticed Balance and Naga trying to act sneaky and watched, trying to figure out their plan.

While no one else was at the table, Balance tried to pour something into the punch bowl. She smirked but stayed quiet until Raptor caught Balance in the act.

"Maybe we should help them out," Andy whispered to Stinger. "I wish we could just get Raptor drunk, maybe she'd chill out."

Stinger burst out laughing. "Are you sure that would be a good idea? Might make her worse."

Andy watched Raptor keep scolding Balance and then caught Naga in the act of trying to spike it as well. Having both of the thieves in her sights, she now expected everyone else would be good. Andy tried not to laugh when Tsurugi snuck behind them and finished pouring the alcohol in.

Andy smirked and asked Stinger, "Want some punch?"

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?"

She laughed, "Is it taking advantage if we are both drunk?"

He grinned. "Let's test your theory."

She stood up and turned back to him, "You might want to tell Spada to get some unspiked punch though so the bear cub doesn't get smashed." She headed off, grabbed a couple glasses of punch, before attempting to distract Raptor from yelling at Balance and Naga. Balance gave her a thumbs up as Raptor finally shook her head and walked away.

She sat back down, giving a shocked expression when she finally took a sip and realized how much alcohol Tsurugi had poured in.

Stinger's face turned red after he took a drink. He closed his eyes as the alcohol hit him. If he got ahold of Tsurugi...

Andy chuckled at him before taking another drink of hers. After a few minutes she was giggling. She looked over at Hammy, "Do you remember that time we got called to drag Ave home from the bar on his birthday? He had been flirting with anyone who made eye contact with him."

Hammy chuckled and shook her head, "You better not get that drunk tonight."

Andy shook her head, "I'll be fine." She looked over at Stinger and just kept smiling at him.

Stinger waggled his eyebrows and laughed. "She better only flirt with me."

Andy giggled, "Of course I'll only flirt with you." She moved over and kissed his cheek.

He chuckled. "Tsurugi is insane. But the party is better than I expected."

Andy got up and held her hand out to Stinger, "Lucky is setting up the music, want to dance?" A few of the other rangers were already gathering around Lucky.

Stinger frowned. "I might be slightly uncoordinated. But I'll give it a try."

Andy chuckled but went over to the dance floor. She was a little stumbly but was managing to stay on her feet, "See, told you that you could have fun."

Stinger just laughed and tried to stay on his feet. "I haven't had a drink in years."

"Me either. And I'm pretty sure this is a lot stronger than what we had at home." She giggled. "Thanks for dancing with me." She noticed the song coming to an end.

"I think we should give our regrets and go back to our room."

Andy raised an eyebrow but shrugged, "if that's what you want to do."

She noticed Hammy was laughing and sticking mistletoe above Spada and Raptor's heads.

She approached, "Have you been drinking too?"

"Just a little," Hammy admitted. "It's fun making Raptor flustered though. Even though they are dating the mistletoe thing is a trope she likes in her fictions."

Andy rolled her eyes but followed as Hammy approached Stinger and Champ and held mistletoe above their heads. Andy just started giggling.

Stinger gave Hammy a look. "Not happening."

"You don't want to kiss your beautiful cow princess?" She broke out in laughter remembering the odd adventure her teammates had.

Stinger glared. "No way. Not that drunk ever."

Champ chuckled softly, "That's fine, I don't want to kiss you either aibou."

Andy and Hammy just laughed before Andy reminded, "I think we are heading to our room for the night."

Stinger nodded. "I think that's a very good idea."

Andy took Stinger's hand before using her other hand to give a small wave, "night guys!"

Stinger just waved to everyone as he tried not to stumble over his feet.

They got into the hall and walked slowly, "See? Not that bad. And you didn't complain about the Santa suit once during the party."

He chuckled. "I didn't, did I? Tsurugi really is legendary…"

She just grinned at him and gave a small chuckle, "You're legendary."

He gave her a soft smile. "No you are."

They got to their room and Andy tried to reach around and unzip her dress. She fell onto the bed laughing, "I don't know how I got this on in the first place... but I can't get it off," she just laughed as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "I think I drank a bit too much. But at least I can still walk so I'm not too drunk, right?"

Stinger rolled his eyes and he carefully sat down next to her and reached for the zipper. "I can walk… just really slowly." He started laughing. "We are going to be in trouble tomorrow."

"At least we don't have any missions scheduled. We can sleep in and relax."

He leaned over and kissed her. "Best news I've heard all week."

She frowned, "I hate realizing when I forget things..." she stood, trying to walk steadily over to her closet. She reached in and grabbed a wrapped box before returning to the bed, "Merry Christmas, love."

He chuckled and rose, going to the dresser and returning with a small box. "Merry Christmas beautiful."

She handed him the big box and excitedly watched him open it. She started giggling before he even finished unwrapping it, knowing what he was going to see first.

She continued giggling as she watched him pull out an oddly shaped sweater. The front was covered in garland and mini pom poms. "It's a tree." The words barely got out around her laughing.

He just stared in disbelief for a minute before dropping the sweater like he'd been burned. "I am _not_ ever wearing that." He glared at her.

Her laughing fit finally died down, "I know. It was just a joke. Your real present is still in the box."

He raised an eyebrow before reaching into the box again and pulling out another sweater. This one was a dark orange covered in little light orange scorpion designs. He let out a chuckle. "Okay, this one I can live with."

"Do you really like it?" She looked up at him worried.

He kissed her. "I love it. Now open yours." He fidgeted as she opened the box. What if she didn't like it?

She unwrapped a silver necklace with an intertwined dolphin and scorpion encrusted with crystal.

Her eyes lit up and she smiled at him, "It's so beautiful!"

He took a breath. "You really like it?"

"Of course love." She looked back down to admire it. "Thank you."

He took the necklace and carefully put it around her neck.

She looked down at it with a smile before moving to pull him in for a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too. Bed?"

Andy looked down again realizing she still had her dress on. She chuckled before moving off the bed to finish changing.

Stinger quickly changed out of the suit. He waited until Andy was done, then pulled her under the covers.

Andy laughed before kissing him again and then resting her head on his chest. She listened to his heartbeat a few seconds before whispering, "you're really amazing, you know that? I'm glad I found you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

She shrugged, "I think I'm the luckiest because I got you. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met and a great ranger. I couldn't have found anyone better."

He chuckled. "I'm the black sheep of the rangers. But I love you for believing in me." He kissed her head as he closed his eyes with a smile.


	14. Forced to Heal

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who is keeping up with this fic! We both really appreciate you taking the time to read it. Don't forget to check out Amy L on Fanfiction or Ankh'sAngel on AO3 because she is awesome and has been the greatest help in this fic. The next few chapters will probably be more little prequels and side stories, but we will get back to the main story soon enough! Thanks again - Aiden Ravelle

Andy laughed at something Stinger was saying as she handed him a sandwich. Glancing up and watching the clouds floating by she sighed, "I wish we could go on picnics more often."

He grinned. "I could always make a rule that once a week we do this…"

She smiled, "That would be nice. Whenever we are done fighting Jark Matter we will have picnics all the time." She felt a hand wrap around her arm and pull her up. She spun and noticed a large group of indavers. She kicked out at the one holding her, "See? We can't plan picnics until then because Jark Matter will just ruin them." She moved to morph but her kyutama was kicked out of her hand. She grabbed out a kunai and took down a few of the indavers.

Stinger didn't answer, fully focused on the indaver trying to swarm him. He lashed out with his tail, stinging several while simultaneously hitting others with his fists. He reached for his kyutama but was hit from behind and fell to his knees.

Andy fought the ones surrounding her until she froze up feeling a shock roll through her body. Pain raced through her making her fall. When her body started cooperating she realized she now had ties around her wrists. She kicked out at the indavers who were lifting her up but they steadily grabbed onto her legs, stopping her. She wiggled around trying to get out of their grasp but couldn't get away.

Stinger tried to get to her, but there were too many indavers. He knocked several back and was about to swing his tail when a jolt of pain raced through him. He fell onto his side as the indavers roughly bound his hands and feet.

Andy was dropped onto a concrete floor before her feet were locked into metal shackles. She finally straightened up and her hands were untied. She reached out to attack the indavers but they moved away quickly.

Stinger was tied up in the next cell before a malistrate approached Andy. "We know you can heal. You are going to work for us now as a medic. We'll bring patients to you and you will treat them to the best of your ability."

"I'd never heal Jark Matter supporters."

He laughed, "You will. Or we'll hurt him." He pointed over at Stinger.

Andy's eyes widened before she looked down sadly and nodded. "Alright. But you'll have to bring me medical supplies. I can't completely heal all wounds."

The malistrate smiled, "I knew you'd see things our way."

Andy sat down after he left and leaned against the wall before analyzing the shackles.

Stinger yanked on the shackles with a loud growl. "Andy are you alright?"

"Yeah." She nodded still not looking his way, "Are you?"

"I'll live. You're not really going to do what they want are you?"

"I don't want you to get hurt..."

"Andy, don't worry about me. I can take whatever they do. But you can't do this."

Andy stayed quiet, choosing just to slowly pick at the shackles with her fingers.

She looked up at the cell door though when she heard noises approaching. They opened her cell and brought in a basic table and a box of supplies. Once they left she finally stood and started taking stock of what they gave her.

"Andy, you know once you heal them they will go out and fight our team right? Will you be able to deal with it if one of them gets hurt because of an enemy you healed?"

"What would you do if our roles were reversed? If you could heal and they were threatening to hurt me?"

He didn't answer.

"That's what I thought..." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Stinger. I just... I don't want you to get hurt."

"Andy… did you ever learn invisibility like Hammy?"

"Why?"

"Use it. Get out of here and get the others."

She shook her head, "Even if I can be invisible it won't actually help me get out of these," she shook the metal chains. "It's not like it can make me phase through things."

"Damn it." Stinger's voice was strained. "How long before we're missed?"

"I'm sure the team will be looking for us soon. I don't know where they brought us though, so who knows how long it will take for them to get here."

A few days passed and Andy healed every patient they'd brought her. She shook her head seeing the new one, "He's too badly injured."

"Heal him or that one gets hurt," he pointed at Stinger.

Andy sighed and did her best at trying to heal him, pushing her energy into him the best she could. Eventually though the patient's heartbeat stopped.

"Please, I really tried," Andy begged, hoping that her attempt would be enough.

He shook his head, "Too bad."

"Don't hurt him. Hurt me instead," Andy cried.

He slapped her hard, knocking her to the ground, before heading out of her cell. He grabbed two whips and opened the door to Stinger's cell.

The malistrate went to hit Stinger, but Stinger's tail flew around to block it. The malistrate grinned before using his other hand to hit him with the other whip. Stinger blocked a few of the hits but winced as it left slices on his body. Andy cringed at the sight.

By the time the malistrate left the cell, Stinger had blood running from a few spots on his arm, one on his chest, and one small slice on his cheek.

Andy got as far as she could with the chains but couldn't reach through to him to help. "I'm so sorry, love." Tears dripped down her face. "I really tried to heal him."

Stinger shook his head slowly. "If he was too injured, there is nothing to be sorry for." He took short pained breaths and tried to relax.

"I've been doing everything they ask, I was hoping they'd see that I tried and wouldn't hurt you for it..."

"Beautiful, this isn't your fault. I'm more worried that they're going to push you too much."

"I'll be fine... I have to be, right?" She gave him a sad smile.

He grimaced. "We both know they will never let us go. You need to find a way to get out of here."

"It's not like I've seen any opportunities. Though even if I had I wouldn't want to leave you anyway." She moved to sit back down. "I'm sure the team will be here for us eventually. I just have to hold on until then."

"Andy, they are going to run you into the ground and then we'll both be dead. Better one of us than both of us."

"How many times have I told you, I don't plan on leaving you. If I can't figure out a way to take you with me, I'm not leaving."

A couple more days passed. Andy felt herself growing dizzy and tired as she healed patient after patient. She tried to do as much as she could without using her jutsu but the patients coming in were in terrible condition. She felt herself getting weaker by the second until finally the world around her went black.

When she woke she heard a voice, "Oh good you are awake. We can start the fun now." She looked up and saw the malistrate outside her cell.

She blinked slowly trying to focus crying out when she realized what was happening, "I'm sorry. I can go back to healing him, I swear. I just got a bit exhausted."

"You keep trying to make excuses but all I see is you failing to heal patients." He entered Stinger's cell.

Stinger straightened up, giving the malistrate the most defiant look he could muster. His chest still burned where the whip had sliced through. But he'd be damned if he'd show weakness in front of the creature.

The malistrate smiled viciously and stepped aside for two large indavers who proceeded to beat Stinger almost to unconsciousness. Before he could pass out, the creature dismissed them. He tried to breathe slowly as he wasn't sure how badly his ribs had been broken.

"Is that... the best you've got?" Stinger tried to grin as the malistrate's face grew stony. A second later, the scorpion regretted his comment as the creature shoved a metal rod into his chest injury and pressed a button.

Blinding pain made a scream erupt from his throat. He convulsed against the manacles holding him for a minute, then sagged as he blacked out.

Andy sobbed as she watched the scene, wishing she could stop them. The malistrate gave orders to the indavers that she couldn't hear but was soon shocked to see them unhook Stinger from the wall and drop him into her cell. "Heal him. You want to keep him alive right?"

She looked up worried it might somehow be a trap but then finally moved to him. She grabbed some supplies and got to work stitching up his wounds. She slowly cleaned off the dried blood and wrapped bandages around where he needed them.

After giving him a quick kiss on the forehead, she brought her hands up and focused on healing as much damage as she could. Soon though, she felt herself falling forward before entirely losing consciousness.

She started muttering in her sleep before it turned into her hyperventilating and crying. She bolted up with her eyes open, though they weren't even focused on anything, with tears still streaming down them. "Don't... don't die please." She kept seeing Stinger getting hurt, terrified because it was all her fault. If she had done better, he would have been fine. She curled up hugging her legs, still not even really conscious, just watching him get hurt over and over in her mind.

"Andy! Andy wake up!"

She moved slightly upon hearing the sound but was still seeing the same scene play out in her mind.

"Dammit Andy! Beautiful wake up!" A harsh cough punctuated the last word.

She froze momentarily before her eyes reopened and focused on him. "...Stinger?"

He continued coughing for a minute, then answered. "Yeah beautiful. It's me."

She tried to think for a moment, looking highly confused before she remembered she had been healing him, "How are you feeling?"

He chuckled humorlessly. "Been better. But I'm still alive so don't worry."

She shook her head, wiping away some of the tears. More kept streaming down though, "They had me healing you... I tried so hard to fix everything but..."

"Don't worry about it, beautiful. You need to save your strength as much as possible."

"It was my fault you got hurt, I should at least be able to fix it..." She took a deep breath trying to stop her crying.

"It's not your fault! I'm stopping you right there. You didn't do anything to cause this." He grew agitated at the thought of her blaming herself. "This is on Jark Matter not you."

She shrugged but just quietly said, "I love you."

Over the next week, Andy passed out a few more times with Stinger getting beaten each time it happened. She tried to keep herself together but was growing more exhausted every passing day. She was happy that she at least got to heal Stinger, but was feeling like she caused his injuries in the first place. The malistrate wasn't letting up though, continually forcing her to heal more members of Jark Matter. She hoped what Stinger said wasn't happening - these patients going and hurting her teammates.

Stinger sighed as he watched Andy grow more worn out. This had to be hell on her, he thought with a grimace. She was forcing herself to self-destruct just so he wouldn't get hurt more. Something had to give eventually and he only hoped it wasn't her. There had to be something he could do…

He pondered their situation. Andy wouldn't even consider leaving him behind, but she couldn't keep healing both Jark Matter patients and him too. But if he forced the malistrate's hand… it might give Andy an opening to escape.

Andy's headache had been almost constant for a few days now, making it hard to think. She'd been having headaches more since her last few concussions, but she knew using up so much energy wasn't helping that situation. Her hands were shaking almost constantly, no matter how hard she tried to steady them. Though it didn't affect her healing jutsu, it made it really difficult to

put in stitches or even wrap bandages. Most of the time she could barely even keep her eyes open more than a few minutes at a time, dozing off multiple times throughout caring for her patients. She tried so hard to stay awake. She needed to do the best she could to keep Stinger alive.

The next patient that came in was injured pretty badly. She normally would be able to heal him, but she barely had the energy to keep his heart beating, let alone fix anything else. She soon felt herself being taken over by sleep once again, unable to keep her head or arms up, she collapsed, falling off the chair they had given her.

"Andy! Andy answer me!" Stinger lunged against his shackles. He cursed, realizing it had finally been too much for her. The malistrate was bound to be here soon so it was time to put his plan into motion. He whispered an apology to her unconscious form, longing to wrap his arms around her. The main door swung open and the malistrate appeared.

"Leave her alone asshole." Stinger warned as the creature approached Andy. "We both know what you're going to do so get on with it."

"This was nice while it lasted. Too bad she doesn't seem like she can last much longer..." he smirked at Stinger.

Stinger pulled against the shackles, growling. "You better not touch her!"

"I won't. Not yet anyway." He headed over to the door of Stinger's cell. "I want her to see the fun I'm going to have with you. If she can even stay awake that is..."

Stinger's eyes blazed. "You're sick. I'm going to cheer when my teammates kick your ass."

"You won't be able to cheer when you're dead." He ordered a couple indavers into the cell to grab Stinger.

He fought as they removed the manacles, getting a punch in the chest for his effort. He gasped as they dragged him out of the room, wondering what the malistrate's plan entailed. They walked down a hallway, ending at what appeared to be an infirmary.

"Got tired of beating me up huh?" Stinger tried to keep his voice steady. He was getting a very bad feeling that he'd finally outlived his usefulness as a hostage.

"Like I said, it was fun while it lasted," the malistrate smiled.

"We need someone to test this new injection out," a man in a lab coat approached with a vial.

Stinger hissed, trying his best to get free as the indavers strapped him down to a bed.

The man filled a syringe before sticking it into Stinger's arm with a warning, "This is probably going to hurt."

Stinger rolled his eyes.

Andy woke slowly and glanced toward Stinger's cell. She panicked when she saw it empty. She looked up and noticed a tv had been placed onto the table. Her eyes widened when she saw Stinger on it. She couldn't hear anything but she could tell he was screaming. Her mind raced trying to figure out what she could do. Was he going to die because she kept passing out? She thought through a few different ideas before remembering the supply box. She pushed herself to her knees and moved over to it. Throwing supplies onto the ground, she searched for anything sharp. She wasn't sure yet if she planned to use it to try to fight if someone came into her cell or if she was just going to use it as a tool to join Stinger if he died. Upon realizing they had taken both the scalpel and scissors, she let out a sob.

She sat back down, struggling to keep her eyes open to watch what was happening to Stinger. He was writhing against the bed, restraints keeping him down. She wanted to cry for him, but was too tired to even do that. She leaned back against the wall and watched it for another few minutes before falling unconscious again.

Stinger had lost track of how long it had been since he'd been injected. The pain was even more excruciating than Antares had been. It had subsided a little and he vaguely heard the lab coat speaking but couldn't hear the words over the loud rushing of blood in his head. He panted as his temperature rose, sweat making his hair sticky. Then the pain returned. It felt like his blood had been turned into flame, burning through his veins. He screamed, writhing on the bed, trying desperately to escape the agony. Unconsciousness eluded him and he found himself hoping to die. With one final agonized scream, he lay still.

Andy bolted up and glanced around, shocked to realize she was in the infirmary of the Orion.

"Raptor?" She choked out when she noticed the android looking at her tablet. Andy noticed Stinger in the next bed over and struggled to remember what had happened.

"Good to see you actually awake," Raptor approached and scanned her over. After looking at the scans she reached down to Andy's ankles and undid the restraints on them.

Andy raised an eyebrow, not having realized she had been restrained. "Why...?"

Raptor shook her head, "Even when I was sedating you, you kept getting up with nightmares. I found you twice holding a scalpel before I decided to put restraints on. You weren't being a big problem though, so I only put the ankle ones on."

Andy thought back, things finally clicking into place when she remembered searching for sharp objects in the supply box in her cell. She quickly started panicking, "What happened to Stinger? Is he ok?"

Raptor moved to scan over Stinger again, noticing nothing had changed. She sat down next to Andy, "They injected him with an odd poison mixture. He almost died... Unfortunately, he hasn't woken up yet and he isn't showing any signs of improvement."

Andy struggled to push herself off the bed. Her legs were weak and she almost fell. "How long has it been?"

"You two were in there for almost two weeks. It's been another two weeks since we rescued you."

"I've been out for two weeks!?" Andy groaned before finally getting to Stinger. Raptor pushed the chair over for Andy to sit in.

"I don't think there's much you can do to help him," Raptor admitted. "You probably shouldn't push yourself yet either."

"You just told me that I slept for two weeks. I'm sure I have some energy." Andy raised her hands and scanned over Stinger. She noticed his heartbeat was steady but very slow. There was a little activity in his brain but not as much as there should have been.

She started working on healing him, first trying to get his heartbeat up to a better speed. The damage from the poison was obvious to her, making her focus her energy into helping his cells rebuild. The Orion had a lot of medical equipment that was useful but there were some things that just worked better using healing jutsu. She knew Stinger inside and out, having healed him so many times, so her energy flowed through him easily, repairing damage that even Raptor's scans hadn't picked up. After a while though, her shaking hands moved away from him, her trying to save enough of her energy to not collapse where she sat.

She sat with him a bit longer before going back to her infirmary bed to sleep. The next time she woke she read through their charts, realizing they both had lost quite a bit of weight. The malistrate had fed them, trying to keep them alive a bit longer, but they definitely hadn't been given enough.

She set the charts down before sitting next to Stinger again. She started healing, picking back up where she stopped before. She soon was interrupted by Kotaro entering the room.

"Andy? Should you be doing that?"

She looked up and shrugged, "Raptor didn't stop me when I was healing him earlier. Though I think she knows I'd do it even if she didn't want me to."

Kotaro sighed. "Can you really help Aniki?"

"I hope so," she answered. "You know I'm going to do anything I can for him."

Kotaro nodded silently and sat down beside her.

"Raptor says it's been a month since we've seen you guys. How have you been?" Andy spoke quietly while keeping her eyes on Stinger.

"It's been quiet. Jark Matter apparently has been in another sector. We spent all our time trying to find you two."

"I kept looking for ways to escape but I couldn't find any... especially ones that would have gotten both of us out." She sighed. "I was probably too compliant with their demands but I didn't want Stinger getting hurt. Obviously, though, it didn't matter anyway..."

Kotaro touched her arm. "Stop that. You both survived because of what you did. Don't beat yourself up. Isn't that what Aniki would say?"

"I know that's what he'd say. But you know if it were reversed he'd just be beating himself up about it... do I really have to be better than that?" she glanced over at him with a sad smile.

Kotaro chuckled. "Aniki doesn't practice what he preaches much does he? And yes you do, because someone has to show him how."

She nodded, "I know... it's just hard. Two weeks straight of being on edge knowing anything I messed up would get him hurt. Waking up hearing his screams..." She wiped a tear away before shaking her head, "Sorry, you don't need to hear about that." She looked back at Stinger and held his hand, wishing he'd wake up.

He jerked suddenly, glassy eyes flying open. He screamed "Leave her alone! I'm going to kill you!" He ripped his hand away, as his tail wrapped itself around Kotaro's throat.

Andy stood quickly, "Stinger! Stop please!" Her eyes were wide as she looked at Kotaro. "Please... stop," she begged.

He paused, eyes clearing. "Andy? Where…" He released Kotaro with a horrified look, then passed out.

Andy let out a sob before trying to take a deep breath. She looked at Kotaro trying to stay calm, "Let me look at your neck..." she moved slowly and raised her hands up, checking him over and healing up the light bruising that had started. When she was done she sat back down and started crying.

Kotaro knelt beside her. "It will be fine, Andy. He's not really awake yet. He's obviously scared for you. Take care of him."

He left the infirmary as Andy wiped her eyes.

Several days later Stinger opened his eyes. He lay still, feeling the restraints around his limbs and wondered how long he had been unconscious. The pain had receded to a dull ache but he couldn't tell if that meant the poison had stopped or just gone dormant. He heard voices and hurriedly closed his eyes, not wanting to let the malistrate know he was awake. He strained to hear what they were saying. Maybe he could find something useful to get Andy free.

Andy sighed, looking at Raptor, "I don't know what else I can do. I've healed everything I can but he won't wake up. Any time he's been moving he's just having nightmares... but I can't snap him out of it. I hate keeping him restrained but I don't want him hurting anyone." She wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes, "What if he never wakes up?"

Champ moo-ed sadly. "He wasn't moving when Lucky and I found him. He was breathing and his eyes were open, but there was nothing there. Completely empty. Made my circuits ache. As bad as this is, it's an improvement over that."

"He's been through a lot, but always manages to make it. I'm sure he'll wake eventually," Raptor noted.

Stinger's forehead creased. Was Andy talking about him? And was that _Raptor and Champ _he was hearing? Had they actually been rescued? He decided to take a chance and opened his eyes. "Beautiful?" It came out too softly and he frowned. His voice was raspy, throat dry. He took a slow swallow and tried again louder. "Beautiful? Are we safe?" He pulled on the restraints. "Can you please take these off?"

She looked up at him in surprise, "Stinger...?"

He gave her a tired smile. "It's me. Sorry for all the trouble I've been causing. Even if I don't remember it."

She smiled down at him before undoing the restraints. "It's not your fault. You did almost die after all so that will screw you up a bit."

He scrunched his eyes closed for a minute, then looked at her. "What was that stuff? All I remember was it felt like Antares on steroids."

"It was some mix of different poisons," Champ spoke up, "they did come up with an antidote though after I threatened them."

Stinger laughed weakly. "Smart move on their part. How long have I been out?"

"A little over three weeks," Raptor reported.

Stinger stared at her. "Three _weeks_?" He sat up quickly and stopped. "If I've been unconscious, what was I doing to cause trouble?" He looked at them in confusion.

"Once I woke up, I started healing you... you kept having nightmares or something." Andy admitted.

Stinger grew alarmed. "What are you not telling me?"

"Don't worry, everyone is fine," she assured. "But the first time you did kind of wake up you were trying to attack what you thought was the malistrate... it was Kotaro. You wrapped your tail around his throat." She sighed, "You let him go though before passing out again. We restrained you after that."

He buried his face in his hands as he began to shake noiselessly. He fell back, curling up on the bed, his back to her.

She moved and wrapped her arms around him, "it's ok love."

Stinger shook his head. "I could have killed him. How do I apologize for that? I'm a danger to everyone."

"No one blames you. Kotaro doesn't care, he's just worried about you like the rest of us." Andy moved to rub her hand on his back.

"I blame me. I wanted the malistrate's attention so I could get you free. Instead I just got myself almost killed again. And I attacked Kotaro, of all people."

She shook her head, "I wasn't healing enough of the patients anymore. They were just going to take us both out because I couldn't help them anymore..." She frowned, "But you don't want me blaming myself and I don't want you blaming yourself, so just blame Jark Matter."

Stinger let out a strangled laugh. "Jark is to blame for my fuck ups now? When am I to blame?" He shot off the bed and ran out the door, leaving Andy. stunned.

When Andy finally pushed herself up so headed to the voyager bay first to make sure Stinger hadn't left the ship. She then checked their room, still not finding him. She checked all of his other normal spots, finding nothing.

She started checking every other room on the ship, eventually coming across a room with an odd panel on the door. She looked at it and noticed it had different settings, but was currently set on a desert climate. She entered and looked around seeing a bunch of sand. It reminded her a lot of Stinger's planet. She didn't see him but decided to take a break and sit down. She found a little sand hill to sit on and rest. The technology in the room made it look huge, like there was miles and miles of desert ahead of her. She stared out at it and let her mind wander, trying to figure out what she'd even say when she found Stinger.

He dug frantically, going deeper and deeper underground. He didn't even remember why he'd started but at this point didn't care. He just needed to be somewhere he could get away. He laughed semi hysterical. 'Get away from what?' He asked himself. His demons were always here and he could feel them getting stronger. He had done so much damage in his life, from his brother's fall into darkness to Andy being forced to heal because she didn't want him hurt. He'd promised not to ever try Antares again so hiding was the only other viable option. He was so obsessed with his thoughts he didn't realize the tunnel was collapsing around him.

Andy saw some of the sand shifting before the hill she was on collapsed. She started sliding but pushed herself up to avoid the sand sucking her in. She took a few steps before her foot hit something hard. She paused and looked down trying to figure out what it was. She saw a flash of orange, "Stinger?"

He coughed, raising his head slowly. He pushed the panic down as he realized what had happened. Moving slowly, he flipped himself onto his back and began trying to dig his way out. Exhaustion was making spots dance in his vision as he dropped his arms. He'd rest for just a minute, he promised himself. Just a quick gathering of energy, then he'd head for the surface. His eyes closed, his head lolling to the side.

Andy dug into the sand when she noticed the movement stop. She slowly worked on uncovering him. She paused a moment and made a clone to help her. When they finally got him uncovered, they carried him into the hall to avoid more sand shifting. She checked him over, making sure he hadn't breathed in too much sand. She realized he was unconscious, probably from exhaustion, but there wasn't much else wrong.

Andy sighed and, with the help of her clone, carried him to their room. The clone went to update Raptor and Champ, before it disappeared. Andy laid next to Stinger and cuddled into his side, hoping he would be feeling a bit better when he next woke.

Stinger opened his eyes and stretched, freezing when his arms didn't respond. He looked down to see tight leather restraints. "Ready for round two?" A voice asked. Raising his eyes, he saw the Jark Matter doctor approaching with a syringe. Suddenly fire blazed through his body and Stinger tried to scream... his eyes closed at the pain and when he finally reopened them he saw sand surrounding him. He felt it shifting, pushing down on him and making it impossible to breathe.

Andy woke feeling Stinger thrashing around. She scanned him over quickly, not finding anything except an elevated heart rate. "Love? Wake up love, it's just a nightmare." She cringed watching the pain flash across his face. "Stinger? Please wake up."

Stinger tried to breathe, gasping as he felt the dirt trying to choke him. He frantically tried to cough but couldn't get his airway clear. He could feel his head getting lighter as oxygen became scarce. His eyes felt heavy but he fought to remain conscious. He could hear someone calling his name dimly but couldn't identify the person. His movements began to slow as he felt himself slipping away.

She stared at him, watching his thrashing slow a bit, "Love? Come back to me. Wake up please."

His head cleared for a moment as he heard Andy. He opened his eyes and saw her in the distance, but he was buried too deep to reach her. As he watched in horror she began to disappear. He tried to grab for her hand and missed. Tears began streaming down his face as she vanished. He sagged, giving up and allowing his eyes to close.

"Stinger! Wake up!" She cried, starting to worry he was going back to just nightmare waking and not reaching full consciousness.

His gasping suddenly stopped, his body going limp in her arms. He was sweaty, his face almost as pale as the sheets.

She rushed to scan him over again making sure his heartbeat was steady. She froze when she noticed he was barely breathing. Looking him over she couldn't find a reason for his breathing to get like that. Her heart sank as she wondered if the poison did more damage than even she could see.

"Stinger?" She asked one more time hoping he'd break through it. She wondered if she should start CPR or try getting him to the infirmary on a ventilator. Her mind rushed a million miles a second, her usually calm medic thinking disappearing.

His tail began to twitch, his eyelids slowly fluttering. With a groan, the scorpion took a deep breath. His dark eyes opened and focused on her. "Andy? Why do I feel like I went twelve rounds with Champ?"

She took a deep breath, "Thank the gods." She took a moment to calm herself, "You had a nightmare I think..."

Stinger shakily sat up. " A nightmare?"

"You ran from the infirmary. I looked all over and finally found you in this desert room..." she looked away, "The sand was collapsed on you when I did finally find you. I brought you back here to rest some more but I woke up and you were freaking out. Your breathing stopped for a moment I thought I'd have to perform CPR..."

He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry." He gave a bitter laugh. "I should have that tattooed on my forehead."

She shook her head, "I'm sorry that I can't take your pain and nightmares away."

He kissed her. "I love you for trying." He raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know about the hologram room?"

She shook her head once more, "There's a few hallways I never have to go down." She shrugged, "it's not like anyone actually gave me a full tour of the ship..."

He chuckled. "Shou is kind of fascinated by them. So he had a room put in that could give us our planets back."

She smiled sadly, "that sounds really nice." After a few moments she finally asked, "so how are you feeling?"

His lips twisted as he thought. "I'm still processing everything. Think it's going to be alright. Though if the nightmares keep being as bad as this I might be in trouble. I could have sworn I was dying. Couldn't breathe at all."

Andy frowned, "Well you _weren't_ breathing..." she thought for a moment wondering if she could somehow create a new jutsu to help with nightmares. It's not like people have never created new ones before... she decided she'd have to try to figure it out. She'd known Stinger for years now and the nightmares never seemed to be getting better, she might as well create her own way to help.

He smiled slightly. "I meant I could_ feel _the sand suffocating me. Like it was a physical thing. It's something new and I hope it doesn't stick around."

"I hope so too." She wrapped her arms around him.

He hugged her hands. "I've been MIA too long. I probably should let everyone know I'm back in command."

"If you think you are ready then I guess you can." She smiled, "I better take stock of my supplies and weapons so I can get back into action too."

He gave a rueful smile. "I don't want to… but this Kojan is becoming a nuisance. So we have to see if we can take him out before he gets settled in too much." He frowned. "The fact they wanted your healing shows the resistance are gaining ground. But you might still be a target and I don't like that idea at all."

"It's not like I would have cooperated with them if they didn't capture you too. So if we can manage to not get captured together I think it'll be fine," she smirked.

"Let's not get captured separately either."

She chuckled, "yeah that sounds like a good plan." She kissed his cheek.

He stood up, holding his hand out. "Shall we?"

A few days later, Andy approached Stinger, "do we have any missions today?"

He shook his head. "Why?"

She sighed, "When we first learn healing jutsu we practice on animals... I just want to try a few things out, and hoped there would be a peaceful planet nearby to catch some."

He shrugged, checking their coordinates. "There's a few nearby."

"Is there anything you need me to do or may I go look for some?" She asked.

"All quiet right now. If I com you though come back asap okay?

She nodded, "I'll be back soon then." She headed to her voyager and followed the coordinates to one of the planets. She smiled realizing it was similar to hers, with lots of trees and mountains. She found a small pond with little toad like creatures hopping along nearby. She quickly scooped a few of them up into the container she brought. She was walking back toward her voyager when she heard a small whine. She followed the sound and found a small kitten. She looked around and didn't find any other cats around. After picking the kitten up she noticed it was injured. She took a couple minutes and healed it all up, "you look old enough to manage on your own, just be careful from now on." She smiled as she set it back down.

She grabbed her container and continued her walk back but soon heard a tiny meow behind her. She glanced back and noticed the orange kitten following her. She smirked, "do you want to come with me?"

It came up and rubbed against her leg. She lifted it up carefully and carried it with her back to the voyager. When she arrived back to the Orion she took the toads to the infirmary, putting them in a tank in the corner. She then carried her new kitten friend to her room. She frowned realizing she hadn't even thought to ask Stinger about it. Hopefully he liked cats…

Stinger looked up as she entered. "You found what you needed?"

She smiled trying to look innocent, "yes. I might have also picked up something else that I didn't exactly need..."

His eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"

"Well first I got some toads to work on..." she admitted. "Then I might have healed an injured kitten, that seemed insistent on coming with me?" She quickly added, "I can find her a different room if you don't want to have a pet but she's currently in our room..."

He smirked. "Let's see if she likes me."

Andy grinned and talked as they walked to their room, "I haven't named her yet. I couldn't find any other cats around so I don't know if she was abandoned or survived an attack or what... but I don't think I was the one who separated her from her family."

He just smiled. "Let's see this little scamp."

Andy opened the door and the kitten ran up to them. She picked her up and showed her to Stinger.

His eyes brightened as he carefully picked her up. "She's adorable." He grinned smugly at Andy. "I like the color too."

She chuckled, "I thought you might." She looked at the two of them, "So does that mean we can keep her?"

"Absolutely." He scratched the kitten under the neck and was rewarded by a loud purr. "Lucky's going to be jealous."

She laughed, "do you have any ideas for names?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Shishi."

"If that's what you want," she smiled.

About a week later she opened the door to their room and her eyes widened. She quickly used her comm to call Stinger, "Hey, are you busy?"

"Nooooo, unless reports are waiting. Then I am unavailable for the next decade."

"Could you come to our room?"

"On my way." His voice was low and she rolled her eyes as she imagined what he was thinking.

When she saw him coming down the hall she sighed, "We have a ...less than small problem."

He raised an eyebrow. "Interesting choice of words…."

She opened the door for Stinger to look in, "Well..."

His shoulders began shaking as he tried to hold his laughter in. "Guess we picked a good name for her didn't we?"

Andy chuckled, "I wanted back up because even though she's pretty peaceful, I wasn't sure what to expect approaching her." She entered the room and looked at the now lion sized kitten playing with a toy that was now way too small for her. "Shishi?" The kitten looked up at the voice and jumped off the bed, approaching her owners. She nudged Andy's head gently. Andy reached out and petted her for a moment before Shishi shrunk back to normal size.

Stinger came in, still laughing. "Well nothing else on the ship is normal, why should the pets be?"

Andy smiled, "We definitely do have a lot of interesting beings on this ship." She looked at their torn up and shredded bed, "We need to train her not to do that though, because Raptor is already going to be mad that we need a new bed."

Stinger shrugged. "True, but Raptor will get over it. Garu has shredded beds before too."

Andy's eyes squinted, "I really don't want to know what caused him to do that..."

Stinger snickered. "Get your mind out of the gutter. He got fed up with Lucky playing hero once. Lucky came back from the mission to find his bed mauled. Garu told him he should be happy it was his bed instead of himself."

Andy raised an eyebrow before shaking her head, "Well, you better go tell Raptor. I'm going to clean up what I can of this mess."

Stinger grinned. "Okyu." He gave her a kiss and headed down the hall.

The next few weeks were still pretty slow for the team. Andy spent most of her time in the infirmary working on her jutsu or in the training room working with Shishi.

She closed her eyes and focused on the first toad, trying to work her energy into its mind. Spending hours going between the three toads, trying to work out each of her new jutsu ideas. Luckily Stinger hadn't had a terrible nightmare lately, but she knew he'd have them again eventually. She needed this to work to help him. She had at least three jutsus she was working on, and when she finally finished with one of them, she moved on to trying it with Shishi. She found it worked perfectly, though she knew her growing bond with the cat was helping.

When she wasn't in the infirmary, she was spending time with Shishi. Remembering ninjas who worked with animals, she decided to do the same, especially after learning how Shishi could grow to a much larger size. They worked on dual attacks, using their strengths to hit even the most precise targets. When they weren't training, Shishi was usually still in their room, but was now allowed to roam the ship. Raptor put in a small cat door onto Andy and Stinger's bedroom door which allowed her the freedom. Most often though when she was out of the room, she was curled up on Stinger's desk while he worked or on her own little cat bed they placed in the infirmary.

Andy pushed herself to the infirmary, trying to ignore the pain she was feeling. Shishi followed her, sporting just a few minor scratches. When she finally made it she sat in the chair next to the bed Stinger was on. She nodded at Champ who had carried him in before getting to work cleaning up his wounds. There was a puddle of blood growing on the bed. She started stitching up the bullet wound's entrance and exit points. Next she cleaned up the slashes that coated his body, stitching those up as well. When she was done with that she recleaned the wounds and had Champ move Stinger onto a clean bed. She slowly moved over to the new bed, giving one last glance at the amount of blood Stinger had lost.

Focusing her energy into him she worked on healing up what she could. She grew tired and let her hands drop before pushing herself over to an empty bed. She climbed in but before she started dozing off Champ spoke up, "Is there anything I can do to help? You need your wounds treated too."

Andy blinked her eyes open at him and shrugged, "When Raptor is home with Spada, I just do what I can. I'll clean myself up once I've had a little nap," she assured.

When she woke, she felt an odd energy entering her. She quickly looked up and noticed Shishi was laying on her chest. She focused her energy at Shishi and made her way into the cat's mind.

"What are you doing?" Andy asked.

Shishi purred softly showing Andy her thoughts. Andy saw a memory from just a little earlier of Shishi laying on Stinger and purring in a similar way. His wounds shrunk in size the longer she laid there.

Shishi then showed an image of Andy doing her healing jutsu before focusing on Andy's wounds shrinking.

Andy looked at her arm and noticed one of the slices was looking a lot better than before.

"Can you seriously heal?" Andy whispered to the cat.

She could have sworn that Shishi winked at her before closing her eyes and continuing to purr.

When she finally got up, Andy's arm was still sore as she scanned it over noticing it was broken. Fortunately, most of the slashes had been healed by Shishi. She wrapped her arm up carefully after cleaning all of the dried blood off of herself. She then went back to sitting at Stinger's side.

Stinger's eyes slowly opened and focused on her. "You okay beautiful? His voice was weak.

"I'll be fine," she gave a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I thought I would. Still hazy though." He grinned at her. "And weaker than a newborn kitten."

She nodded, "You lost a lot of blood. I probably should have set up a transfusion, but it didn't even cross my mind around everything else."

"You were hurt too, so I'm not surprised. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Apparently Shishi is just like me... I've been teaching her how to fight and now apparently she can heal us too. She's officially a medic ninja." Andy smiled sleepily. "I have a broken arm, but most of the wounds I had have been healed up."

Stinger's eyes widened. "Hunh. She is full of surprises, isn't she?" He shifted on the bed with a grimace. "Hate feeling this weak. You don't even need to restrain me cause I can't leave…"

"I can still set up a transfusion for you if you want?" Andy suggested. "You still will be sore a bit but it should help up with the weakness..."

He slowly nodded, fighting unconsciousness. "Can't afford to be laid up… Have to...protect you."

The last words were soft as his eyes closed.

She smirked as she spoke to him, knowing he couldn't hear her anyway. "I want to protect you too." She slowly grabbed the supplies she needed, struggling set it up with her arm even weaker than usual. After finally getting it together she sat by him again, resting her head on her uninjured arm.


	15. Prequel 4

Andy stared at the fish in the bowl in front of her, trying to concentrate.

"Feel the energy. Your energy. The waters energy. The fish's energy," Aggie ordered.

Andy felt like she stared at the fish for hours just trying to feel the energy. Eventually though she got back to her other training. She spent multiple hours, every day of the week, staring at the fish.

Aggie, and the other medics, taught her to perform different types of surgery as they arose, but most often she was giving stitches or setting broken bones.

Andy spent hours staring over Aggie's personal library, memorizing medicine types, poison and venoms names, and ingredient uses.

"You've been here a year now," Aggie finally announced to her one day. "Though your learning never stops, I've taught you what I can. You'll be assigned an apprentice of your own to teach her the basics, but remember to keep studying and striving to learn. Of course, if there's a surgery you haven't performed yet, I will call you here to assist so you can learn that too."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? I feel like I haven't learned that much."

Aggie nodded, "Unfortunately some of the best learning opportunities are on the battlefield and I can't prepare you for those. There's thousands of planets out there, I can't prepare you for the unknown."

Andy nodded, "Thank you for everything, ma'am."

Aggie gave her a smile, "You were one of my fastest learners. Your apprentice has shown some skill, but is a few years younger than you. She wants to be a medic but is still in school so you will have to teach her after hours."

A couple days later Andy noticed a girl she recognized enter the infirmary. "It's Naomi right?"

The blond haired girl nodded, "You're Andy right? Niko talks about you all the time."

Andy rolled her eyes and chuckled, "How can I help you?"

"I'm your new student!"

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Really? So you want to be a medic ninja?"

Naomi nodded, "It's been my dream ever since I was little."

Andy smiled, "I didn't really plan to be here, but I do love helping people."

Andy grabbed out a few books and handed them to her, "I'll give you homework, basically this will be like another class for you."

Naomi thanked her and took the books before leaving. Andy sighed before grabbing her own bag, "I hope this doesn't end up being a disaster."

"How's being a teacher?" Avery wondered a couple months later.

"Naomi is doing really well. Not as fast as I was, but she didn't have to start learning because of an attack on our village. She's still not an adult so she should stay safe. Honestly, it's the rush of battle that really reminds me why I'm doing this. At least she wanted to be a medic before she was thrown into battle… I'm not sure she can survive being a mobile medic, she might have to just stay stationed at the infirmary."

Avery shrugged, "She's still young, a lot can change in a few years."

Andy nodded in agreement before helping him finish up their dinner.

A couple more months passed by and they found themselves under attack from Jark Matter.

"I want to go with you," Naomi insisted.

"You stay here. You aren't even old enough to be out in battle yet," Andy argued.

"There are people younger than me out there."

"They are skilled enough to be labeled as ninjas by the elders. You haven't been yet so you have to stay here. Help Aggie and the others with the injured that come here. I have to go out with the mobile group."

Naomi nodded sadly as she watched Andy leave.

About an hour later, Andy heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Naomi, what are you doing out here? You could get hurt."

Andy turned and noticed Niko holding onto his sister's arms.

"So could you, that's why I'm here to help," Naomi protested.

"Just get back to the infirmary, they'll need you there."

"No," Naomi insisted, pulling out a kunai and blocking an indavers hit.

Andy shook her head and made her way over to them, "If you can't listen to my orders, you can't be my student. I will give you one last chance, but you have to let me take you back to the village."

Naomi's face fell before she silently nodded in agreement.

Andy started leading her back, blocking hits from the attackers.

Andy groaned as she took a few hits, pushing Naomi out of the way. Finally, they got back to a safer zone, and she looked at her student, "Go help at the infirmary. I better not see you out here again."

Naomi looked at her in worry, "You're hurt."

Andy shrugged, "That happens in battle. That's why you have to stay safe in here."

"I want to help you though."

Andy shook her head, "Once you graduate, you'll be able to come out here with me. Don't rush. Just stay here."

Andy lost track of time but when the battle finally ended she headed to the infirmary. She noticed Naomi sitting on a chair in the corner just staring.

Andy knelt in front of her, "Are you ok?"

Naomi shook her head, "I…I didn't think there could be that much blood in a person."

Andy frowned, "It is surprising, isn't it?"

"I can't do this."

"If you really don't want to be a medic, you don't have to be. But our people are ninja. You will see blood whether you are in here or out on the battlefield. You said you want to help people, being a medic is one of the best ways you can do that." She stared into Naomi's eyes, "I can't tell you it will get easier, but it is so worth it to continue doing this. Go home for now, think about it, and rest."

A few days later, Andy opened the door after hearing a knock. She noticed Naomi standing there. "Hey."

"I'm sorry. I thought I could help during the battle. I shouldn't have rushed out there."

Andy smiled, "Everyone makes mistakes. But you are my student, so it's my job to help keep you protected."

"Niko told me how your parents died. I've been thinking and can't even really imagine what that would have been like for you…" She looked down, "I should have just realized that you had more experience than me and you had a good meaning behind keeping me there."

Andy gave a sad smile, "Some teachers like to have rules just to have them. I just want to protect you and everyone else I care about, and that is why I make the few rules I do. I've never had to teach someone before though so I'm sure I could make mistakes," she admitted. "I'm just trying to teach you what Aggie taught me, and then when you are old enough, like Aggie told me, some of the best learning happens on the battlefield. But you have plenty of time ahead of you to fight if you want. If you want to stay in the infirmary and never touch the actual battle, that is fine too, you'll learn a lot just dealing with different wounds."

Naomi nodded, "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Andy grinned, "Of course. Same time as usual."

Andy took a quick stop at the infirmary after learning she had a new adventure ahead of her.

"Hey, you don't work today right?" Naomi looked confused.

Andy shook her head, "I'm going off for a while. I have no clue when I'll be back, I just wanted to come say goodbye. You've learned so much and I know working with the other medics will let you learn even more. Listen to whatever Aggie tells you to do from now on."

Naomi looked at her sadly, "Where are you going?"

"Hammy finally made it home… but I'm going to go help the resistance fighting Jark Matter."

Naomi nodded, "You'll be great out there."

"Thanks," Andy nodded. "Hammy can contact me, so if you ever need anything let her know, ok?"

They quickly hugged before Andy rushed out of the infirmary, excited to start her new adventure.


	16. Enter Kiba and The Downfall of Kojan

Kiba is an OC made by Amy L/AnkhsAngel. At this point we are saying Kiba has met some of the Kyurangers based on an RP that she is doing. He's a Kamen Rider and clone created by Shocker. Thanks for reading!

Andy groaned as she pushed herself up off the floor of the cell she was just thrown into. She looked around and spotted a man, bleeding, and crumpled in the corner. She turned quickly and looked at the people that threw her in there. "What do you want from me?"

One of the men motioned towards the man. "Heal him. We know you can, so no arguing. Unless you want to end up like him." They turned and left.

Andy moved over to him, straightening him out to get a better look at him. She frowned when she realized who he was. "Kiba?"

He opened his good eye and slowly smiled. "I thought I'd heard that voice before." His face was bruised, his other eye swollen shut.

"What happened to you?"

"Took something they didn't want me to and hid it. They're kind of eager to have it back. And I don't want to give it."

"What did you take?" She finally sat down next to him.

"Their control chip for a nasty weapon they want to use on your team." He gasped as he shifted position.

She sighed, "Let me check you over and see what I can help with."

He weakly nodded and closed his eye.

She scanned over him and noticed the massive amount of damage he had taken. "So why do they want to keep you alive? Can't they just kill you and take the chip?"

"IF they could find it, and that's a big if..." He coughed violently. "They'd have a hard time getting through the security system around it."

She nodded, "Give me just a second." She went to the cell door and spoke out to their captors, hoping someone would hear her, "You want me to heal him, at least give me my bag back. You can check it for weapons if you want, but I have medical supplies that can help him. I can't heal all of this at once."

After a minute, the man who had threatened her returned, thrusting the bag at her. "Don't get any ideas. We're being nice and leaving the drugs and syringes."

Andy took the bag before heading back over to Kiba. She took a bit of medicine into a syringe, "This might make you a bit sleepy, but I'm not giving you too much. Just enough to ease some of the pain." She stuck the needle into his arm before discarding it to the side. She then started cleaning up the visible wounds and bandaging them up.

He opened his eye again, giving her a soft smile. He visibly relaxed as the medicine began to work and by the time she had finished bandaging he was semi-conscious, but fighting to stay awake.

She spent a little while trying to work on healing him but eventually started feeling worn out. She moved away and started checking herself over for any injuries. She worked on bandaging up what she could before repacking her clean supplies. She put the bag back in its usual place on her hip before she started dozing off.

Kiba watched her worriedly. She'd been injured because of him. The guilt washed over him and he forced it down. He'd apologize as soon as they got out of this place. He tried to figure a way to escape but the medicine's pull was too strong and he slipped into unconsciousness.

When Andy woke she worked on healing him again. She wondered if anyone was out looking for him. She gave a small smile though, knowing Stinger and her team were on their way, even if it took a while, they'd find her eventually and she could get Kiba out of here too.

He stirred, blinking both eyes open to look at her. "Hey. Are you okay? I saw you were hurt."

She looked down at him, surprised at the noise. "Yeah, I'm fine. This is far from the first time I've been captured and I'm sure it won't be the last." She smiled reassuringly.

He tried to sit up, but couldn't. "They are going to be back, you know. Don't do anything to get yourself any more hurt. Not over me."

She shrugged, "They gave you to me as a patient, and my job is to take care of my patients." She closed her eyes and focused her energy back into healing him.

He shook his head. "The only reason they brought you here is to make sure I don't die before they get the chip. They will keep interrogating me till either I give it up or you can't save me. Then they will kill you."

"Well, I lasted two weeks straight healing for Jark Matter, and that was with multiple patients a day. I'm pretty sure we could last here way longer unless they get frustrated and take us out anyway."

Kiba was silent for a few minutes, then spoke in a low voice. "They plan to kill me as soon as I give up the chip. They may use you as a hostage."

Andy opened her eyes back up and looked at him again, "Then don't give up the chip. It'll buy my team time to come get us. But I will look for ways for us to escape before then."

He shook his head. "Even if I could hold out, it would make things worse for you. I remember what happened when you overdid it before. I can't let that happen. Stinger would kill me. But I'm sure they will be back for round two soon. When they bring me back, don't heal me. That way they'll never get the chip."

"Neither you, nor Stinger, is in charge of me. I can heal whoever I want to. And I'm not going to let them kill you if I have anything to do about it."

Kiba grinned. "Now I know why Stinger loves you."

The cell door opened, the man returning with two others. "Is he ready?"

"He's still hurt but no longer dying, if that's what you mean," Andy answered moving away from him.

The man motioned to the guards, and they yanked Kiba to his feet roughly. Kiba glared at him, then doubled over when the man punched him in the gut. "Let's see if you feel like answering questions now." They dragged him out, leaving Andy alone in the cell.

Andy frowned, wishing she could save him from their torture. She spent the next while searching every inch of the cell trying to find weak points or hidden things that could help them escape. Upon finding nothing, she sat back down to wait.

Kiba rolled his eyes as they shackled him to the wall. "Normally you would have to buy me dinner before we did this, but I guess I can let that go this time. Saves me the check."

"You know what we want, are you going to speak yet?"

Kiba just looked at him with a smirk. "Not gonna happen. You're never getting that chip back."

"We weren't even originally planning to use the weapon on you, why go through the trouble of stealing it? Give it back and you won't have anything to worry about. You'd get to go free and wouldn't be in agonizing pain like you soon will be if you don't talk."

"No. You're planning to use it on my friends. So not a chance in hell will I return it. I don't care what you do to me."

The man shook his head, "Of course you aren't... Can't do things the easy way can you?" He motioned to one of the guards who moved closer with, what almost looked to be a pair of pliers. He grabbed one of Kiba's fingers with it and quickly snapped it, breaking the bone.

Kiba fought not to scream. "Blame my DNA." He struggled to calm his heart rate as he gave his interrogator a shaky grin.

The man shook his head in frustration before another two fingers were broken. "We still have seven more to go if you don't want to talk. But I figured I'd give you a chance and double check," His voice turned into a growl, "Where is the chip?"

"I don't remember. Ask your mother if I left it."

The captors finished breaking the fingers on Kiba's left hand, "Still nothing, I assume? It's a good thing I do like watching people getting tortured."

Kiba was shaking, his eyes squeezed tight against the pain. After a minute, he answered. "Kiss my ass."

The man signaled and made the guard proceed to break all of the five fingers on Kiba's other hand. "You're going to have to talk sometime."

Kiba opened his eyes and glared. "No I don't. I'm in control here. You can't do anything without that chip and you know it. So fuck you."

The man punched Kiba in the stomach in frustration. He quickly took a deep breath though, and calmed himself. His voice was now filled with confidence, "We have a team working on formulating a new one. It will be done eventually whether you tell us where the old one is or not. Also, I hadn't realized you were friends with that girl and her team so thank you for that bit of knowledge, I'm sure it will come in handy later." He gave a twisted grin before signaling the guards to take Kiba back.

Kiba's heart sank. Had he just made things worse for his friends? He felt his arms being released and decided it was now or never. He wouldn't allow them to hurt Andy or the Kyurangers. When his legs were free, he kicked out. Hearing a crunch as his foot connected with one of the guard's noses, he smiled in satisfaction. He had dropped the second guard when his interrogator smiled.

"Did you really think you could get away from us?" He quickly pulled out a device from his pocket and shot it at Kiba. He watched as the electric shock stopped Kiba in his tracks.

Kiba screamed, falling to the floor. He writhed desperately before going still. The interrogator walked over and savagely kicked him several times.

Andy watched as Kiba was dropped on the floor of the cell. She waited for the guards to leave before moving over to him to check his injuries. She bandaged up his hands after making sure the bones were realigned. She then worked on the damage from the kicks and taser. After about an hour, she finally moved away, trying to save enough strength for her body to heal itself a bit more.

An hour later, Kiba groaned. He tried to sit up but fell back as pain shot through him. "Andy?" His voice was shaky and desperate.

"Hey, it's okay," she assured but didn't move closer. "Just lay back down and rest."

"They are creating another chip. You have to get out of here, warn your team." He looked at her, a wild look in his eyes. "They are going to kill me when it's completed. You have to get out of here."

"Calm down," she spoke softly. "I'm not leaving here without you. And even if I would, I haven't found a way to escape yet. I'm sure my team will find us, it's only a matter of when they find us..."

He reached for her. "Andy, you don't understand! The chip is for a mind control device. If they get it finished, your team_ won't_ be looking for us. They will be Jark Matter's slaves."

He took several shallow shaky breaths. "I should have destroyed it and contacted you. Instead, I made everything worse."

"Take a deep breath," she ordered. "I'm sure Stinger contacted everyone when I got taken. The team isn't even all in the same sector so someone will be out there looking for us. You just need to calm down and breathe."

Kiba nodded and slowly breathed in and out. His voice was steady when he resumed speaking. "They won't know what hit them if that device gets operational. I need to get you out of here and level this place before that happens. You haven't found any way to escape yet?"

Andy shook her head, "I've been watching but not finding anything. The best we can do is attack when they open the door to take you again. Alternately, I might be able to drug us to make our heart rate low enough that they think we are dead, but that wouldn't work well because who knows what they do with dead bodies." She sighed, "Just try to stay hopeful, things will work out somehow."

Kiba pondered her words. "What would that entail?" His eyes were staring off into the distance.

"What? Attacking them or drugging ourselves?"

"Drugging ourselves. For the record Jark Matter would want proof of death, so our bodies would be safe at least for a while."

"For myself, even though I can't heal myself, I can do some things like lowering my heart rate. I'd take a bit of medicine on top of that to help. For you, you'd just have to trust that I get the dosage right to knock you out to the point of a really low heart rate, without actually killing you."

He grinned. "What's life without a little risk? It will get us out of here. You'll be able to get back to your team and I'll be able to level this place." He turned and extended his arm. "Do it."

Andy pulled out the medicine and filled the syringe. Double checking the dose, "I'm going to wait a little bit to keep an eye on you in case this is screwed up. I don't want you to die because of me." She stuck the shot in his arm. She then prepped up her own medicine but set it back down, holding her hands out over him to keep an eye on his heartbeat and breathing.

He gave her a cocky grin right before his eyes fluttered closed. His head slowly rolled to the side as his body relaxed.

She kept an eye on him for a while before deciding he probably wasn't going to die. His heartbeat was so low though that a normal person shouldn't be able to sense it. She winced as she injected herself. She then leaned back against the wall, focusing on slowing her heart. She felt the medicine knocking her out, but she fought it, keeping her mind awake while her body was now useless. She could still hear around her though, hoping she could hear some important information.

The door opened and the interrogator entered. Seeing the two of them, he grimaced. Kneeling, he touched Kiba's neck. Feeling nothing he growled. "Check her." He instructed the guards. Seeing the negative shake, he sighed. "Take them to the infirmary. I'll contact the General."

He strode out of the room as the guards picked Andy up.

Andy's focus came back when she heard some explosions in the distance. She tried to force her eyes open but realized her body was still dealing with the effects of the medicine. She heard yelling coming closer, thinking she could hear some of her teammates voices. She struggled to keep her mind awake, focusing on them.

Stinger ran into the infirmary, his heart racing. He skidded to a stop as he saw the two sheet covered bodies. A sob escaped as he drew one of the sheets down to expose Andy's face.

He cupped her cheek with a shaking hand. "Beautiful…" He closed his eyes as the tears spilled down his cheeks.

Andy heard Stinger sounding sad. She tried to force her body to move to reassure him but it still wasn't working. She then focused out to him, trying to show him her memory of talking to Kiba to trick their captors. She had been doing great with this jutsu with Shishi, but hadn't tried it on a human yet. She hoped she could get through to Stinger and tell him they were ok.

Stinger froze as a picture of Andy flashed in his head. She was injecting herself with something. He opened his eyes and stared at her. "Andy?" He yelled over his shoulder for Raptor as he kissed her. "I understand."

When Raptor arrived, he motioned to Andy. "She's not dead. It's a trick. Can you figure out what she did and reverse it?"

Raptor scanned them over and looked into the list of what Andy normally kept on her. "She gave them a really high dose of medicine. It will take a while, but they should wake up fine. Both have some injuries though so it might be best to just let them sleep it off anyway."

Stinger nodded, touching his com. "Balance? Are the explosives ready?" He picked up Andy as Champ took Kiba.

"Just set the last one!" Balance answered.

"Alright we are headed for the Voyagers. Meet us in the bay then blow this place."

"Okyu!" Balance told Naga the plan before they headed to their voyagers. After noticing everyone else had landed he pressed the button watching the bright explosion before high fiving Naga.

When Andy finally woke up, she struggled to open her eyes and look around the room. She noticed Kiba in the next bed over and smiled, happy that her plan worked well enough and that her team had come after them. Her eyes then landed on Stinger who was entering the room. She smiled at him but was too tired to really talk.

Stinger was surprised to see her awake, but didn't say anything. He sat by her bed, holding one her hands tightly. He brushed away tears as he looked at her.

She forced her mouth to move but no sound actually came out, "hi."

He gave her a shaky laugh. "Hi yourself. You gave me quite a scare."

"Sorry," this time her voice finally came out but it was still really soft and quiet.

"It was a good plan. Your captors were convinced you two were dead. I should be the one apologizing for taking so long."

She shook her head slowly. She remembered about the chip and knew they should know as soon as possible. She knew she couldn't talk that long so she tried to focus and show him the memory of Kiba talking about the chip.

His eyes closed as images flashed through his head. He grimaced as he heard why Kiba had been insistent on hiding the chip. He looked over at the still sleeping young man. "I need to thank him when we wakes."

Andy just blinked sleepily and played back a small memory to him of herself just saying, "Goodnight, Stinger. I love you."

He gently kissed her, then left the infirmary.

Kiba opened his eyes slowly. He stared around the room quizzically, trying to recall what had happened. _Andy telling him her plan. Him agreeing. Losing consciousness, not knowing if he'd ever wake…_ He looked for Andy and froze, seeing nothing but empty beds. Had something gone wrong? Had she not woken up? He panicked, starting to breathe fast.

Andy entered the infirmary and noticed Kiba was awake and panicking, "Hey, calm down. Everything is fine." She smiled, "Welcome to the Orion."

Kiba stared at her for a minute as he struggled to relax. "Sorry. Thought your plan had gone wrong for a second. And thanks." He studied her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured. "My team ended up rescuing us after our captors took us to the infirmary thinking we were dead."

He nodded slowly. "I'm sorry about you getting dragged into all this. If I'd done things differently…"

Andy shook her head and smiled, "Like I said before, it's not like it was the first time I'd been captured and, unfortunately, probably won't be the last. You did what you thought was right at the time and that's what's important. You can't, or if you can, shouldn't, change the past."

He chuckled slowly. "I guess you're right. Does your Commander share the sentiment or should I watch myself?"

She chuckled, "He's thankful you took the chip and is working on a plan to figure out Jark Matter's next moves."

Kiba's face broke into a wide smile. "Okay. Anything I should be worried about or can I get out of here and explore your ship?"

"Just don't go into any of the rooms with names on them," she smiled. "Let me check you over one more time though." She scanned over him quickly before reporting, "Almost everything looks normal, just be careful with your hands for a few more days, your fingers are still healing."

He nodded with a crooked smile. "Don't worry. I won't. And I only steal from the bad guys."

"Oh, and be careful of Shishi. She might be confused because she hasn't met you before," Andy smiled.

"Who's Shishi? Is she dangerous?"

"Our cat," Andy laughed. "She can be."

"Thanks for the warning." He followed her out the door. "Is there anything I can help with? I might have an idea where our creepy friends are holed up."

She shrugged, "Stinger or Raptor would be better to talk to about that," she glanced into Stinger's office and after not seeing him in there she added, "They're probably on the bridge. I can take you there if you want?"

"Show the way. The sooner this is taken care of the better I'll sleep at night."

She led him to the bridge and entered, looking around at the few rangers sitting there. Stinger and Raptor were standing up looking at the map, so Andy took a spot next to Kotaro. A moment later, Shishi appeared and sat in her lap.

Kiba raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as he leaned on the railing.

Stinger pursed his lips. "Resistance cells have narrowed it down to these three planets. Problem is we have no one on any of them."

Kiba raised his voice. "I might have some information that can help?"

"Alright, let's hear it then."

"While I was a guest, I heard talk about Deltia and a big operation that was about to start. Is that one of the three planets?"

Stinger moved the map a bit and zoomed in on one, "Did you hear what they were planning?"

Kiba searched his memory. "Something about taking out some people who were preventing Jark Matter's full return." He sent a bright smile around the room. "I'm guessing they were referring to you guys?"

"Probably," Stinger nodded.

"If they plan to take us out there, couldn't we just ruin their plan by not going?" Kotaro looked confused.

Kiba and Stinger shared an amused look. Then Kiba answered. "Wouldn't it be more fun to ruin their plan by kicking their asses?"

Kotaro shrugged, "It just feels like a giant trap. And we already know they want all of us, but they've been aiming at Aniki because he keeps making the plans. I just don't want anyone getting kidnapped again."

Kiba shot a grin at Stinger, then looked at Kotaro. "Well that's the thing. I can go down in Stinger's place. I would enjoy seeing the look on the jerk's face who used me for a punching bag when he realizes I'm not dead. That way _Aniki_ won't be in any danger and we get to ruin Jark Matter's year. Would that be acceptable to you?"

Andy glanced at Champ and Kotaro before looking at Kiba, "You can plan to keep Stinger up here all you want, but no matter what we do he's going to run straight for the danger anyway." She smiled over at Kotaro, "we'll just have to keep an eye on him like usual."

Kiba started to laugh. "So_ it _is true what my dads said. You sure we're not related?"

Stinger rolled his eyes, "I'll talk to Shou and Tsurugi and see what they have in mind, then I'll let you all know."

Kiba winked at Andy as the meeting broke up. "Is this the dangerous cat you warned me about?"

Andy nodded as she stood, lifting Shishi into her arms. "She might seem innocent now but you don't want to get on her bad side." She held Shishi up a bit to let her sniff Kiba.

Kiba smirked. "We'll get along fine." He reached out to pet her gently.

Shishi let Kiba pet her but turned her head away from him. Andy chuckled at the cat.

Kiba huffed a laugh. "I guess she's a hard customer to convince." He dropped his hand and looked around. "There a place I can get a meal?"

Andy glanced at the time, "Spada should have dinner ready soon. I'll show you the way there too." She set Shishi down and started heading to the door, the cat following right behind her.

Kiba smiled and followed them out.

Andy pointed out a couple important rooms along the way before getting to the kitchen. She frowned quickly realizing she forgot something, "Remind me after lunch, Raptor can assign you a guest room."

Kiba grinned. "Alright if you insist. Don't really need one though."

She shrugged, "Well, I assume you'll want a shower at some point and each room has a bathroom so you'll get one anyway. Then if you do decide to sleep you have a place."

Kiba smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I guess you're right."

She stared at him a second connecting the dots, "Nightmares?"

His eyes darkened slightly. "Who's Spada?"

She sighed, "He's one of the rangers, Raptor's boyfriend and our main chef." She added, "Look, you don't have to talk about them, I just have to ask, is there any chance you attack people during your nightmares because I want to be prepared if you do." She frowned, "We've had trouble with that here... lots of nightmares on this ship..."

KIba's voice was soft. "Depends on how bad they are. I used to sleep with a gun under my pillow. There were a few incidents…"

She nodded, "We've had a lot of incidents here. Mostly dealing with poison though," she shook her head before opening the door to the kitchen.

"Let me guess. Stinger?" Kiba took a seat.

Andy nodded, "Yeah. I think everyone on the ship has seen him during a nightmare at least once..." She went up to Spada to see if he needed help. She helped get out plates and then passed out the food when it was finished, once the others started coming in.

Kiba spent the meal talking with the other rangers, excusing himself when he was finished. Andy watched him slip out of the kitchen quietly. She left soon after, stopping to request a room from Raptor. She then wandered the ship trying to find him.

Eventually, Andy peeked in to the training room. She watched him for a few moments before he turned and noticed her. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to spy on you."

He grinned. "Wouldn't have minded. What's up?"

"Just wondered where you snuck off to," she admitted.

He laughed. "Needed a place I could clear my head and tire myself out. So I looked around and found this." He moved towards his shirt and Andy gasped as she got her first look at his body.

She looked at his chest, noticing all of the past wounds he had received, "I thought Stinger had a lot of scars..."

He chuckled slightly. "Yeah, it's dangerous work."

She frowned and shook her head, "Sorry. I'll let you get back to your workout."

He shook his head. "I'm finished. Was there something you needed? Or were you just interested in my body when it is healthy?" He smirked at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Just wanted to make sure you were still doing alright."

"I'm fine, though I do think I need that shower now."

Andy remembered that Raptor had handed her a key card, "I can show you where your room is," she held it out to him.

"Thank you." He took it from her and waited.

She led him down the hall, passing the rooms with the ranger's names on the doors. She finally got to one of the empty doors and smiled, "Here's your room."

He gave her a smile, then opened the door and walked in. He waited till she left, then closed it and headed for the shower.

Andy was asleep when she heard a noise. She looked over and noticed Stinger had heard it too.

She finally realized it was her comm, "Hello?"

"Andy, are you close to Kiba's room?" Raptor's voice was anxious.

"I mean... it's just down the hall," she sat up, "Why? what's up?"

"His vitals are highly erratic."

Andy nodded, "Probably nightmares. I'll go check it out." She turned to Stinger who was staring at her sleepily. She gave him a quick kiss, "I have to go make sure Kiba isn't hurting himself, or anyone else... I'll be back eventually."

Stinger nodded. "If his are like mine you might need Champ."

"I'll figure it out. Just go back to sleep if you can. I love you," she pushed herself out of the bed and headed out into the hall. She finally reached Kiba's room and thought she heard screams. She opened the door slowly turned the lights up a bit so she could see, "Kiba?"

He was on his knees, his eyes wild. In one hand he was holding a knife, blood streaming from several slashes on one arm. He looked through her, his body shaking. "I'm sorry…. I'm so sorry…. I didn't know!"

Andy looked at him with worry but stayed a safe distance away. "Kiba? It's me, Andy. Are you with me?"

He began to cry, breath hitching in a way that made her uncomfortable. "I killed them… I thought I was just absorbing their powers! I didn't want to do it!" He aimed the knife at his chest. "I'm sorry Ryo… I won't hurt anyone else…" The knife was coming dangerously close to piercing the skin.

Andy used her speed to rush in front of him, grabbing the knife, "Kiba?"

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" His eyes rolled up as he passed out.

She shook her head and removed the knife, pushing it far from them. She was thankful she grabbed her bag on the way out of her room. She took out supplies and started stitching him up before focusing on healing what she could.

She dropped her hands when she noticed he started moving. "Kiba? Wake up." She could try the jutsu she'd been learning to try to get into his dreams, but wanted to see if he'd respond first.

"NO! I WON'T GO BACK!" He began to thrash, nearly knocking her over. His eyes flew open though they were unfocused and he lunged for the knife. "You'll have to kill me!"

Andy pushed herself to her feet and reached over trying to get the knife before him. She could sedate him if she had to after getting him out of immediate danger.

He was faster. With one smooth motion his hand closed on the handle and he had it buried in his chest before she could react. He coughed, his eyes finally focusing. Looking down, he gave the knife a quizzical look before collapsing on his back.

Andy froze for a second, slightly in shock of what had just happened. She finally shook her head and pressed the button on her comm, "Raptor?"

She analyzed the wound for a moment trying to decide if she should remove the knife now or in the infirmary.

"Yes Andy?"

"Get to the infirmary and prep supplies to stitch and probably a transfusion bag too if we have one that will work for Kiba." She decided it was quicker to just clone herself to help carry him instead of waiting for Champ or anyone else to come help. Within minutes he was in a bed in the infirmary being taken care of.

While she was stitching him up, she ordered Raptor, "Put restraints on him so he can't hurt himself any more. We should probably give him a sedative too."

Raptor nodded. "Okyu." She looked sadly at him. "Wonder why he hurt himself? Even the Commander has usually only tried to hurt others."

Andy sighed and looked down at him, "He's been through a lot. I know he feels guilty but I don't know the whole story." She focused on healing him up from the inside once the outside was bandaged.

His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her in confusion. "Andy?"

She smiled at him, "Hey. Don't worry. Everything will be ok." She stopped her healing for a moment, "Don't freak out, you do have restraints on you."

He frowned. "Who did I hurt? And why does my chest feel like your android friend used me as a weight bag?"

She looked away, "You stabbed yourself while having a nightmare..."

He closed his eyes. "At least I didn't hurt anyone this time."

She sighed, "I tried to wake you, and to keep the knife away from you. Next time I'll just start by trying to break into your nightmare instead."

"You don't want to see those, believe me." His eyes were haunted when he reopened them. "I don't want you to hate me."

She smiled at him softly, "You're our friend. The past is the past and none of us will hate you for it. So just know if you end up having nightmares again while you are here, don't be surprised if I pop in to try to help you out." She looked up at Raptor who was holding the sedative before glancing back at Kiba, "You won't be able to leave the infirmary for a bit longer while I heal you anyway, so we are going to sedate you to try to help you rest."

He nodded tiredly. "I wish the past would stay there, but I'm a killer and no one should ever forgive or forget that."

"I think the only person on the ship more stubborn than me is Stinger. So don't fight it and just let me be your friend. I'm sure everyone else here feels like that too," she assured before nodding to Raptor to give him the sedative. She closed her eyes and focused back on using her energy to heal him.

"Be my friend…? would be nice…" The words slurred as he surrendered to sleep. His features relaxed and made him look far younger than he was.

Andy kept healing him, making sure he was healed well enough to hopefully not hurt much when he did wake again. She stood from the chair she had started sitting in, glancing at the time. She wondered if she should even try to go back to sleep or if she should just stay up. She took a few moments moving over to the corner and stared at the tank her toads were in. She grabbed out some food and put it in their tank, watching them happily eat it up.

Two arms suddenly wrapped around her waist. "He okay?" Stinger's voice was soft.

She shrugged, "Physically he will be. He stabbed himself..."

Stinger grimaced. "Damn… And I thought my nightmares were bad."

"He mentioned killing people and seems really guilty about it... What happened?" She sighed and glanced back at the still unconscious Kiba, "I told him we didn't care about his past but he still seems really upset about it."

Stinger let go of her. "You remember Shocker?"

She nodded before turning to look at him.

"Meet their top Rider assassin."

She winced, "No wonder he has nightmares..."

Stinger ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. The topper is they sent him after both of his dads, while telling him all he was doing was absorbing their powers. He almost killed both of them."

"Poor Kiba..." She frowned.

Stinger walked over to the bed. "Imagine being raised as nothing more than a tool to kill heroes. And then trying to make up for it. Having no one trust you. He was turned into one of his fathers without even knowing it." He looked down at Kiba's face. "All he wants is some place to belong."

"It's not like he wanted to be raised that way, why can't people see that and just trust him?" She sighed.

Stinger gave her a sad smile. "Murder is not easy to forgive. And sadly Shocker has caused so much harm that once it's revealed all thoughts of trust go out the window. Ask Tsukasa about that."

Andy shrugged, "Well, I told him I'd be his friend so I'm sticking to that. He just seems so scared and hurt... I don't get how anyone can't see that."

Stinger grinned. "That's why I love you. It takes a special person to see through the mask he shows. As soon as he gets rejected, he acts like it didn't mean anything and goes off to another world. It seems sometimes that he didn't just receive DNA from our friends but some of their personalities as well."

"He could stay here where he's accepted?" She suggested.

"You could ask, but don't be upset if he turns you down." Stinger laughed. "Tsukasa complained not long ago that he heard less from Kiba than he did Daiki."

She sighed before coming closer to wrap her arms around Stinger, "I hope he figures out where he's supposed to be and finds people who care about him soon." She rested her head on Stinger's chest, "He's going to be out for a while longer. I don't know what time you planned to head out on our mission, but if you want him to go with you might need to push it back just a bit."

He sighed and returned the hug. "Should I leave him out of this? He's not the most stable individual right now… unless you can help him?"

She shrugged, "Physically, once he wakes up he's good to go. Mentally... I can try to help, but not everyone reacts the same way. It's not like I have a ton of experience with this kind of thing."

He frowned. "Fine. I can push the mission back a few hours. But no more than that. If they get that chip…"

She shook her head, "If you'd rather we can just give him more sedatives and keep him restrained longer, then go without him."

Stinger took a deep breath. "As tempting as that is, he's literally the only one who can identify what the chip and weapon look like. I need him."

She nodded, "Then I'll try to make sure he's ready." She sighed and looked down, realizing she was still in her pajamas, "I'm going to go change. Keep an eye on him and I'll be right back. Then I might just doze in here until he wakes up," she admitted with a smirk.

Stinger chuckled as he sat down by the bed. "Don't take too long or I might help him escape."

She laughed and headed out of the room. She came back in a few minutes later, stocked up with weapons in her pockets. She planned to restock her bag next, but she had all the supplies in the infirmary anyway.

Stinger looked up as she entered, giving her a smile. Then he returned to listening to whatever Kiba was saying. They both cracked up laughing as she approached.

She raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. She scanned Kiba over, "Your wound isn't fully healed yet, but you should be good to battle. If it starts acting up I can do some more healing."

She moved to grab her bag and opened the cabinet throwing supplies in.

Kiba watched her for a minute, then spoke. "I need to apologize to you."

Andy looked back with a confused look.

Kiba grinned. "Actually I have a few things to apologize for. Here goes nothing." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about you having to see me like that first of all. Second I'm very sorry I flirted with you. I had no idea you were with Stinger." He looked at Stinger. "Am I off the hook or should she stand by with the antidote…?"

She turned toward him, "I'm the medic, I see everyone at their worst, so you have nothing to be sorry about there. Secondly... you flirted with me?" She chuckled. "I didn't even realize."

Kiba shot a look at Stinger. "See, I told you!" He shook his head. "Someone want to take these things off?"

Andy grabbed the keys and lightly tossed them at Stinger before pulling out her notebook and double checking her list to the supplies in her bag, "Guess we are heading out soon then? I didn't think he'd be up yet."

Kiba grinned. "I'm full of surprises."

He sat up slowly with a wince. "I can't believe I did that. I really hate my head sometimes." He slowly stood, then looked at Stinger. "Did we actually find the son of a bitch?"

Stinger nodded. "Big warehouse on the edge of a ruined town. If we get down there fast enough then I think we can derail this plan of his. You sure you're okay to go?"

Kiba nodded. "I've fought before with worse injuries. Not that I'm aiming to get hurt again though. Don't worry I won't do anything stupid."

Andy finished up checking her list before going over to them, "I'm ready to go whenever."

Stinger nodded at her, then looked at Kiba. "Be ready in ten minutes or you're staying."

Kiba chuckled and gave the kyuranger salute. "Okyu!" He left the infirmary as Stinger's mouth opened and closed noiselessly.

Andy chuckled and shook her head, "Are you ready to go?"

Stinger nodded and smiled wryly. "He thinks he's funny doesn't he?"

She laughed, "Oh, so how did you and I being together get brought up?"

Stinger rolled his eyes. "He asked if you were seeing someone since he had tried to flirt with you and had been ignored."

She chuckled again, "I really didn't notice he was trying to flirt."

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to love telling him that his charm didn't work on you."

She smirked, "Maybe I've just been so overtaken by your charm that I don't notice anyone else's."

He wrapped his arms around her. "A likely story." He teased as he kissed her.

Ten minutes later they were in the voyager bay. The three of them had been joined by Champ and Naga as Stinger gave out assignments.

"Kiba and I will search for the control chip and weapon. You guys need to distract and take out any Jark Matter people."

At their nods, he and Kiba climbed into the Sasori voyager and lifted off. The rest followed a minute later.

Stinger chuckled as he glanced over, "Andy seriously couldn't tell you were trying to flirt. You'll have to work on that if you ever want to get a girl."

Kiba's face reddened. "Not funny, Stinger. Your wife just doesn't know quality."

Stinger flicked his tail up jokingly, "Care to say that again?"

Kiba gave an exaggerated shudder. "I'm sorry…" He then cracked up. "She could do better than a guy with a tail."

Stinger laughed for a moment before admitting, "Yeah I thought so too but she was insistent on keeping me."

Kiba looked at him with a grin. "If you can get a girl, I guess anything is possible for me."

Stinger chuckled as he watched the planet coming closer. "I'd try setting you up, but I only know one girl who might be single, and you probably don't want to mess with her."

Kiba's eyes twinkled. "If it's someone you dated, they might be more than willing to date me. I'm so much nicer. I actually call after dates."

Stinger chuckled, "No one I've dated. She's the only available girl on our team, who also happens to be Andy's sister."

Kiba raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? She'd kill me the first time I forgot to call. No thanks."

"She can be rough sometimes, but she's a bit more level headed than Andy."

Kiba thought for a minute. "Think she'd like me?"

Stinger shrugged, "I can never tell what Hammy would like. Ask Andy though, she's a better judge of her sister."

Kiba nodded as they landed. "You ready for this?"

Stinger smirked, "Are you? Think you can keep up?"

Kiba looked sideways at him, eyes gleaming. "You're going to eat my dust scorpion boy."

Stinger chuckled, "We'll see."

They made their way to the building, keeping an eye out for enemies. They heard some explosions in the distance and saw troops of indavers running that way. Sneaking in, they tried to look around to find the chip.

Stinger held a hand out, stopping Kiba from going further. He whispered, "Someone's in there."

Kiba tensed. "You think we actually have the element of surprise?"

Stinger shrugged, "They know someone is on the planet, but hopefully they think we're all together."

Kiba nodded. "How do you want to do this?"

"I don't see any secret way in, so I think we'll just have to go in guns blazing."

Kiba grinned as he suddenly produced a phone. Pulling a card from his pocket, he put it in the phone and said "Henshin." Seconds later, he was in his Kamen Rider armor.

Stinger followed suit and pulled out his kyutama. He placed it into his seiza blaster and seconds later was morphed. "Ready?"

Kiba nodded, hefting a large blue pistol. "Let's destroy this thing."

Stinger nodded before bursting through the door. A few indavers stood and fought them. There were two people behind them that Stinger didn't recognize.

"I was wondering when you'd make it here," one of them chuckled. "You must be the kyuranger commander who keeps ruining our plans."

Kiba nudged Stinger. "Looks like you have a fan club." He glared at the second person. "I remember you..."

The man laughed. "So you were faking huh?" His voice turned menacing. "I don't like being tricked."

"Who are you?" Stinger growled as he took down the last indaver.

"I guess we haven't been properly introduced, have we?" The first chuckled, "I'm General Kojan, the new head of Jark Matter." He picked up a weapon and twirled it in his hand.

Kiba tuned the conversation out, focusing on the man who had interrogated him.

"Yeah, I decided to ruin your day and play dead. Now I'm back to take that weapon. Want to try to stop me?"

The interrogator laughed. "You want the weapon? Good luck with that. It's been completed."

Kiba and Stinger looked at each other in alarm.

"Prove it." Kiba fought to keep his voice steady.

Kojan held out the weapon he had been holding. The two finally got a better look at it, a dark silver colored gun, with odd buttons on it. "You want proof?" He shot out at Kiba.

Kiba dodged too slow. He felt a weird pressure in his head for a moment, but then it vanished. He rolled to his feet and cocked his head. "Was it supposed to do something? Cause I don't think it works dude."

Kojan growled before quickly shooting at Stinger.

Stinger had been distracted watching Kiba, making sure he was ok. He felt odd all of a sudden and he tried to move forward to attack but found he couldn't control his body.

"Attack him," Kojan ordered Stinger.

He felt his body moving against his will. He tried to stop it but nothing worked. He saw himself start attacking Kiba.

"Stinger! Snap out of it!" Kiba frantically dodged the kyuranger, cursing whatever luck that had allowed the gun to be completed. He rolled as Stinger's tail stabbed into the floor where he'd been a minute earlier.

Stinger kept trying to stop his body from moving, but nothing was working. He stabbed out at Kiba again, knocking him to the floor.

Kiba groaned as he hit, the air whooshing from his lungs. He tried to recover before Stinger could resume attacking, but his head throbbed and he couldn't focus. He lay panting, waiting for the next blow.

Andy smirked as Shishi appeared behind her, grown large.

"Where did she come from?" Champ wondered.

"Napping in my voyager," she smiled as she took out some of the indavers.

She saw an odd figure approaching and realized it was a malistrate. Her and Shishi ran forward to attack while Champ and Naga focused on the indavers.

She watched the amount of indavers quickly increase, ambushing the other two rangers. She kept trying to fight off the malistrate but realized she was quickly losing. Shishi got hit protecting Andy from an attack. Andy glanced back and noticed her teammates going down. She quickly called on the comm, "We are going to need back up." She took a hard hit to the ribs making her fall back breathless, she struggled to push herself back up but she lost the battle and fell unconscious.

When Andy finally woke up, she noticed Champ and Naga nearby. Shishi was still large, but cuddled up next to her.

She approached Naga and scanned him over before looking at Champ. She checked him over quickly and fixed up a couple wires before Champ started waking up.

She moved over to Naga and started bandaging up his wounds. Her hands glowed as she started healing up what she could.

Champ moo-ed softly as he woke. "Damn indavers. Where are Stinger and Kiba?"

She shook her head, "I don't know. I called for backup but didn't hear a response before I got knocked out."

She noticed Naga starting to move so she moved away and checked over Shishi, who was almost all healed. "I wish I could heal myself like you can..." Andy sighed before starting to look over their location. It was a cell, so she tapped the bars, making sure they weren't electrified. "We could send Shishi out to look for them?"

Champ moo-ed again. "I could try to wrench open the bars?"

She shrugged and moved away from them, "If you want to try."

Champ shook his head. "Your idea is better."

She sat down and focused her thoughts on Shishi. She showed the cat the plan, and the cat quickly shrunk down in size, able to get through the bars. Andy kept a focus on her basically seeing Shishi's memories as they were created. Soon though, she heard a noise. Andy opened her eyes back up and looked up. She didn't recognize the face but she could tell he was Jark Matter. "Look who we have here. You don't seem very legendary being trapped in a cell, do you?"

Andy sighed, "It doesn't matter, I'm sure our teammates have completed the mission."

"Did the mission have something to do with this?" He showed the control gun.

Andy's eyes widened in shock.

Champ rose angrily. "Where's Stinger and Kiba? If you've done any-"

Kojan laughed, "Is that their names? Don't worry, they are both alive, if that's what you are wondering."

"They're going to take you down," Naga finally spoke up as he stood slowly.

Kojan chuckled once more, "I don't think that will be happening." He looked out toward where the rangers couldn't see, "Come here."

Stinger, still morphed, appeared in front of them.

"He's under my control, you see. The other one is still alive, but he's not doing well. He couldn't be here because he's a little tied up at the moment," Kojan laughed.

Champ glared at Kojan. "When I get out of here…"

Andy closed her eyes once more and focused her energy quickly to Shishi to show her Stinger was here and to try to get the others to their location. She then sent her energy out toward Stinger, trying to get into his mind. She knew it wasn't exactly like a nightmare, but she thought it might work similar, trying to get into his head to break him out of it.

She found herself in a room with an invisible barrier between her and Stinger. She could tell the side she was in was the active one, the controlled side. She tried to break through the barrier but she couldn't get through. She tried to take over the controlled side, trying to move Stinger's body on her own, but she couldn't get him to react. She felt the barrier again, it was almost pliable, moving with her hands, but not letting her through.

Mind jutsus were incredibly dangerous and difficult to begin with, and sometimes things were just unclear as to what might happen. She knew Stinger wouldn't want to be controlled though, so she tried something crazy. She held onto the barrier, grasping into it. She pulled back, as if she was trying to leave his mind, trying to take the control out with her. She had no idea if it would work but she figured it wouldn't make things any worse. She kept holding onto it as she felt herself leave his mind.

Stinger felt the control loosen and tried to get his body to move. He managed a few steps before the control slammed back down even harder. He could feel the barrier inching closer, almost reaching him. He knew if the barrier reached him completely, he'd be lost forever.

Andy opened her eyes for a moment and realized Stinger was still under their control.

She focused back on him trying once again to break through the barrier. She tried to force a hole into the barrier with her mind, trying to let Stinger get free.

When it still didn't work, a thought crossed her mind. She had been able to place herself into someone's dreams and could show them memories. Could she fully take over someone? Instead of trying to take over Stinger to get his mind back, could she take over Kojan and release the control on Stinger that way?

She let her focus go for a moment and noticed Champ and Naga were trying to threaten Kojan, even though they couldn't get through the bars to fight him. She shook her head before refocusing, this time on Kojan. She felt herself fall into a dark abyss, thick rolling fog surrounding her. She looked around but had no idea which direction to go. How could she take control in a place like this? Would she find a mental version of Kojan like she had seen with Stinger or would it be different because he wasn't already under control? She wished this was a jutsu that already existed so someone could just teach her instead of her trying to make it up on the spot. Could she set up a barrier like the control machine had? She felt herself growing weak, between her injuries and the energy she was exerting for the focus. She set up a clear barrier, unsure if it was as strong as it needed to be, but she kept pushing back, wandering through the abyss, trying to take over enough of his mind to control him.

Andy's concentration was soon broken though when she felt a hand grabbing onto her. Her eyes flashed open and she saw the interrogator from before holding onto her while Stinger stood threatening Naga and Champ with his tail.

She tried to fight back but couldn't get out of his grasp. She was pulled to a room where she saw Kiba tied up to a wall, trying to get off.

Andy was soon tied down to a chair facing him. She stared at Kiba noticing bruises had started forming on his arms and face. She could see some blood stains but couldn't tell what injuries he had.

"This is what you get for faking your deaths. I was generous and left that medicine to help you, but you abused my generosity. Now you get to watch him die before you get taken out too," the interrogator spoke.

Andy looked around and noticed Stinger was standing near her, staring straight ahead, still under the enemies control.

Kiba gave a strained laugh. "Your generosity? I should have kicked your ass instead."

The interrogator looked at Stinger. "Beat him."

Andy cringed as she watched Stinger attacking Kiba. Multiple punches hit him quickly. She was sure he'd have broken ribs if he didn't already.

Stinger watched in horror as his body moved against his will. He heard the groans Kiba was making with every punch that hit. He fought so hard trying to get control back but it still wasn't working.

Andy fought the ties on the chair trying to reach one of her hidden kunai. She couldn't reach so she tried to break the ties with her strength. She felt them cutting into her wrists but she was no closer to escaping. She took a deep breath and stilled herself, trying to think of a new plan.

"Enough." The interrogator spoke.

Stinger immediately stopped, stepping back to stand beside him.

"How does it feel to be helpless, seeing your own death approaching?" The interrogator walked over to Kiba, grabbing his hair to lift his head.

Kiba coughed harshly, then spit a mouthful of blood at the interrogator. He gave a shaky grin. "I've been hit harder in bed. Why did you get a guy who hits like a girl?"

The interrogator's hand tightened around his hair and Kiba winced. The interrogator's face darkened and he stared into Kiba's eyes. "Keep making smart comments. I want to hear them after he breaks every bone in your body."

Kiba couldn't help the hard swallow hidden and the interrogator laughed. He nodded to Stinger who approached as the interrogator released Kiba's head.

Andy was still trying to figure out a plan but panicked watching the scene. She knew Stinger would probably feel guilty after all of this, even though he wasn't even in control of his body. She worried that Kiba wouldn't be able to last much longer either. She knew she was hurt but was in better shape than him. Shishi and the team should be on their way, this could buy them some time.

"Stop!" Andy begged the interrogator, "Hurt me instead."

Stinger heard her voice and internally sighed. She didn't know how to keep herself safe, did she?

The interrogator turned. "Oh he will. But not until this one's dead." He looked at Stinger with a cruel smile. "Do what you wish to him. Make sure he dies."

Andy shook her head not coming up with a better plan, so she decided to try to get into Stinger's mind again. She focused out to him trying to break through the barrier.

Stinger punched Kiba a few more times before slowly raising his tail up. He cursed his body as it stung Kiba right into the wound he had received the night before.

He saw Andy in his mind, trying to approach him. He put his hand up to hers on the barrier and somehow they pushed through to each other. She smiled and grabbed his hand before pulling him back into control.

Andy slouched down in her chair with relief. When she finally opened her eyes, she noticed Stinger with his tail around the interrogators throat.

Kiba was shaking, trying to control his breathing. He could feel the poison burning through him and knew it wouldn't be long before it killed him. The only question was if it would do it before his injuries did. He weakly looked up to see Stinger holding the interrogator.

"You back with us scorpion boy?"

Stinger squeezed his tail until the interrogator went limp. He dropped and turned to Kiba, "Yea."

Kiba gave a weak smile, then grimaced as a wave of pain washed over him.

Andy fought the exhaustion washing over her, "Stinger? I have antidote in my bag."

Stinger raised an eyebrow, "You really keep it on you?"

She chuckled lightly, "I never know what to expect with you..."

Stinger sighed and got to her bag. He filled a new syringe quickly and shot it into Kiba. He then got Kiba down before untying Andy.

Andy stood and tried to walk over to Kiba to check on him but her injuries from fighting the malistrate earlier and her exhaustion from focusing her energy into fighting mind control finally won out and she stumbled forward unconscious. Stinger caught her quickly.

Kiba looked at him. "She gonna be okay?" He fought unconsciousness and made his way over to them.

Stinger sighed, "Probably. I don't know what injuries she has but I know she used a lot of energy trying to free me from their control and she passes out when she uses up too much energy."

He called on his comm, "Guys? Where are you?"

Within seconds a few of his teammates were standing in the doorway.

Shishi approached, back to being large from fighting off indavers. She approached Andy and nudged her with her head.

Stinger gave a sad smile to the cat, "She's going to be fine, we just have to get her to the infirmary."

Kiba's eyes widened. "I know she warned me, but I thought she was joking." He stood up and promptly passed out.

Stinger lifted Andy up, "Can you guys help Kiba to the ship?" Champ nodded.

Andy woke up, sitting up quickly against her bodies protests. She glanced over and her eyes rested on Stinger who was in the chair next to her. She visibly relaxed a bit, "Hey." She winced as she laid back into the bed. Shishi jumped from Stinger's lap gently onto Andy.

Andy moved a shaky hand up to pet her. She looked back toward Stinger who still hadn't responded, "Love?"

He jerked, then raised his head. "Hi beautiful. How are you feeling?"

"Sore. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Wanted to say thank you for getting me loose." He looked over to where Kiba lay unconscious.

She smiled at him, "You know I'm always here to save you from trouble. Sorry I couldn't get you out of it sooner."

"You tried. I could feel you." He turned away. "I almost killed him. I was going to kill you. How can you look at me?"

"It wasn't your fault. It was Kojan's."

"I could have fought harder."

She shook her head, "Remember that time I was under someone's control and attacked you? You don't blame me, do you? You don't blame Kiba for the things he did when Shocker was manipulating him. So why blame yourself now? There's literally no reason to."

He gave her a sad smile. "I'm good at it? The fact remains I nearly killed him. He's not gonna stick around now."

"I don't think he's going to blame you either." She weakly grabbed his hand, "Just remember I love you and I don't think it was your fault." She smirked, "Have I ever been wrong before?"

He laughed softly. "I know." He clasped her hand gently. "Just don't leave me okay?"

She smiled, "You're normally the one leaving so promise not to leave me?"

She looked up when she noticed Raptor enter the room. "Hey."

"Good to see you awake," Raptor spoke.

"How is Kiba?" Andy wondered.

Raptor gave a nod, "He'll live, but he has a lot of healing to do. It's good you got him the antidote so quickly. Lots of bruising and multiple broken ribs. He had some internal bleeding but I managed to get that fixed up enough to stop him from bleeding to death. He's sedated right now to keep him resting."

Andy sighed before getting Shishi's attention and nodding toward Kiba. Shishi jumped down and resettled on Kiba's chest.

Stinger bent over and kissed her. "I've got a conference with Shou and Tsurugi. We need to find Kojan again and end him." He left the infirmary hurriedly.

-Time jump-

Kiba forced the weight bar up shakily. He knew he wasn't one hundred percent yet, but he needed to do something other than lying in bed. As he sat up from the weight machine, the door opened.

"Did they actually release you yet?" Stinger entered and sat down on one of the benches.

Kiba sheepishly grinned. "Are you going to make me go back if I say no?"

Stinger laughed, "No. Just don't let Andy or Raptor catch you."

"Why do you think I'm in here?" Kiba gave him a cocky smile. "Wanna spar?"

Stinger frowned, "I wouldn't want to hurt you more if you aren't healed yet."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Spoilsport. By the way, Andy told me you're feeling guilty. I don't blame you because I know it wasn't you. So knock it off."

Stinger raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "Doesn't stop me from blaming myself."

Kiba got up and approached him. "I get it. I've got enough self-hate for every universe. But there comes a time when you have to just acknowledge things happen and move on. You're one of the few people I trust, so if I have to kick your butt to make you deal with it I will."

Stinger chuckled, "I doubt you could kick my butt right now anyway."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Scared?"

Stinger scoffed, "You're not even up to full health, there's nothing to be scared of except hurting you."

Kiba snorted. "I'm not that injured any more. But if you're afraid of losing control… I can just do some moves on my own."

He moved to one of the pads covering the floor and began to stretch.

Stinger shook his head, "Fine, if you're sure you're healed enough, let's go."

Kiba gave him a wide smile. "Come." He motioned toward Stinger.

Stinger grinned and moved closer, lowering himself into a fighting stance. He started off slow, throwing a few punches out at him which were easily blocked. "We're trying to find Kojan. He ran off after more of the team arrived. I'm betting he still has that control gun though so who knows what he'll do next."

Kiba grimaced. "That means I better hurry up and finish healing." He kicked out, making Stinger jump back. "I have to destroy that gun before he uses it again."

"If anyone takes him down it's going to be me," Stinger moved forward and swung his tail down against Kiba's ankles trying to knock him over.

Kiba sidestepped. "Trying to get yourself controlled again? Idiot." He growled, suddenly charging at Stinger at full speed.

Stinger moved forward and held his arms out blocking Kiba's charge. He quickly kicked out pushing Kiba back. "I won't let it happen again." Stinger insisted. "That reminds me though, why didn't it work on you?"

Kiba took a deep breath. "How are you going to stop it? You're vulnerable and you know it." He winced slightly. "I'm guessing it's probably got something to do with the fact that I'm not one of you? Maybe it's a clone thing. Point is, he can't do it to me. So I'm the best suited to taking that gun out."

Stinger growled, "I'll figure something out. If you weren't here we'd have to take it out anyway, so I'm sure we can figure something out. They are going after my team, so I have to find a way to protect them."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I understand you want to protect them. But they targeted you. They will keep going after you. If you were feeling guilty over what happened with me what would your reaction be if you hurt Andy? Or worse killed her? Who would be able to break the control then?!"

Kiba tripped Stinger, knocking him to the mat. He sat on him and glared. "Stop thinking with your heart. Now's not the time. Use your head. You show up where Kojan is and he's going to grab that gun and you'll be toast. Same goes for most of your team, with the exception of those androids. This is a mission you can't be on. But I can."

Stinger wanted to keep arguing but he knew Kiba was right. "Alright. You, Champ, and Raptor go down and try to destroy the gun. As soon as you can, we will come take out Kojan."

Kiba huffed and climbed off the scorpion. He held out a hand and helped Stinger to his feet, then winced and swayed.

Stinger noticed, "You should get back to the infirmary."

Kiba gave Stinger a look. "You're just trying to get me off the mission aren't you?"

Stinger shook his head, "We called in the rest of the team for the mission, so we won't start until they arrive. Plus, we still haven't gotten confirmation on Kojan's current location."

Kiba's eyes narrowed, flashing darker. "Riiiight. You know if I go back they'll restrain me again and then you can leave me behind." He began to stalk toward Stinger, his hands clenching.

Stinger growled, "I'm telling the truth! I have tricked my team members in the past and snuck off to battle but I'm not going to this time. You were right, I don't want Andy or anyone else on my team getting hurt and if you going down there to destroy the gun keeps them safe then I'm all for it."

Kiba ignored him and aimed a punch at his chest. The Rider's eyes were glassy, his breathing heavy. "You can't make me go back!"

Stinger blocked the punch, "What are you talking about?!"

"Shocker won't ever use me again!" Kiba started throwing wild punches at the kyuranger.

Stinger tried to keep up on blocking the hits, "We aren't taking you to Shocker!" He finally got a good look at Kiba and realized he was probably having some sort of nightmare. "Kiba, calm down and snap out of it. I'm your friend."

Kiba wasn't listening and continued fighting wildly. His breath was becoming more labored with each passing minute.

Stinger aimed his tail at Kiba and stuck him in the leg, giving him just enough poison to paralyze him. He watched Kiba stop in his tracks and so Stinger grabbed him and helped him to the floor so he didn't fall on his face. He glanced back making sure Kiba wasn't moving before running to get Andy.

After getting Kiba into the infirmary and restrained, Andy scanned him over, "He shouldn't have been up."

"I know, but what happened?" Stinger was still a bit confused at the sudden attack.

Andy shook her head, "It's complicated. You did the right thing by stopping him though or things could have been a lot worse. Basically, something triggered almost a sleepwalking nightmare state. Which shouldn't really happen going from awake straight to nightmare but with everything he's gone through it's not out of the question, obviously." She held her hands out over Kiba, "You slowed his heart rate and breathing which is good, because I know they had to be high during the nightmare. If he really was freaking out like you said, it could have damaged him if it kept speeding up."

Stinger frowned. "Could it have been the control gun? Kojan hit him with it but it didn't seem to have any effect. I might have to scrub him from the mission."

She frowned, "It could have had some effect. Don't take him off the mission just yet, let's see how he is when he wakes up. He'll be out at least a day though, between you paralyzing him and the medicine I gave him. But the team isn't even all here yet anyway so we have a bit of time."

Several hours later, Andy's com went off.

"Andy I need you in the infirmary!" Raptor's voice was panicked.

Andy shook her head before rushing down the hall. She entered the infirmary and saw Kiba freaking out again.

"Let me go! I won't let you use me again! I won't!"

"Prepare more sedative," Andy ordered Raptor. She scanned Kiba over and tried to see what was happening. His breathing and heart rate were elevated but nothing else was abnormal. She moved the chair over and sat in it, before focusing on Kiba's mind. She was trying to get into his nightmare to help ease him out of it.

She opened her eyes, finding herself in an infirmary like room, only this resembled more a mad scientist's version. She saw Kiba strapped to a gurney, an unnatural creature standing above his head. "You will when we're done with the surgery. You will be ours forever."

The creature reached for a syringe as Kiba fought the restraints. "I won't let you!"

"You don't have any say anymore. You failed your mission because we didn't do this like I suggested in the first place. Now be a good clone and stop fighting." The syringe stabbed into Kiba's neck and he screamed. The world went black….

Andy opened her eyes seeing Kiba still thrashing around on the bed. She scanned him over noticing his heart rate had spiked even more. "Give him the sedative," Andy told Raptor. She watched his body slow a bit before she went back to focusing on Kiba's mind. She fought to find her way into his nightmare, hoping she could help him.

She gasped as Tsukasa and Daiki appeared before her, both badly beaten. Kiba stood above them, face blank of emotion. She watched as he lifted his hand to his driver and push a button. A bright light engulfed the two other riders. Tsukasa was calling Kiba's name but he didn't stop the energy drain until both the riders stopped moving.

Andy stepped forward slowly, "Kiba?"

In a monotone Kiba answered. "I am Kamen Rider DeStruct. Kiba no longer exists."

"Kiba, I know you are in there somewhere. This is a nightmare, a memory. It's the past."

He looked at her. "I serve Shocker. Swear allegiance or be eliminated." He took a step toward her.

"Kiba, you're safe with the Kyurangers on our ship. Shocker isn't in control of you anymore," she spoke softly.

He froze, his eyes blinking slowly. "Andy? What is going on?" He looked down at the two bodies and his face went white. "No no no…. This isn't real. This can't be real…" He looked back at Andy, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Help me...please?"

Andy moved closer and put her hand on his arm to comfort him, "This is just a nightmare. If it was real, it's all in the past and it wasn't your fault."

He shook his head and the scene vanished, replaced with a white room. "I should just stay here. Can't hurt anyone here."

"You never hurt anyone on purpose," Andy sighed. "You can help people. You have helped people. You can't just give up because you had a bad past. The only one in control of your future is you. You can choose to do what you want with it."

He took a deep breath, then nodded. "Alright. No hiding. How do I get out of here?"

Andy looked around and shrugged, "When I practiced on my toads, they'd just wake up. Though human minds are a lot more complicated than toads..." She smirked, "Even if your mind is on, we did have to drug you so your body might not fully wake up yet anyway. I would assume if you just wish to wake up, you either will wake now or go into a different level of the sleep cycle until your body is ready to wake."

Kiba nodded again, then closed his eyes. The room began to fade.

Andy took a deep breath before opening her eyes finding herself fully back in the infirmary.

She noticed Raptor nearby looking worried, "I think he'll be fine for right now."

"Okyu." Raptor didn't sound convinced.

Andy stared at Kiba for a moment before scanning him over. Everything seemed normal, except, of course, the injuries he was still healing. She stood slowly and headed to the door after deciding she needed to go take a nap.

The next morning, Raptor called her again.

"He's awake and asking for you."

Andy shoved another bite of her breakfast in her mouth quickly after answering, "I'll be right there."

She looked over at Stinger who was busy drinking a cup of coffee, "I guess I'll be in the infirmary again if you need me." She kissed his cheek before heading out into the hall.

When she arrived she smiled at Kiba, "Good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"Better. But I think she's afraid of me. So can you take these off?" He rattled the restraints.

She scanned him over, "You still have injuries so if you leave the infirmary, don't go workout." She undid the restraints, "but unless you start freaking out again, I guess you can get out of these."

Kiba gave her a smile. "I remember what you did. I wanted to say it means a lot that you would put yourself in danger for me."

"You're one of my friends, of course I'd do anything to help you," she sat on the chair next to the bed.

He shook his head. "I'm not used to this. I have tried to keep a distance between myself and the world, afraid of letting anyone know what I did in the past. Yet you and Stinger just brush it all away. Why?"

Andy shrugged, "I know a good person when I see one. Your past isn't what defines you, it's your present and future that matter." She smirked, "I do have some experience with this kind of thing, you and Stinger are a lot alike you know. Pushing people away because of things that happened in the past... That's probably why he's good with you too."

Kiba chuckled. "You know I could get used to this." He looked at her. "Is Stinger pissed?"

She shook her head, "Why would he be?"

Kiba sat up. "For one thing I'm pretty sure I attacked him? Right after telling him the gun didn't work on me…"

"He was more confused and worried than anything. He has nightmares often but he doesn't normally see others having them. Or at least ones where people are up and attacking. Plus, you went into it while awake so that confused him too."

Kiba looked sheepish. "What about the mission? Pretty sure I accused him of cutting me out."

She chuckled, "He did consider it after you freaked out, but I told him to wait and see how you were doing once it was actually time for the mission. I don't know if Tsurugi and Shou are coming but Hammy isn't here yet, and they still haven't located Kojan."

Kiba nodded. "Alright. If he wants to yell at me tell him to go ahead. I think I'm going to stay here though. Don't think I'll be losing it again, but you know me and sleeping."

Andy smiled, "I don't think he's going to yell. I'm sure Raptor will call me if you do freak out though, so I'll be here to help." She stood up and noticed Raptor wasn't in the room, "I think everyone on the team will be your friend you just haven't spent enough time with them yet. And for Raptor, I think she's just afraid of doing something that'll kill you." Andy laughed. "She can do a lot of medical things, and can keep someone from dying, but once it gets complicated like nightmares, she just sedates and restrains."

Kiba ran a hand through his hair. "I am a mess. Would they really want to be friends with a screw up like me?"

"Of course. And you aren't a screw up," she grinned, "We have two androids, two thieves, two ninjas, a scorpion, an insane dragon, a chef, and a few humans. Oh and whatever Garu is. I'm pretty sure you fit in fine around here."

"Thieves? Which ones are they?"

"Balance and Naga. Also known as the BN Thieves. Balance is a mechanical lifeform and Naga is from the hebitsukai system."

Kiba looked thoughtful. "Are they looking for a third?"

She laughed, "They're always open to taking volunteers on heists. Just be prepared for things to get weird." She smiled widely, "I honestly love working with them."

"Weird? Remember how you got into this mess with me?"

She chuckled, "Lots of weird things happen around here honestly. Though I guess that would make the weird normal so maybe it's just normal for us," she shrugged.

He laughed. "Maybe I'll stick around. Though if my luck holds you'll want to toss me back eventually. I tend to get hurt a lot."

She shook her head, "I'll only believe that if you end up getting hurt more often than Stinger. Between him and I getting hurt, and then just working here, I feel like I live in the infirmary."

He winced in sympathy. "I'll try not to, but no promises. Bad guys seem to like targeting me."

"They target Stinger because he's the commander but honestly half the time he runs into the trouble on his own."

"Ouch…" Kiba bit his lip. "Maybe we're twins?"

She chuckled, "Yeah, one of the only things you're missing is a tail."

He started to blush in embarrassment. "I think you're going to regret this."

She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm a walking trouble magnet just like my parents."

Andy smiled, "I think we can deal with that." She headed out of the infirmary.

That afternoon Stinger entered their room, "Hammy will be here within the next hour."

Andy smiled and stood up, "Then I'm going to go wait for her in the voyager bay." She kissed him before heading out the door.

Andy smiled excitedly when she saw Hammy climb out of her voyager.

"Have you been staying out of trouble, Daka?" Hammy pulled her in for a hug.

"You know around here that's impossible."

Hammy chuckled, "Anything going on today?"

She shook her head, "Not really. We do have a visitor but you can meet him later. I did want your help with something."

Hammy looked at her quizzically.

Andy smiled, "Let's go put your bag in your room."

Hammy sighed and started walking down the hall. When she finally opened her door she noticed a box was on the bed. "What's that?"

"Oh!" Andy remembered, "I've been writing you letters! I didn't want to forget telling you anything important so I've been writing it all down."

Hammy scanned through the box, "This is a lot of letters..."

Andy shrugged, "You haven't been here in months. But I understand if you don't want to read that many..."

Hammy smiled, "Tonight, we'll have a sleepover and read through them all so I can answer every one."

Andy's eyes lit up.

"So what did you want help with?" Hammy asked.

"Oh right." She pulled her hair out of the bun it was in and straightened her hair out, it reaching to her knees.

"You still never cut your hair?"

Andy shook her head, "that's what I want help with. Do you know how hard it is to get it clean and untangled after battle? Even if it's in a bun it somehow gets tangled." She looked down, "And on top of that my stupid hands still don't always work the way I want them to, and I'm getting really sick of dropping my brush a hundred times while trying to untangle it."

Hammy frowned but didn't comment on what Andy said about her hands. "Mom used to cut our hair once a year, didn't she?"

Andy nodded, "Without mom making me cut it, I just let it keep growing."

Hammy sighed, "Come on then, but don't get mad at me if it looks terrible when I get done with it."

Andy sat on the floor of Hammy's bathroom as Hammy cut a few feet of Andy's hair off, "It's long enough to be in a ponytail still but short enough you can probably manage it."

Andy looked in the mirror shocked to see it was now just to her shoulders. She smiled, "I'll have to get used to how it looks but I'll definitely be able to handle it now. Thank you."

She glanced at the time, "Spada will have dinner ready soon, and you know it'll be crazy with everyone back on the ship."

Hammy nodded and laughed, "Yeah we better go get some before the others steal it all."

Andy and Hammy headed down the hall and entered the kitchen. Andy spotted Stinger and Kiba sitting next to each other so she sat across from them. "You glad to be back on your feet?" She asked Kiba, "You weren't working out again, were you?"

Kiba tried not to laugh. "No… I was helping Stinger plan the mission."

Andy glared at them but didn't respond to that. Hammy sat next to her, "Hammy this is Kiba, Kiba, this is my sister Hammy."

Kiba exchanged a look with Stinger before responding. "Nice to meet you Hammy."

"You too," she smiled.

Andy looked over at Stinger, "What do you think of my hair?" She knew he probably hadn't noticed it yet.

His eyes widened. "You cut it...I like it."

"Really?" She wondered. "And technically Hammy cut it."

He grinned and kissed her hand. "Yes really."

Andy chuckled, "At least now you won't have to hear me cursing at it every time I brush it."

Stinger laughed.

Kiba smiled, but kept stealing glances at Hammy.

Andy looked at Hammy, "Anything big happening at home?"

Hammy shook her head, "We got a few new teachers so I'm back to the normal amount of classes. Naomi is one of the head medics now. Niko met a girl from one of the neighboring planets and he's engaged now."

"That's good. And I knew Naomi would do great."

"She did have you as a teacher, so of course she would," Hammy reminded.

Kiba nudged Stinger. "Think I'm going to bow out."

Stinger's eyes narrowed.

Kiba shook his head. "Feeling tired. I'll be ready for the briefing though." He looked at Hammy. "It was nice meeting you. Andy, I'm heading back to the infirmary."

He almost ran out the door.

Hammy and Andy exchanged a look before Andy looked at Stinger, "Is he ok?"

Stinger chuckled. "Said he was tired, but I think he's embarrassed."

"Why?" Hammy looked at them confused.

Andy just shrugged.

Stinger grinned. "He wanted a date. I don't think he was expecting you to actually show up."

Hammy glanced at him, "Wait, he wanted to date me?"

Andy chuckled, "Couldn't have me so going for my sister?"

Stinger tried not to laugh. "I just said that your sister was the only other girl on the team."

"You mean the only single girl?" Hammy looked at him, "Cause I'm pretty sure Raptor is also a girl on the team."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Don't think he's into androids. But judging by how fast he ran, he might not be ready for a relationship with anyone."

Andy frowned, "He's nice so I wouldn't think it's a bad idea... but he has so much to deal with." She remembered back to his nightmares.

Hammy sighed, "Well he is cute, but I just met him so I'm not saying yes to a date yet."

"He's really nice once you get to know him," Andy promised, "He's been through a lot though."

Kiba mentally kicked himself as he lay on the bed. What had he been thinking anyway? Just because Andy had accepted his past didn't mean her sister would. Yet he'd nearly made a fool of himself. Stinger had no doubt knew exactly why he'd taken off. He put his arm over his eyes, but didn't attempt to close them. He looked over as the door slid open.

Andy smiled, "How are you?" She approached and scanned him over.

"Feeling like an idiot." He gave her a chagrined smile. "Wasn't lying about the headache, though it could just be me stressing myself. That and since I can't tire myself out…"

"I could just drug you. It would help the headache, put you to sleep, and stop you from stressing." Andy suggested.

Kiba nodded quietly. "Stinger told you, didn't he?"

"What? That you are interested in Hammy?"

Kiba's face reddened. "She must think I'm a cad. I don't know what I was thinking…"

"She literally just met you. Give it time and see where it goes. Get to know her and be her friend first," Andy told him. She smirked, "If it helps, she thinks you are cute."

He looked at her in disbelief. "She said that?"

Andy nodded as she got medicine from the cabinet.

"She won't when she learns my past." His voice was sad. "She won't want to be anywhere near me."

"She's a nicer person than I am, I don't think you have anything to worry about." She filled a syringe, "Remember I told you everyone on this ship will probably want to be your friend, her included. Even if you don't end up getting a date, you have thirteen friends here that care about you."

"You think so? I'm not the easiest person to be with. And no one is nicer than you."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure there's plenty of people nicer than me. And yeah, I mean not everyone here has a past like yours, but no one here had a perfect past. Friend wise, you'll be great. Date wise, Hammy won't care about your past, just don't try keeping it from her. I can't promise she'll like you, her choice of love interests always surprises me but I know you have a chance."

Kiba chuckled. "I guess I can live with that."

Andy motioned to the syringe in her hand, "Ready?"

Kiba nodded, holding his arm out.

She found a good spot and injected it, "Don't worry, I'll come back and help out if you have a nightmare again."

He gave her a sleepy smile, then closed his eyes.

Andy entered the infirmary and smiled seeing Kiba sleeping peacefully. She scanned him over again before talking quiet enough she wouldn't scare him. "Kiba? It's almost time for the briefing."

He frowned, not opening his eyes.

"Come on, time to wake up," she spoke a little louder.

He slowly blinked and gave a yawn. He smiled as his eyes focused on her. "I haven't slept like that in years."

"Well they are really good drugs," Andy smirked. "Helping with your nightmare the other night might have helped too."

"Think you might be right." He sat up and stretched. "The briefing started yet?"

"We have a few more minutes. I figured I'd try to get you there on time."

Kiba chuckled as he stood. "Lead the way."

Andy headed down to the bridge. She noticed Shishi in the seat next to Kotaro so she picked the cat up and took the seat. Shishi settled into Andy's lap looking just a little disgruntled at being moved.

Kiba was discussing something with Stinger who was shaking his head. The scorpion didn't look happy and she tensed slightly.

Kiba made a motion toward one of the maps with a scowl. With a final whispered statement, the Rider sat down next to Champ.

Stinger took a deep breath. Then he turned to face them.

"We located Kojan. He's on Geryon." The commander scowled before continuing. "He appears to be alone in the command post there."

"So what's our plan?" Andy wondered.

"I assume this is a trap. But I think we have to spring it. Our guest had another suggestion but I vetoed it."

"Just to know where we are, how do you plan to spring the trap and what was his alternative?" Andy questioned.

"His bright idea is to walk in the front door and challenge him while a few of you sneak around looking for the gun." Kiba's voice was vibrating with anger. "My idea was using my invisibility to sneak in and destroy the gun before going after Kojan."

Andy shook her head, "Look, why don't we do both? Three of us can sneak in, invisible, and find the gun faster. The rest of the team can waltz in and attack once we make sure it really is only Kojan and that he doesn't have any other tricks up his sleeve."

Stinger sighed. "Fine. Choose who's going. You leave in twenty."

"Hammy, Kiba and I are the only ones who have invisibility," Andy nodded. "The only problem is landing voyagers where he won't see."

Kiba spoke up. "I have a fix for that. I have a way to get there without a voyager."

"Ok, go get ready quickly and meet back here." Andy went and grabbed her bag and made sure she had weapons on her.

She reentered the bridge, having made a clone of herself. "I can update you faster this way, and it won't make noise for us talking through the comms." Andy told Stinger.

He nodded. "Be careful."

"You know I always try to," she smiled and pulled him in for a kiss. The clone sat down and Shishi cuddled right back into her lap.

Kiba glanced at her and Hammy. "Ready? You might want to hold on to me."

Andy raised an eyebrow but put her hand on his arm. Hammy followed suit, "Ready."

Kiba grinned and waved a hand. A wavy grey wall appeared in front of them.

"We just walk through it?" Hammy looked confused.

"Just walk through. Keep close to me though, don't want you getting lost."

Andy shook her head, "Let's go then."

He walked through, the women following close behind.

They emerged inside what appeared to be a deserted building.

"You're sure this is the right place?" Andy asked.

"Matches the photos." Kiba replied as he reached for his phone. "You two might want to do your thing."

He loaded what appeared to be a card into the device and pressed a button. He suddenly vanished in front of their eyes.

Hammy and Andy both went invisible too.

"I can try doing the memory transfer thing and keep track of where each of us has checked," Andy spoke up.

"Memory transfer?" Hammy was confused.

"New jutsu," Andy showed her a quick memory to know what it felt like.

"Do it." Kiba's voice was soft. "But hurry. We need to get looking."

Andy nodded before she remembered they couldn't see her anyway. She showed them which way she was heading and then relayed messages of where the other two decided to go.

The sisters both ended up in multiple empty rooms, some old furniture and rubble but no guns or people.

Kiba opened a door and looked inside. On a pedestal lay the control gun. He approached it slowly before suddenly being zapped by an electric shock. His invisibility shorted out as he collapsed to the ground. The last thing he heard was Kojan's laughter.

Andy had been keeping up with the other two so she panicked when she couldn't get into Kiba's mind. She informed Hammy so they could meet up.

The clone looked up at Stinger, "I can't find Kiba. We are looking for him now."

Stinger cursed. "Time to go. We have to rescue a wayward guest." The rest of Kyurangers saluted and ran for their Voyagers.

Andy's clone followed along and got into her voyager with Shishi.

Andy and Hammy found each other quickly. "I think he went that way," Andy showed Hammy the way in her mind, still keeping up her invisibility.

Kiba woke with a groan. He blinked his eyes open to find himself on a gallows. He took a deep breath as Kojan spoke.

"You're awake? Good. I don't know who you are but you've caused me a lot of trouble. So I'm going to ask you one question. Your answer determines how fast you die."

Kiba snorted. "Always been bad at pop quizzes."

The nearest indaver punched him in the chest, leaving him gasping.

Kojan watched him. "Where are the Kyurangers?"

Kiba coughed. "Who?"

Kojan's lips curled in a snarl. "The Kyurangers! The ones you were with the last time we met."

Kiba smirked. "Oh them. Probably in another galaxy by now. I left after we had a fight."

Kojan glared. "I don't believe you." He nodded to the indaver who had punched the Rider.

Kiba struggled as a rope was tightened around his neck. He tried to take a breath, but his air supply was cut off and he frantically clawed at the rope.

After a few seconds, it loosened.

Kojan smiled. "Let's try the question again shall we?"

Andy tried finding Kiba again. She reached in his mind and found he was in danger. She tried to give him a sign of reassurance before she ran down through more rooms searching for him.

Finally, Hammy made a small noise getting Andy's attention. She glanced into the room noticing just a few indavers and Kojan watching Kiba.

"I told you I don't know where they are." Kiba defiantly glared at Kojan.

Kojan frowned. "I'm getting tired of this." He nodded to the indavers. "If you won't tell me, I have no use for you."

The indaver holding the rope quickly tightened it, tying it around a spot in the wall.

Kiba's face started to redden as he clawed at the rope. His movements were uncoordinated, his lips turning blue as the women watched.

Andy's clone called Stinger on the comm, "Hammy and I are going to have to confront Kojan to try to save Kiba."

Andy threw out a handful of shuriken, multiple hitting the indavers, and one slicing into the rope holding Kiba up.

Kiba fell bonelessly to the ground unmoving as Kojan drew the control gun. "Show yourselves!"

Andy gave a thought out to Hammy, trying to get her to stay invisible and check on Kiba.

Andy released the jutsu coming fully into Kojan's view.

Hammy rushed over to Kiba trying to loosen the rope around his neck.

"So it's you." Kojan smirked. "I figured he was lying."

Andy growled, "We are going to stop you."

"Oh really? I do believe I've stopped you instead. Wonder what would happen if I shot this at you?" He lovingly caressed the control gun.

"My team will still find a way to stop you, you creep."

"Promises, promises." He was aiming the gun at her when there was an explosion above their heads and the ceiling crashed down.

Andy rushed forward hoping to get the gun from Kojan. She dodged debris as she charged at him.

Kojan snarled, but was swaying. He fell to one knee, dropping the gun as he tried to remain conscious.

Andy kicked at Kojan before reaching for the gun.

Hammy moved rubble off of her. She had bent over Kiba trying to protect him from the damage. She looked up wondering what the team was planning.

Stinger suddenly appeared next to Andy, taking the gun from her and smashing it on the floor. He smiled relieved. "I'll take care of him."

Andy nodded and jumped up across the debris to get to her sister and Kiba.

"Is he ok?" Andy asked.

"He's breathing and has a heartbeat," Hammy informed. "I can't tell much else."

Andy nodded and scanned him over noticing bruising around his neck. She tried to focus on healing it as well as making sure his airway was all the way open.

Stinger snapped cuffs on Kojan. Then he looked at Andy. "Idiot okay?"

"He should be, but we have to see when he wakes up. Lack of oxygen can cause multiple problems. Outside of that he's fine."

Stinger nodded. "Let's get back to the ship then." He dragged Kojan out the door.

Andy and Hammy carried Kiba out to her voyager. The clone disappeared, and they all squeezed in. Shishi sat on the control panel until Andy ordered, "Go heal up Kiba."

When they got to the ship Andy made sure Kiba was safely back in the infirmary before going to Stinger. "I'm not trying to sound like a murderer here but can't we just kill Kojan? Why did you just arrest him?"

Stinger sighed. "Tsurugi's orders. He wants to show the universe Jark Matter is finished once and for all. I argued but he over ruled me."

"I can't see this ending well..."

Stinger nodded. "Let's hope you're wrong."

She pulled Stinger in for a hug, resting her head on his chest. "I hope I'm wrong. I hope this goes how Tsurugi wants and Jark Matter is destroyed. Then you and I can go relax somewhere nice. Maybe a beach?"

Stinger grinned. "My thoughts exactly. How is our wayward friend doing?"

"Still out but he should be waking any time now. Raptor will call me then or if something changes."

Stinger shook his head. "He really does attract trouble doesn't he?"

Andy chuckled, "That's fine. Everyone here seems to." She smiled, "But, I had Hammy go try to get the rope loosened on Kiba while I was planning to just take on Kojan myself, so I can't say much."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "What am I going to do with you?"

She laughed, "Hey, I learned from the best Mr. Run into every fight, most often without a plan."

He chuckled wryly. "I guess I can't say much either." He kissed her softly.

She smiled as he pulled away, "I love you, even if you can be a danger to yourself."

He grinned. "I love you too. And I've gotten better." He looked at her. "You should get some sleep."

"You have gotten better and I'm really proud of you for that." She then shrugged, "My clone didn't take too much energy... and my wounds from the last battle are pretty much healed at this point." She paused, "I guess I was using quite a bit of energy trying to relay locations..." She shook her head, "I'll be fine. Is there anything you need me to do?"

He shook his head. "We're scheduled to meet a prison ship in five hours. Other than that nothing."

"Prison ship? Are we not delivering Kojan to Tsurugi ourselves?"

"Tsurugi's on board. Said it would be safer this way in case any planets need us."

Andy shook her head, "I guess I will go nap. I have a feeling this is going to go bad very fast so I should try to be at my best."

His lips quirked. "Thought you were an optimist?"

"Most of the time. Sometimes though situations seem sketchy or I just get bad vibes..."

Stinger smiled. "Relax. Let's not invite trouble okay? Now go nap."

"I will, but why are you being so optimistic? Aren't you normally the one worried like I am right now?"

Stinger shrugged. "Maybe the fact we actually caught the bastard without anyone being killed or controlled has shorted out my pessimism." He chuckled at her look. "Maybe we both need to sleep."

She nodded, "If you nap with me maybe I'll be able to sleep... The last time I felt a vibe like this was the day Jark Matter came to my planet, starting the attack in which my parents died and Hammy left. But maybe I'm just paranoid, and all the head injuries I've received over the past few years has screwed me up..."

Stinger shook his head. "I trust your instincts. If you think something's going to go wrong, then it probably will. Let's sleep while we can."

He led her to their room. She laid down and cuddled against him, staring at the ceiling. Eventually though, sleep finally came to her.

She wasn't asleep long though when she got a call from Raptor that Kiba was semiconscious. Andy sighed and pushed herself off the bed, heading to the infirmary.

She looked down at her friend, "Kiba? Are you awake?"

He blinked his eyes which were unfocused and tried to speak.

"How are you feeling?" Andy questioned.

"What... happened?" His voice was raspy, but his eyes finally focused on her. He tried to sit up.

"Kojan tried to hang you."

He winced. "No wonder my throat hurts. Did we get the bastard?"

"Tsurugi insisted we bring him in alive... We are meeting up with him soon to pass Kojan off."

"Tsurugi's an idiot. Kojan should have been dealt with."

Kiba finally pushed himself up, but swayed dizzily. "Give me five minutes with Kojan."

"Believe me, I would if I could. Stinger knows I wanted to just take Kojan out but he's insisting on following orders."

"Stinger? Follow orders? Have you checked him for head injuries?"

Andy chuckled, "He seems fine. But I have a bad feeling this is going to go wrong somehow."

"You and me both…" He was fighting to stay conscious, one hand massaging his throat gently. "I'd really like to string Kojan up by his balls."

Andy smirked, "I'd like to see that." She moved closer and held her hands up by his neck, "This should help a little bit." She focused for a few moments trying to heal up more of the bruising.

He nodded, eyes closing as he passed out.

Andy made sure he was settled back on the bed comfortably before healing him a bit more. She then headed back out of the infirmary.

Raptor called the team to the bridge. Since Kojan had been taken down, most of the rangers went back home.

Champ, Stinger, Andy, and Kiba entered to find Raptor looking panicked.

"We just got a message with big news... Kojan's escaped," Raptor informed.

Kiba growled. "Told you we should have killed him."

"Let's not do the told-you-so's. We need to come up with a plan," Andy sighed.

Raptor spoke again, "While I was waiting for you all, I did a scan for the voyagers. Almost everyone is still flying or have landed where they were planning to go. However, the Chameleon voyager has landed on a completely different planet and is not responding."

Andy's heart sank, "How far is it?"

"About a day to get there."

"Even if you want to go somewhere else to look for Kojan, I'm going to look for Hammy."

Stinger nodded. "I expected that. You're not going alone though."

Kiba looked at them. "I'll go."

"What is your plan?" Andy looked at Stinger.

"Get ahold of Tsurugi. Find out locations Kojan might use for hiding. Then hopefully find him and this time he's ending like Armage. Don't care if Tsurugi doesn't like it."

Andy looked at Kiba, "How does your portal thing work? Can we use it or should we take the voyager?"

Kiba thought for a minute. "We'd get to the planet in seconds."

Andy nodded, "Be ready in ten minutes." She went and grabbed her bag before coming back to the bridge. She was pacing back and forth when Kiba came back in.

"Ready? Remember to stay close." Kiba waved a hand and the grey wall appeared.

Andy nodded before quickly kissing Stinger, "Stay safe, love. I'm leaving Shishi here for you as extra backup."

Stinger smiled. "You two be careful. No telling what Hammy's gotten into."

Andy nodded before grabbing onto Kiba's arm. "Ready."

Kiba gave a wave before disappearing into the grey haze.

They emerged onto the planet directly in front of the voyager.

Andy looked at it, noticing it almost looked like it had crashed. She opened it up and looked around but there was no sign of her sister.

"She's not here..." Andy jumped down.

"Let's walk around. Maybe she's in the town."

Andy nodded giving a final glance at the voyager. "I hope she's ok..."

Kiba squeezed her shoulder. "Me too. But she can take care of herself right?"

"Yeah, she's a highly trained ninja... but so were my parents and brother and it didn't stop them from being killed." She shook her head, "Sorry, I'll try to be positive."

Kiba smiled. "It's natural to be worried. I envy you guys. You have Hammy and the rest of the Kyurangers. A real family."

"You're one of us too," Andy assured, "even if you don't have a seiza blaster and kyutama." She sighed as she walked ahead, "I'm glad I have them. I just miss my blood family, you know? I miss home a bit but it's so hard to be there without my parents or Avery. I don't think I've been home in almost two years..." She frowned, "Yeah I don't know if I can handle going back. Unless Hammy's done something with it, I also have boxes of baby supplies in my room. Maybe I'll just go burn it all for therapy." She chuckled sadly. "Anyway, where do you think Kojan went?"

Kiba shrugged. "If I were him, I'd find a planet loyal to me and bide my time. Gather my forces."

He sighed. "You at least have a home to go back to. And you have your memories. I met my fathers for the first time when I almost killed them. I haven't got a home to miss."

"Consider the Orion your home. At least a few of the rangers do. Stinger still has a planet but the only thing there are giant killer scorpions," she smirked. "You are going to make a lot of good memories to look back on. You might have started out rough but things will get better."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "So what, you've adopted me like your stray lion?" He laughed. "I nearly freaked when she showed up that big."

"I told you to watch out for her," she chuckled. "Stinger kind of adopted Kotaro as a brother. Well, I think Kotaro was probably pretty insistent. You could be our brother too," she smiled over at him.

He stopped walking and turned away. His shoulders began to shake.

She stopped when she noticed him, she stepped over and put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?"

"No. You said the nicest thing I've ever been told." He was brushing away tears.

"Well I mean every word of it." She joked, trying to get him to smile, "You can be my brother even if you don't end up with Hammy."

He chuckled. "She hasn't even agreed to date me yet. But thank you. I mean it." He wiped his face. "Though I must look like an idiot doing this."

She shook her head, "Not at all. We better go find Hammy though because if she's in danger and we don't save her she won't be able to agree to a date."

"Right." Kiba looked around the deserted town. "Are you getting a bad feeling about this?"

She froze as she realized there wasn't anyone nearby, "I guess I got too distracted in our talking. Isn't there supposed to be people on this planet?"

Kiba nodded slowly and put his hand in his jacket.

"Should we check in case she ended up in one of these buildings or keep going ahead?"

"Let's check the buildings. If things go bad, we have cover to hide behind."

"Together for safety or split up to cover ground faster?"

Kiba frowned. "Normally I'd say split up but my gut is telling me we better stay together."

They went through a few buildings, not finding anything. As soon as they entered the next one Andy stopped and whispered, "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. And I don't like it. I'm going to henshin." A few seconds later he stood encased in gold and white armor. "Let's see what's going on."

Andy nodded before pulling out her kyutama and morphing. Once she was covered in turquoise she agreed, "Let's go."

They crept through the building, finding nothing. Kiba sighed, undoing his transformation. "Maybe we're just paranoid."

She frowned in her helmet, "Maybe..." She exited the building before entering the next, "If it's true though the paranoia just gets worse with every building we enter."

"It wasn't paranoia." Kiba said quietly.

Andy turned quickly when she heard a noise. An army of indavers and a malistrate had entered in behind them. The malistrate aimed at Kiba but Andy rushed forward and blocked him, taking the hit. She winced but managed to stay on her feet.

"Andy!" Kiba yelled before growling at the malistrate. "You just made a big mistake." He reached inside his jacket and pulled out his phone.

"Where is my sister?!" Andy asked her voice laced with anger.

"Sister? Is she a Kyuranger because we do have one of those... I can take you to her," the malistrate laughed.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just give her back and we won't kill you." He went to henshin but an indaver slammed his weapon into his head and he dropped to his knees stunned.

Andy rushed to him and fought off the indavers. Soon though, she realized she couldn't take them all on along with the malistrate.

Kiba shook his head, finally managing to get to his feet. Standing back to back with Andy, he scoffed at the malistrate. "You just keep making mistakes don't you? But then Jark Matter doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the pack."

The malistrate was silent but shot at the pair.

Kiba grunted as the laser connected. He looked at his jacket, a smoking hole through the side of it. Then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed to the ground.

Andy knew she wasn't going to make it much longer with Kiba back down. She wasn't sure if the comm on her seiza blaster could reach the Orion with how far it was but she tried anyway, pressing the button before attacking another indaver, "Haven't found Hammy. Kiba's hurt and we are ambushed. I'm sorry... I love you Stinger." She ran at the malistrate and dodged a few of his shots, getting in just a couple good hits before he shot at her once more, hitting her in the chest. She fell forward, unmorphing as the world turned black.

Kiba regained consciousness, raising his head slowly to look around. His side burned and he tried to move his hand, finding himself bound to a scaffold. He yanked on the chains but couldn't move them at all. Pain flared from the movement and he groaned.

Hammy looked up at the noise, realizing Kiba was awake. "Good to see you're still alive."

Kiba glanced over. "I could say the same to you. You okay?"

"They shot my ship down and dragged me here. I don't think I have many serious injuries though," Hammy answered before looking at her sister. "She doesn't look good though."

Kiba scowled as he saw Andy. "Damn it. We need to get out of here. Any ideas?"

"I've been trying to find ways out of these chains since I woke up," she answered. "Any chance that you two weren't the only ones here?"

Kiba resumed pulling on his chains. "Sorry. The majority of us went home after Kojan's arrest. Then we got a call saying Kojan had escaped and you were missing. We had to split up. We were your rescue party." He growled, slamming his head into the scaffold angrily. Then he grimaced as his side began bleeding.

"Quit moving or you'll make it worse." Hammy ordered. "And the team will end up here eventually... this is where Kojan has been hiding."

"Perfect… we walked right into his trap." Kiba forced himself to stop moving. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths.

"I just hope we last until the team shows..." Hammy shook her head, "I'll be fine but I'm worried about Andy. And you."

"Don't worry about me. Just worry about her." He went silent, eyes still closed.

Hammy wasn't sure if Kiba was still conscious but she spoke anyway, "You're on our team now, right? And you're my sisters friend, so of course I'm going to worry about you." She kept moving, continuing her attempts at getting free.

"Just your sister's friend? Not yours?" Kiba's voice was soft.

Hammy sighed, "I've talked to you only a handful of times. I'm sure if I got to know you we could be friends but I don't know much about you at this point."

Kiba chuckled painfully. "Better off not knowing. I wish I could forget. But I can accept being acknowledged as a team mate." He opened his eyes. "What do you think they are planning to do with us? Bait or…?"

Hammy shook her head, "I don't even know how many times Andy and Stinger have been kidnapped but they've been used as bait, planned to be executed, or forced into healing the enemy. Everyone has different ideas so who knows." She gave a sad smile, "Andy said you've been through a lot but didn't tell me what happened. I'm not going to ask you to tell me about all that, but I'm sure there's more to you than your past. Do you have interests or hobbies?" She chuckled, "It's not like we have much to do here except talk."

"I like photography like one of my dads. I enjoy testing security systems. Think that's an offshoot of my other dad. Motorcycles. And helping people. The last one is kinda funny because I spent so much time hurting them." He glanced below him and grimaced at the blood puddle. "Not sure I'll be doing that anymore by the looks of things…"

Hammy sighed, "Even if I could get us down, I could maybe only stitch you up so you don't bleed out. Hopefully they arrive soon to get both of you to the infirmary."

Kiba shook his head. "Better Stinger doesn't come. Kojan has a serious beef with him. He'll probably end up next to us." His eyes closed suddenly and he sagged.

"Kiba?" Hammy looked over worried.

A while later Andy's eyes fluttered open. She felt around and realized she was tied up. She looked around and noticed Kiba hanging up too. She then looked to her other side and realized Hammy was there too. "Hey."

Hammy looked relieved. "Thank god! I was beginning to get really worried. How are you?"

"My armor took a lot of the damage, but I got hit multiple times," Andy admitted. "Sorry."

"Sorry for what? Trying to rescue me?"

"Failing to rescue you."

Hammy shook her head. "It's better than being abandoned."

"I just don't want to lose anyone else..." Andy winced as she tried to adjust.

"I know. You might not have a choice though." Hammy inclined her head toward Kiba. "He's not doing so well."

Andy focused her energy hoping to make a clone. Finally, one appeared. The clone moved over to Hammy and tried to untie her, "I don't think we can all make it out. Especially if he's out of it. You need to get to safety and call the others." She finally managed to get one of Hammy's hands free.

Hammy shook her head. "I can't leave you guys…" She helped the clone get the rest of the chains off. Climbing off the scaffold, she approached Andy.

"If you can get out of here and get the others the more likely it is for us all to survive," Andy said. The clone approached Kiba and started checking him over.

Hammy nodded, holding back tears. She cloaked herself and disappeared.

"Love you," Andy spoke hoping Hammy could still hear her.

"Andy?" Kiba's words were slurred but understandable. "You're okay?"

The clone looked up at him, still working on healing his injuries. "I'm alive. Hammy is going for back up."

"That's...good. Want to hear...funny?"

She smirked, "What's funny?"

"Your sister's ...interested." He tried to laugh but coughed instead.

Andy chuckled, "Were you two flirting while I was out?"

He managed a small smile. "No. But she wanted to know my hobbies." He forced his eyes open, losing the smile. "Right after she told me this is Kojan's hideout."

Andy frowned, "Then it's really good I sent her to safety." Her clone moved over to Andy and grabbed some supplies out of the bag before going back to Kiba. "I hope I'm not fixing you up for nothing. Sorry I couldn't get us all out. I probably should untie both of us now..."

Kiba took a deep breath. "Don't worry about it. I hope Kojan doesn't show up though, I can't kick his ass like this." He laid his head back weakly.

A burst of gunfire made his head jerk up. The clone in front of him suddenly disintegrated and Kojan's voice spoke up. "Now now. I could have killed you. Have some respect."

Kiba glared at the General as he approached the scaffold. "Respect? Really? That the best you have to complain about?" The Rider chuckled without humor. "Want respect? Unchain me. I'll _respectfully _kick your ass."

Kojan smiled viciously, then pressed the barrel of his weapon into Kiba's stomach. Looking the rider square in the eyes, he fired.

Kiba let out a strangled cry, his face turning white before he slumped as far as the chains allowed.

"Stop. I was the one who made the clone, so just take it out on me instead," Andy pleaded hoping that her team would get there soon and that Kiba would somehow survive.

"Andy...no..." Kiba's voice was weak and pain filled.

Kojan laughed and moved over to Andy. "I fully intend to. But not until your commander can watch." He motioned to a man in a lab coat. "Make sure he stays awake. I don't care how."

"How do you plan to make him watch?" Andy asked a mix between curiosity and trying to get information.

Kojan gave her a twisted smile. "By letting your sister get a message to him of course. Once he's in orbit, I'll open a video transmission. And then he can watch as you both die slowly and painfully." He left the room as the lab coat plunged a needle into Kiba's arm.

Kiba screamed, eyes shooting open as he strained against the chains.

Andy fought hard against the chains hoping she'd find a way to break free. She considered making another clone but worried what the lab coat would do to Kiba if she did.

The lab coat cocked his head. "Perfect specimen. General Kojan is a wonderful patron. I finally get to test this."

"What are you doing to him?" Andy growled.

"Simple really. I created a poison that only progresses when the specimen begins to lose consciousness. As long as he remains conscious, the poison is dormant. When he begins to fade, the poison spreads."

"Kiba, are you ok?" She worried.

"Peachy." He panted heavily. "It's a catch-22 you know?"

The lab coat nodded. "My research is how long you can hold out, not odds of survival."

Kiba snorted. "Of course. Because that requires _not_ being an asshole."

Andy wanted to say something comforting or positive but she was starting to lose hope. At least Stinger and Hammy were safe but she couldn't figure out how to rescue Kiba.

Kiba hung his head wearily as the lab coat left. "Karma's a bitch. And she finally called my number."

"Shocker caused you to do those things. You have no reason for karma to be after you. You don't deserve this..." Andy sighed. "Even Hammy going has become part of Kojan's plan. What can we do at this point?"

Kiba shook his head. "I've killed eleven Riders. I almost killed both my fathers. I helped Shocker create misery for countless millions. If that's not a reason for karma, then nothing is." He turned his head slowly to look at her. "I have faith that Stinger and the others will rescue you. But you do realize why lab coat chose me right? What the catch 22 of his research is?" He trembled as he waited for her to answer.

Andy thought over his words for a moment before shaking her head, "What?"

"The blood loss, Andy. Kojan didn't shoot me just cause I mouthed off. It's to make the poison work. Blood loss will force me to lose consciousness sooner or later. Then the poison will finish me off."

Andy shook her head, "If we could just get you to the ship, we could do a transfusion. Raptor and I can formulate antidotes easily there too."

Kiba gave her a sad smile. "You would have to take out Kojan. After you got free from here first."

He shook his head. "You need to focus on getting yourself free and keep him away from Stinger. No doubt I'm just a test run."

He coughed violently, blood spattering the scaffold's floor. When he stopped, he took a breath. "Stinger's his objective."

Andy stayed quiet for a couple minutes before finally speaking up, "Do you think you could walk if you were unchained?"

Kiba grimaced. "Maybe a few feet. Not much more than that. Not with two holes in me." His eyes were drooping. His head began to fall forward.

"Stay awake," Andy ordered. She shook her head, "I have a crazy plan."

Kiba tried to chuckle, but bit back a cry and arched his back as the poison flared. He tried to control his breathing before asking "Crazy plans are usually the ones that work."

"I just hope I have enough energy for this to work long enough..." She focused hard, and one by one four clones stood in front of her. Two moved to untie Kiba and the other two moved to untie Andy.

"Kojan's going to have a fit…" Kiba's laugh was weak.

The two clones near Kiba took hold of him. "We're getting you back to where Hammy is. They'll be able to find you quicker that way."

Andy rubbed her wrists before handing the other two clones kunai.

Kiba watched her suspiciously. "You better be coming with me."

"Don't worry," Andy smiled at him. "I'll be right behind."

Her and two of her clones ran into the hallway and disappeared.

"Come on," the two clones said, one on each side of him to keep him up.

Kiba glared. "And leave you to go after Kojan alone?! You can't be serious."

One clone looked at him, "I know what I'm doing, Kiba. I don't have the energy to argue with you. Just please try to get to safety."

Kiba shook his head. "You don't have the energy to keep me walking. I'm coming after you, with or without your help."

He slowly headed towards the hallway, leaving a blood trail behind him. As he got to the doorway, he leaned on it with a shaking arm.

The same clone growled, "I'm just trying to help you and keep you alive!" She grabbed onto his arm, "At least let me stitch you up if you are going to insist on staying."

"Fine. Because I'm not letting you do this without backup. I'm more afraid of Stinger's wrath than some two bit general or stupid poison." He slid down the wall slowly.

"I have backup... I have two clones for backup." The one said grabbing the bag that real Andy left. She started stitching Kiba up while the other tried to fight the effects of the poison.

Andy and her two clones made their way down the hall, glancing into each room. Eventually she found her kyutama and seiza blaster and she quickly morphed, feeling a little bit stronger.

A couple rooms later, she found the scientist by himself. She snuck up on him quickly slicing his throat with a kunai. One of the clones stayed back reading through his paperwork looking for clues to create a quicker antidote. Once the clone stitching up Kiba was finished with that task, she pulled out a notebook and started scribbling notes on it. She finished up and stuck it in Kiba's pocket, "Make sure Raptor gets that whenever you get back to the ship." The clone who was reading research disappeared, as did the one who was taking notes. The other clone with Kiba kept trying to heal him and combat the poison.

Eventually the real Andy and the clone she had left found the room Kojan was in, surrounded by indavers.

Kiba took a shaky breath. "Stinger told me it uses a lot of energy to have multiple clones. You should get rid of this one. I can manage now." He stopped the clone before it could speak. "You are seriously hurt. You need all the energy you can get. I will find you. DO NOT go after Kojan till I get there." He pushed himself to his feet and headed down the hallway.

She shook her head before releasing that clone making it disappear.

The real Andy and the clone with her was already in the process of charging into the room to fight Kojan.

Kiba swore as he got closer to the room and heard fighting. "Now I know why Stinger's blood pressure is so high," he thought to himself. Pausing, he henshined. Then he ran in, firing his gun.

He shot a indaver sneaking behind Andy's back. "What did I say?"

"I was already on my way into the room. I would have told you if you would have let my clone speak."

"Now it's my fault?!" He shot several more indavers, glimpsing Kojan apparently unfazed sitting in a padded chair. "Why does he look so smug anyway?"

"You're as bad as Stinger! I wanted to get you to safety is that such a bad thing?!" Andy spoke frustrated as she sliced through a few more indavers.

"When it involves you possibly getting killed and leaving me to face said commander, yes it is."

He loaded a card into his phone, which resulted in a hail of bullets hitting a group of approaching indavers.

"If I decide to run off on my own, it wouldn't be your fault. Yeah Stinger would be upset but I'd hope he'd deal with it. I was just hoping to get you to safety and maybe even take Kojan out to stop him from going after Stinger."

Kiba rolled his eyes under his helmet. "What kind of teammate would I be if I left you alone with a psychopath who wants to torture you to death slowly?"

"If it was up to me, you'd be on your way to safety. But I couldn't just sedate you and carry you off because of the poison," Andy admitted.

"I know." Kiba grimaced as the fighting began to take its toll. "But I'm here and we're leaving together. In fact, I think now would be a good time."

She glanced at Kojan, "I doubt he'd let us leave that easily."

Kiba nodded, his transformation suddenly canceling as he collapsed to his knees. He stared at Kojan who was laughing.

Andy's clone finished the indavers off before going to Kiba and kneeling to check on him. Andy turned to Kojan, "You won't be laughing when I rip your head off your body."

Kojan shook a finger at her. "Stand down or he dies right now."

Andy stood between Kojan and Kiba, "You'll have to go through me first."

Kojan laughed again, waving a remote at her. "All I have to do is press a button. You see I had modifications done to that poison. If it hadn't activated in an hour, then I could choose to remotely do it. Now surrender."

A battalion of indavers suddenly appeared from the hallway, surrounding them.

Andy's clone growled and whispered to Kiba in frustration, "If you left, you could be fine and I could have taken him out."

Andy sighed and released her clone. She then unmorphed and tried a final offer. "Don't hurt him. Let him go and you can do whatever you want to me."

"Andy no!" Kiba shouted as Kojan smiled.

"A touching plea. But one I have to decline. By the way this remote has a long distance so any escape plan you had wouldn't have worked. Take her back to the main room."

"Wait! At this point you just really want to hurt our commander, right?" Andy spoke up to Kojan. "You don't need him for that."

Kojan smirked. "No I don't. But his death will cause you pain. So he will be placed where you can watch, but be unable to stop it. Then your commander can watch you die."

He motioned to the indavers who yanked Kiba to his feet. Kojan then smiled at Andy and pressed the button.

Andy's eyes widened as she watched the scene. Unless her team crashed through the ceiling again, she didn't see how either of them would make it out alive. Tears welled in her eyes but she tried to push her emotions away to prevent Kojan that satisfaction.

Kiba wanted to scream but couldn't. He felt the poison explode into his bloodstream and he writhed, the guards tightly gripping his arms. His legs collapsed as the guards dragged him out of the room.

"The poison is quite fast you know. But there are ways to slow it. And I will use every one of them if you attempt to escape or clone yourself again." Kojan motioned for the guards to take her away.

When Andy saw Kiba again she whispered, "I'm so sorry." The indavers tied her back up where she had come from before. She stared blankly at the floor, wishing for a miracle. Maybe her kyutama could heal Kiba if she knew how to get it to cooperate. She still had no clue how she managed to bring Stinger back to life twice with it. She kept staring, her mind racing a ton of places but her body was almost numb.

Kiba heard Andy's voice and wanted to tell her it wasn't her fault, but couldn't get the words out. Seconds later, he lost consciousness completely.

Suddenly there was the sound of laser fire outside the room.

Between her exhaustion, pain, and trying to avoid watching Kiba die, Andy was so out of it she didn't even hear the commotion.

"Beautiful?" Stinger's voice was soft, his hands gently untying her wrists.

She finally looked up, registering sound, but her mind still didn't register the events happening around her so her eyes were unfocused.

"Andy! Talk to me please…" Stinger patted her cheek.

She paused, eyes finally settling on him. She spoke so softly he could barely hear, "Stinger?"

"I'm here beautiful. Sorry I didn't get here sooner." Stinger carefully lifted her off the scaffold.

Her mind fought to remember important details, "Notebook in Kiba's pocket... notes on the poison..." She froze, eyes darting around, "Is he...?"

Stinger shook his head. "He's holding on. I don't know how but he is."

She nodded, the exhaustion catching up to her. "Kojan?"

Stinger smiled coldly. "Dead. I killed him myself. Let's get you back to the ship."

"One last question... is Hammy ok?"

"Hammy is fine. Scared to death for you though."

"I'm fine..." she swayed slightly.

Stinger snorted. "Isn't that my line?" He picked her up bridal style and headed for his voyager.

Andy rested her head against him, soon falling asleep.

When they arrived, Stinger took her to the infirmary. Laying her down, he moved to allow Raptor to examine her.

Raptor scanned her over, "Multiple shots taken, though it looks like her armor protected her from some of it. Her heart rate is low but not dangerous. I'm surprised she was even conscious when you found her..."

He sighed. "She was practically catatonic. She roused for a few minutes but then she was out. Will she be okay?"

"She's showing the usual signs of over using her energy. She'll probably be asleep for a long while and her wounds will heal. Hopefully she'll be fine when she does wake."

Stinger looked across the room where Kiba lay still. "She said there was a notebook in his pocket with information on poison?"

Raptor nodded, "I found it. I'm surprised he is alive after what they put in him. He's been given an antidote and I've treated his wounds. It looked like Andy had already been stitching and bandaging some of it. But he still is in really bad condition. It could go either way at this point."

Stinger cursed silently. If only he could kill Kojan more than once… But he didn't voice his anger. "I'm going to sit with her if it's okay."

Raptor nodded, "Just give me a few minutes to clean her wounds up and then you can sit here all you want."

He moved to Kiba's bed and stood watching the machines. He was so fixated that Raptor had to call his name twice before he responded.

"What did you say?"

"You can sit by her now if you want. I'm going to update Hammy."

He nodded slowly, drawing a chair up to her bed. Taking one of her hands, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Andy's breathing quickened as she bolted up into a sitting position. Her eyes scanned the room as she tried to remember what happened. She slightly jumped in surprise when she heard Stinger's voice next to her.

"It's alright beautiful. You're safe on the Orion. How are you feeling?"

She looked at him confused. She focused on herself for a few moments before answering, "My chest hurts... but I think I'm ok... What happened?"

"We tracked Kojan to the planet Hammy crashed on. We found her near hysterical saying you had forced her to leave you and Kiba behind. We fought our way into his headquarters and found you catatonic and Kiba nearly dead. I got you to respond, but you weren't really there. So I got you both here as fast as possible. That was a day ago."

She fought with her brain trying to piece things together. Specks of memories came through but everything looked so distant. "I remember making a clone to get Hammy out. I made four more trying to get Kiba out but he refused to leave. I went to take on Kojan but... something about him threatening Kiba made me stop...?"

Stinger rubbed her back gently. "When I got you to respond you mentioned Kiba had a notebook in his pocket with information on some kind of poison? Was this what Kojan threatened?"

Andy went pale and her breathing quickened as she remembered a bit more of what happened, "He was poisoned..." Her eyes widened with panic as she looked over at Kiba, "Is he alive?! He can't go to sleep... can't sleep... the poison..." She started sobbing as she remembered more and more, seeing the pain that had been on his face and the helplessness she felt.

Stinger wrapped his arms around her. "Shhh. Raptor was able to make an antidote. He's still severely injured, but the poison is not a factor anymore."

She struggled to slow her breathing, "The poison speeds up when he's unconscious. Kojan shot him too so the blood loss... I tried to free him. I tried to make a deal with Kojan... but he wouldn't let him go. I wanted to get him safe and to take out Kojan so he couldn't come after you..." She wiped a few tears away but more were streaming down her face. "I felt so hopeless. Everything I did just ended up working in his favor..."

Stinger shook his head. "You did what you could. Kojan never intended you two to survive but here you both are and he's gone. He can't hurt any of us anymore. Kiba made his own decision to stay and help you. He knew what he was doing. He's still fighting, so you have to do the same. What are you always telling me? The past is the past, it's the future that matters?"

He drew back to look her in the eyes. "Promise me you'll let this go?"

Andy stared at him for a moment before giving a small smile, "I'll try. How are you? Was Tsurugi mad you killed Kojan?"

"After I told him what happened, he was upset that he didn't get to."

"And Hammy is ok?"

"Other than being terrified yeah she's fine."

Andy nodded before yawning, "I'm glad she's safe. I think I need to sleep some more though..."

Stinger kissed her. "Sleep well." He helped her lay down again, then left.

The next time Andy woke up, she noticed she was alone. Kiba was still there unconscious though in the bed next to hers. She struggled to push herself up and onto her feet. After pulling up a chair, she scanned him over, checking his wounds. His wounds from being shot were his worst injuries though overall he was in pretty bad shape. She held her hands up and they started glowing as she tried to focus on the damage the lasers left on his organs. She was so focused on him that she didn't even hear anyone enter the infirmary.

"Andy? Should you be up doing that?" Hammy touched her shoulder.

Andy chuckled weakly as she dropped her hands, "If I said yes would you believe me?"

Hammy gave a short laugh. "No. But I know you won't listen to me so I'm not even going to try. How is he?"

"Surprisingly better than I expected but not really good."

Hammy frowned. "Will he survive?" She looked closely at Andy. "How are you holding up?"

"I think he'll live," she answered. "Things got much worse once you left. I'm glad I got you out when I did."

"I wanted to stay. I could have helped."

"I just wanted you safe. I tried to get him out too..."

"Let me guess, stubborn like Stinger?"

Andy nodded, "I had been in better condition than him, but he still refused to leave me. I wanted to just sedate him but I couldn't with the poison..."

Hammy squeezed her shoulder. "Being a teammate. Just like Stinger was even before you married him."

"I know... I'm probably just as stubborn as both of them too, right?" She smiled softly.

Hammy laughed. "You're worse I think."

Andy shrugged, "I'm a medic, it's my job to care about the others first."

Hammy smiled. "I'm heading home later. If you're feeling up to it, see me off?"

Andy frowned, "Right... you were leaving again. I'll be there."

Hammy hugged her and quietly left.

Andy watched Kiba for a few moments before going back to healing him. She let her hands drop again though when she felt herself getting tired. She couldn't decide if she should stay here with him, go to her bed and sleep, or try to spend a bit more time with Hammy. She zoned out for a while with her indecision.

"Where…" Kiba's voice was faint.

Andy jumped at the noise and looked down at him, "Kiba?"

His eyes fluttered open slowly. "Hey… you okay?"

"I'm fine. We're safe."

He blinked. "Kojan?" He was struggling to stay awake.

"Stinger took him out. You have nothing to worry about."

He nodded, his eyes slipping closed as unconsciousness claimed him once again.

She sighed and forced herself up out of the chair. She headed to her room, Stinger wasn't there so she showered and changed. After that, she barely had enough energy to stand but she made her way to Hammy's room and knocked on the door.

"Andy? Are you okay?"

Andy blinked sleepily, "I wanted to spend time with you."

"You look like you're going to pass out." Hammy held her up and steered her to the bed. "I knew you shouldn't have been up."

"I might have been fine if I didn't push myself to go take a shower and change," Andy gave a tired smirk.

Hammy shook her head. "You should be resting."

"I can rest after you leave."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

Andy chuckled as she curled up on the bed, "I just miss you. Whenever you're here we have missions."

"Well maybe if you came home once in a while…"

"It's not that I don't want to... but between missions and all of the bad memories there, I've not been able to bring myself to go back," she stared at the blanket, avoiding Hammy's gaze.

Hammy sat down and hugged her. "I know but what about the good memories?"

"I know... I've just been trying to avoid my pain. Well, you know, outside of the trauma I already get staying on this team and getting kidnapped multiple times," Andy chuckled before yawning. "I'll see if maybe we have time now that Kojan's gone. Stinger and I will come visit, and maybe even bring Kiba to see our planet."

Hammy grinned. "I'd enjoy showing him around."

Andy looked up at her and raised an eyebrow, "Are you actually interested in him?" She tried to laugh but winced at the pain in her chest. When it finally settled she added, "I told him he's my brother now, whether he ends up with you or not."

Hammy blushed. "I'd like to get to know him better... Slowly though. Don't go making wedding plans."

Andy grinned, "Remember when we were younger and all of the girls were obsessed with planning weddings even if they had no idea who they wanted to marry? You came up with some crazy ideas if I remember correctly."

Hammy turned redder. "You weren't innocent there yourself."

Andy laughed, "Mine were ridiculous though like giant chocolate fountains and twenty-foot-long dress trains."

Hammy tried to catch her breath through her laughter. "And if I recall there were quite a few boys you liked. Mom asked you who you were going to choose and you said all of them!"

Andy giggled trying to ignore the pain it caused, "All except Niko who was the one that did want to marry me!"

Hammy wiped her eyes, calming down. "Don't let the bad memories overpower the good ones, Andaka. You have to move on just like the rest of us. Now walk me out?"

Andy nodded, "I'll come visit soon. I don't know what's going to happen now with Kojan gone though. I'd hope Jark Matter would dissolve, but obviously that didn't happen after Armage so it probably won't now." She pushed herself to her feet, swaying a bit as she tried to stay upright.

Hammy sat her back down. "On second thought, you should stay here and rest. I'm holding you to that though. I love you. Be careful."

Andy yawned and settled into the bed, "I love you too. Don't get in another whammy, Hammy." She chuckled. "If you see Stinger or Raptor tell them I'm in here."

Hammy stuck her tongue out. "Don't be a baka, 'Daka. And I will." She walked out.

Andy soon was fast asleep.

Stinger's voice roused her. "Andy? Andy wake up."

Andy blinked her eyes open, "Love?"

He sighed. "You're needed in the infirmary. It's Kiba."

Her eyes widened as she tried to push herself up, "What's wrong with him?" She stumbled toward the doorway in a rush.

Stinger steadied her. "Best Raptor can figure it's another of his nightmares. But it's wreaking havoc on his heart rate and she's worried he'll start bleeding again."

She nodded and walked as quickly as she could. She pulled up a chair next to Kiba, "Did you give him anything?" She looked at Raptor.

"Not yet."

"Give him a sedative then," Andy ordered before focusing on Kiba's mind.

She found herself back in Kojan's headquarters. She could see Kiba cradling a figure who was writhing in his arms. A steadily increasing blood puddle surrounded him as he tried desperately to staunch the flow while shaking uncontrollably.

Kojan appeared aiming his weapon as the figure in Kiba's arms went still. "She died because of you… You kill everyone you touch."

Kiba let out a guttural scream, throwing his head back. "Kill me then! I won't have anyone else die because of me!"

Kojan slowly smiled. "As you wish." He fired and disappeared.

Kiba jerked, then suddenly the dream reset.

Andy froze watching the scene in front of her. She cringed seeing him that upset. Moving forward she finally saw who he was holding. It was her.

Her breathing quickened, both the real Andy in his mind and her real body sitting on the chair in the infirmary. She watched in horror as the nightmare went through and started over again. The fear she felt during the mission rushed back to her. She struggled to push through and get to him, "...Kiba?"

He showed no sign of hearing her. The nightmare looped once again.

By this point, she had tears streaming down her face trying to convince herself that Kojan wasn't really a threat. She pushed herself over to him and knelt by him, "Kiba. I'm alive... Please, Kiba wake up..." She lost her voice to the sobs taking over her.

No response. No sign that she was reaching him at all. His trembling grew worse and by the fifth loop, he didn't respond to the imaginary Kojan at all. He sat numbly, his breathing growing more erratic every second.

Andy grabbed onto him, still sobbing. "It's ok Kiba. It's all ok. I'm alive." She didn't know what else to do but she knew he couldn't keep this up. She tried to ignore Kojan and the dream version of herself and just focus on him but his freaking out was making her freak out worse as well. "Kiba... I'm sorry."

He turned dull brown eyes to her. "Why does everyone die? I always live while they die because of me. Why do I not die instead?" He looked down at the dream Andy. "I killed her. I always kill her."

"She's just a dream. A nightmare. I'm the real Andy and I'm right here alive with you," she tried to speak calmly.

He stared at her, eyes blinking quickly. They cleared and he swallowed slowly. "Andy? What's going on?"

She tried to stay calm but another sob escaped. "You're having a nightmare."

He grimaced. "I figured as much. Are you okay?"

She shrugged, "I'm more worried about you right now."

He frowned, lifting a hand. He was still shaking. "I'm guessing this is bad?"

"Raptor was sedating you, but even still your vitals were all over, which could cause a lot of damage. I was hoping to wake you from the nightmare to help your body relax but... I was expecting something I could handle, not this..."

"Sorry. Think that whole situation messed with me more than I thought." He paled, grimacing as fire shot through his chest. "I don't feel so well… I-" His eyes rolled back and he fell into her arms.

"Kiba!" Andy screamed. "Kiba, wake up. Please wake up!" She wasn't sure if she should stay here and try to wake him or go back and heal his actual body. She panicked and just raised her hands up and tried healing him here in the dream. "Kiba please."

Raptor was shouting something but she couldn't make out the words. Kiba was unresponsive, laying completely limp in her lap. He didn't appear to be breathing, his face pale under the glow of her hands.

She sobbed as she checked his heart rate. It was there but so low she could barely find it. She pushed energy into him trying to get his lungs to keep moving.

He gave a single shuddering breath. He attempted another, but it stopped almost as fast as it started. No more breaths emerged.

Raptor's voice grew more panicked.

She tried for another moment with no response from him. She left his mind and her body shuddered as she tried to put her hands up and check his physical body. She struggled trying to get him to breathe.

Raptor shook her head. "Andy! He's gone." The android pressed a button on one of the machines. "His heart gave out." She disconnected the machines and was about to cover him when Andy stopped her.

Andy shook her head, staring at Kiba with tears in her eyes. She tried to control her breathing a bit fighting back sobs, "He just looks so young. He finally found people who cared about him and could help him get past everything and then he dies?!" She lost herself crying again. "It's all my fault." She leaned her head against his bed, the sheet starting to soak up her tears.

Raptor shook her head. "None of this is your fault. Kojan hurt him, not you. You tried to save him. I'm sure Kiba knew you were trying to help him. I think he's at peace now. He had a friend and didn't die alone."

She looked back up straining her eyes to focus on Raptor, "His nightmare was about me. And then I couldn't save him. So it is my fault."

Raptor sighed. "I'm going to get Stinger." She left the infirmary quickly.

Stinger slowly walked in five minutes later. "Andy, I'm so sorry." He enveloped her in a hug.

She raised her head to look at him, "I'm sorry. I killed him." Her whole face was red and she was dizzy but she just kept crying.

"Beautiful, you did no such thing. You cared enough to try to save him. You made him feel safe and loved. You were probably the best thing to ever happen to him. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

Stinger looked at the still body. "He was protecting you. I'm going to make sure he gets the hero's funeral he deserves." He lifted Andy to her feet. "You need to rest."

Andy swayed, leaning against Stinger. She wiped the rest of her tears away, "I can't stay in here... Can you help me to our room and stay with me?"

Stinger nodded. "Of course." He began to lead her toward the door.

She stayed quiet except for an occasional sniffle. She didn't feel like she could actually sleep but as soon as she was in the bed the exhaustion caught up to her and she was asleep in minutes.

She woke, a heavy feeling of sadness weighing her down. She scanned over herself, her chest still wasn't fully healed but she noticed Shishi curled up into her side so she knew the cat probably helped a bit. She looked over at Stinger who was awake, "How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours." He was frowning over his tablet.

"I spoke with Tsurugi. He's authorized Kiba's funeral. Just need to pick a burial planet." He gave her a sad look. "You wouldn't have any ideas would you?"

Andy shook her head, "We could take him to one of our planets? I did tell Hammy I'd visit soon..." She frowned, "Bury him next to the rest of my family..."

Stinger nodded. "Better than mine." He paused, then stood. "The service will happen as soon as we arrive. Sorry it's rushed, but Tsurugi and Shou have called a meeting to discuss what happens now." He walked over and removed something from the closet. "I repaired this. It's the only thing he had other than his phone. Thought he should have it back." He extended his hand to her.

She took Kiba's jacket into her shaky hands. "I should probably go make him look presentable..." She rose from the bed, "I'll be in the infirmary if you need me..."

Stinger nodded silently.

Andy slowly made her way down the hall and entered the infirmary. She stood in the doorway for a moment before finally pushing herself into the room. She stared at him, "At least you finally don't have any worries, right?"

She cleaned him up the best she could and slid a clean shirt on him before moving to put his jacket on. She was just getting it pulled on when she felt something odd. She looked and found a small pocket. Inside was a vial of a dark liquid. She turned it around and found an odd message, "In case of death?" She read it confused. She considered calling Raptor in to analyze it but she shook her head, "Kiba... What is this?" She knew he couldn't answer her but she got the feeling he needed to take it. She got a clean syringe and needle and emptied the contents of the vial before sticking it in his leg. She set it aside and sat down, staring at him. She wondered what it would do, if anything, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. She considered getting up and cleaning up the infirmary instead but between her curiosity and her growing tiredness, she kept sitting there in silence.

There was a sharp inhale, then a series of coughs from the bed.

Andy's heart rate picked up as she stood quickly, "Kiba?!"

His eyes were open and he stared at her with a dazed look. "Andy? What happened? The last thing I remember is a sharp pain in my chest…"

She stared at him with wide eyes, "Oh my god." She reached back and grabbed her seiza blaster from the table and pressed the button. "Stinger and Raptor, come to the infirmary because I might be hallucinating..." She looked back at Kiba in shock.

"You're starting to scare me…" He slowly sat up with a wince. "Would you please stop looking like you've seen a…" He froze. "Please tell me you can hear me…."

"I've seen Stinger come back to life twice in front of me... The rangers all died once while fighting Armage... but I thought you were gone." She shook her head, "I found a vial in your jacket..."

He stared at her for a minute. "Gone? And what vial?"

She grabbed the now empty vial from the table and handed it to him, "You died... I couldn't save you..."

He examined the vial in puzzlement. "I've never seen this before." He looked up. "How long was I... dead for?"

"Raptor would have written a time... but Stinger said I napped for a few, so probably at least four or five hours? Your body was cold when I was cleaning you up..." She sobbed. "You're real aren't you? I'm not imagining this?"

He shot her a grin. "If you are, then it's a shared hallucination." He lost the smile. "I'm sorry for putting you through that."

She shook her head, "I was so frozen in your nightmare I didn't help you out of it quick enough... If I was stronger it wouldn't have happened."

He shook his head, but before he could reply, the door opened. Stinger and Raptor raced into the room and froze.

"If you are hallucinating I am too, and I'm not really sure if I can do that," Raptor spoke. "How?"

Stinger narrowed his eyes, warily watching as Kiba shrugged. "Ask her. I don't have a clue."

The Rider looked back and forth between them. "Somebody please say something." He sighed and pushed himself off the bed. "When one of you wants to talk I'll be in my room." He left the infirmary. He entered the room, immediately crawling into the bed and falling asleep.

Andy told them about the vial she found, "You didn't feel it in there when you were fixing his jacket?"

Stinger shook his head. "But the damage was mostly to the middle not near the pockets, so I probably missed it. I better cancel the funeral."

Andy nodded, "He said he'd never seen it so I wonder where it came from..."

Stinger frowned. "Where did he get the jacket? Maybe somebody put it in there without him knowing?"

"I don't know." She shrugged before yawning, "My emotions have been all over today and I don't think I can handle thinking anymore... I'm going back to sleep." She stepped toward Stinger and pulled him in for a hug.

Stinger kissed her. "I'll be there soon. Sleep well."

The next morning Andy woke with a headache. She got headaches sometimes anyway but she smiled sadly when she remembered her mom one morning, 'You were crying too much yesterday so of course your head hurts. Don't worry, you'll find someone who treats you right and won't make you cry.'

She chuckled and thought, 'You were right mom, but you failed to warn me how much crying I'd do during a war...' She wished she could talk to her mom again but pushed her wishes aside as she took some medicine and got dressed. She headed down the hall and knocked on Kiba's door.

A few minutes passed before it opened to reveal a sleepy Kiba. His hair was askew and he was rubbing his eyes. "Who- oh hi. Come on in." He turned his back and stumbled to the bathroom.

Andy chuckled and sat on his desk chair which looked completely unused. When he came out she asked, "How are you feeling?"

He chuckled. "Surprisingly good for someone who was dead yesterday. Everyone recovered from the shock or should I hide out here?" He pulled a shirt on as he waited.

"I've been asleep but I doubt you have to hide. Like I said yesterday, now everyone on this team has died at least once except me..." She smiled, "I'm really glad you're alive."

He grinned. "Makes two of us. So you came to check up on me?"

Andy nodded, "I just wanted to make sure you were still doing okay and that your wounds have been healing up."

He nodded and sat on the bed. "Everything physically seems to be fine. I'm still kinda in shock mentally I think. It's a bit disconcerting to open your eyes and everyone act like they've seen a ghost."

"I can imagine. Stinger would be good to talk to about that..." She smiled, "You know, I realized yesterday I don't even know how old you are."

Kiba snickered. "I'm twenty-eight biologically. Literally though according to the records I have, only thirteen years have passed between my awakening and now. So pick a number if you plan a party."

She laughed, "So does that make you my older brother or younger brother?"

He shrugged as he picked up his jacket. "Well if I give good advice I'll be the older. When I make a fool of myself then I can be younger. How's that?"

Andy chuckled, "So probably always younger?"

He looked offended. "I'm hurt." He tried to keep a straight face and failed.

"Come on, we should probably get some food in you. I think it's Stinger's day to cook..."

"You trying to kill me again?"

She stood up, laughing, "He's a pretty good cook. Not as awesome as Spada though."

"I'll trust you I guess." He bowed. "Ladies first."

She exited, "I've been married to him a few years and I'm still here so it's at least edible." She smiled, entering the kitchen. "Need any help?"

Stinger shook his head. "Not cooking. But you can set the table."

He looked at Kiba. "Really glad I could cancel the funeral. And I have a proposition for you."

Kiba's eyes narrowed. "Kinda glad myself on the first count. Proposition?"

"I'll explain over breakfast."

Andy smiled as she set the table and waited for the food to be done.

After everyone had gotten food, Stinger looked at Kiba. "I'll come right out with it. I'd like you to consider staying aboard. We work well together. I don't want to force you into anything though so you don't have to give an answer now."

Kiba looked startled, but nodded. "I'll think about it. I think there's another reason you are asking though."

Stinger grimaced. "The resistance has been mopping up Kojan's operations. One of the teams found evidence that he'd been talking to the head of Shocker…"

Kiba paled. "In this universe…?" He looked like he was about to pass out.

Andy looked between them, "We've gotten through a lot in the past. I'm sure we can figure something out."

Kiba stared at his plate in silence. After a minute, he excused himself.

Andy frowned, "I hope he's okay..."

Stinger sighed. "Maybe I should have waited to spring that on him. He did just rejoin the living and there's probably a reason he's in our universe to begin with."

"Whether he wants to stay or not, I guess I wouldn't blame him either way," she softly smiled at Stinger, "but you know I'm staying and will help take them down. Maybe we should get Lucky to join us again, he's good with crazy miracles, right?"

Stinger laughed. "Yeah he is." He looked toward the door Kiba had exited. "Still, has to be nerve wracking for the very organization you escaped to follow you to another universe." He thought for a minute. "Oh shit… that's why he's freaked."

"We'll protect him," Andy said confidently.

"Tell that to his nightmares…" Stinger began clearing the table.

"I will," she smirked. Her face soon turned into a frown though, "As long as his nightmares are about Shocker... I don't know if I can take a repeat of last time."

Stinger nodded. "I don't think he can either."


	17. A Visit Home and A Fight with Zombies

Andy paced back and forth on the bridge, occasionally glancing at her teammates. She finally sighed, "I know I told Hammy I'd visit but I'm really nervous to go home..."

"We'll be there soon," Champ spoke, "You're going to have to face it. You don't want to upset Hammy right?"

Andy frowned and shook her head, "I know."

Kiba grinned. "Just play tour guide and you'll relax in no time."

Andy nodded before looking to Stinger, "How long are we staying?"

"We are on stand down until something comes up."

"We should all go camping," she smiled.

Stinger grinned. "Outlook?"

Kiba frowned. "Never been camping. Is it fun?"

"Of course the Outlook. Just don't fall out of a tree this time," she smirked. "It's basically just sleeping outside but somehow it's exciting. Especially in a group, telling stories and cooking over a fire."

Stinger stuck his tongue out. "That was your fault and you know it."

Kiba grinned. "I do that all the time. I'm in."

"Most ninjas would have sensed someone there. It's not my fault your senses aren't as good," she joked.

Stinger rolled his eyes.

Kiba was trying hard not to laugh as Champ moo-ed. "We're almost there. Andy, stop

embarrassing aibou. At least until I'm not flying."

Andy chuckled but stayed quiet.

Kiba moved up next to her. "Did he really fall out of a tree?"

"He was injured and shouldn't have been out anyway... so it probably wasn't right of me to jump onto the branch right next to him..." she smiled, "It was still pretty funny though."

Kiba bit his lip. "Wow. Remind me to pay attention if I climb a tree."

She laughed, "It's faster to run on the tree branches and it keeps us hidden. So if you do climb a tree don't be surprised if you get run over by people."

Kiba shook his head. "Think I'll stay on the ground thanks."

She frowned unsure if she should ask her next question. She shook her head and asked anyway, "Did you ever run into ninjas in your universe?"

"Ninjas? No. Magicians, vampires but no ninjas. At least not yet."

"I met some magicians once... A team of rangers. I really don't know if they were from our universe but I doubt it, they didn't know who Jark Matter was."

"Well the only reason I had a clue was my dads." He looked out the view screen at the approaching planet. "Looks beautiful."

"It is. The Outlook is the best spot to see our village, so I hope you like it when we do go there." She sighed, "We'll go to our house first though."

"Hey you'll see Hammy right? It can't be that bad." He paused. "Did you tell her about my little incident? Little afraid to see her if you did."

"I didn't but Stinger might have. You don't want to hide that kind of thing around the team though, they got really upset when Stinger hid it the first time my kyutama brought him back."

"Noooo. Just don't have a good explanation." He rubbed his neck self-consciously.

"Well, if you do want to hide it, just know if you're dying again and I have a panic attack, I'm likely to blab about it," she chuckled sadly. "That's how everyone found out about Stinger."

"Thanks for the heads up. Maybe I should just hide up here."

"No. We are going to have tons of fun. And you're going to get to know Hammy and see where things go." She winked.

He paled. "I'm starting to feel like a sacrificial lamb."

She chuckled and nudged his arm, "I really don't care if you get with her or not, I just like messing with you. But you are going and we are going to have fun."

He rolled his eyes. "Now I know why Stinger never wins arguments."

Andy stared out at her planet, "I guess we should head there in our voyagers now. Unless you plan on landing this thing," she spoke to Stinger and Champ.

"Bet I beat you there." Kiba laughed as he disappeared in a swirl of grey.

Andy shook her head, "I keep forgetting he can do that."

Stinger laughed. "Think he does it just to annoy you. My voyager or yours?"

"Whichever you want. We should probably find Shishi though and take her with so Champ doesn't have to remember to feed her."

Stinger nodded and headed for the door. "We'll take yours. I'll meet you in the bay."

She nodded, "Have fun, Champ!"

He moo-ed. "You too Andy."

She headed down and met up with Stinger, "Ready?"

He handed Shishi to her, opening her voyager for her. "Let's relax."

She climbed in, letting Shishi curl up on the floor by her feet. "Yeah. We deserve a break, right?"

"More than ever I think." Stinger closed the door. "Let's go."

Kiba gave them a little wave and a big grin as they landed.

Andy rolled her eyes and chuckled as she climbed out, "It's about a half mile from here to town." She grabbed her bag and made sure Shishi was following her before she started walking.

Kiba fell into step beside her. "You mad?"

"If I remembered you could do that, we could have just shown up at my house," she smirked.

"We still can. Just wanted you two to have an escape vehicle if needed."

She shook her head, "They'll have seen us land and wonder what's going on and get really suspicious if we vanish." She laughed.

Kiba shrugged.

Not long after she said that a couple ninja appeared in front of them. She smiled when she recognized her blonde headed friend, "Niko."

"Surprised to see you here."

"Just visiting for a bit. I don't think you ever met but this is Stinger. And this is Kiba."

"You mentioned Stinger before, surprised to see him here though."

Andy rolled her eyes, "It's been two years since I saw you. Did Hammy never update you on things?"

He shook his head, "She pretty much lives at the school."

She smiled, "I figured. We're supposed to go meet her though. I don't want to be late."

Niko nodded before all the ninja disappeared.

"Remind me not to go out after dark." Kiba slowly untensed.

Andy laughed and started walking again.

Stinger clasped his hand in hers while Kiba stood still, staring off into the distance.

"You ok?" Andy glanced at him.

"Just nerves." The Rider gave her a grin. "Let's see if Hammy wants that date yet." He jogged ahead of them.

Stinger frowned at his back.

Andy looked at Stinger with a questioning glance but stayed quiet.

When they arrived, they were met with Kiba talking with Hammy. He caught Andy's eye and winked before resuming the conversation.

Andy chuckled and opened the door to the house, entering into the kitchen. Within moments

she'd taken her bag to her room and was back. She sat at the table, glancing at the pictures on the walls until everyone else was inside.

Kiba was laughing. "Hey Andy! She finally said yes!"

She chuckled and went to hug Hammy, "I want to say good luck but I'm not sure which one of you needs it more."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Very funny. You're the one married to a fighting lunatic."

Stinger mock raised his tail.

"Honestly though, I'm probably a lunatic too," she laughed.

"I have dinner in the oven. It'll be ready soon," Hammy smiled. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to stay in your room because the bed it pretty small to fit both of you. You might want to stay in mom and dads room and let Kiba take yours."

Andy frowned but nodded.

Kiba shook his head. "I'll be outside if you guys don't mind."

"I mean, if you want to you can, but we have comfy beds if you'd rather stay inside."

He gave her a grin. "Could use the fresh air."

"Well, tomorrow night we'll go camping so we can all get fresh air then," she smiled.

After dinner, Hammy suggested playing games and pulled out some cards.

"I'll play the next game. I have a couple things I want to do," Andy smiled before heading to her room. She started going through stuff, organizing things into boxes.

Kiba gave Hammy a cocky grin. "I'll play."

Hammy looked at Stinger, "You playing?"

He shook his head with a smile. "I want to watch you kick his ass. Wipe the grin from his face."

Andy threw together a box to take back to the ship, putting some pictures in it. Most of the clothes she had in her closet no longer fit so she threw it into the box with the baby clothes. She took that box out to the kitchen, "In the morning I'm going to visit Naomi. I'm sure the infirmary could use at least the baby clothes, if not all of this stuff." She finally sat and watched, "Who is winning?"

Kiba gave her a disgruntled look. "Are ninja's allowed to cheat? Because I'm pretty sure she is."

"If you don't catch it, you can't prove she's cheating," Andy chuckled.

His lips twisted wryly. "At least Balance admits it."

"But have you ever asked Naga if he is?" She laughed.

Kiba groaned as Hammy put her cards down. "I'm done. I'll be outside if you need me."

He walked out of the house.

"Sore loser," Andy smirked.

"Want to play?" Hammy looked at them.

Andy looked at Stinger waiting for his response.

"Sure, now the entertainment's over." He winked at Andy. "Eight times in a row."

She raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"I wasn't even cheating though," Hammy admitted with a giggle.

After they played a bit more Andy sighed, "I think we should check on Kiba. I'll be back in a minute."

Andy headed outside and found where he was sitting, "You ok?"

His eyes glittered. "You know one useful thing about being in an evil organization?"

She sat down, "What?"

"You get a sense of when something's about to blow up in your face so you can distance yourself."

She looked at him in confusion, "...ok?"

"It doesn't feel right here. I felt it when we ran into those ninjas earlier. They weren't easygoing, long time no see types. They were on edge. Trying to see if we were threats."

She nodded, "I haven't asked Hammy if anything has happened lately, but we do tend to have quite a few battles with neighboring planets. Our guards are always on edge because of it." She looked up at the sky noticing the stars starting to appear, "I get bad vibes sometimes too. But this place has too much emotion attached for me to sense anything. The last few times I've been here nothing good happened, so maybe more bad things will appear..."

He sighed. "I'm sorry I'm ruining things. It just… these feelings have kept me alive. Kept me usually one step ahead of Shocker. Hard to ignore ya know?"

She nodded, "I had a feeling like that the day Jark Matter attacked here. Hammy left to join the Kyurangers then too. I got over it because I had Avery though. But one of the times I was here after joining the team, I lost him. And then the last time I had been here, I found out I was pregnant, Stinger and I were having a massive fight, and then when I did go after him, Jark Matter shot down my voyager and the baby died." She shook her head, "It's all in the past, but being here brings up the memories. I'm just trying to stay happy and enjoy seeing Hammy but it's hard."

He hugged her sideways. "I'm sorry. And here I am making you sad." He chuckled. "Guess I am the idiot younger brother huh?"

She smiled at him sadly, "If you have a bad feeling, I'll keep an eye out. If it ends up just being another warring planet though, I don't expect you or Stinger to stay and fight. Though I doubt I could talk you out of it," she smirked.

"You doubt correctly. There's no way we'd leave you two. Well I wouldn't anyway. Scorpion boy might just dig a hole and hide."

Andy laughed before asking, "Are you sure you're good out here tonight?"

"I'll just find a tree?" He laughed, then shrugged. "I might be a little cold…"

"Come inside. We have lots of warm blankets and a comfy bed waiting for you," she smiled.

"I surrender." He climbed to his feet, then helped her up.

She grinned, "And don't worry, we have plenty of kunai hidden around to fight off any attackers," she spoke, only half joking.

"Good to know." He yawned. "Hope no one tries tonight because I think I'd be carried off as a spoil of war. And I wouldn't even wake up."

She held the door open for him and smiled to Hammy and Stinger, "Look who decided to join us."

Stinger chuckled. "In other words he froze his ass off right?"

Kiba stuck his tongue out, then yawned again.

"I'll show you to your room," Andy said.

"Night," Hammy gave a small wave.

Kiba gave her a sleepy smile and followed Andy down the hall.

Andy pointed to a couple doors, "That's where I'll be, that's Hammy's room, and that's the bathroom." She turned on the light to her bedroom and grabbed some blankets from the closet and threw them on the bed with a warning, "Don't mess with my stuff."

"I'm not Balance." He pulled his boots off, slipping under the blankets. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Andy chuckled and grabbed her bag before turning off the light and shutting the door. She headed back to the kitchen and gave Hammy another hug, "night."

Hammy returned the hug with a smile. Andy turned to Stinger, "Let's get some sleep."

He nodded and stood to follow her.

She shut the door and sighed, looking around. She pushed the memories away focusing on the present, "Kiba has a bad feeling. Just thought I'd warn you to keep an eye out. I don't want to worry Hammy though, in case he's wrong."

Stinger sighed. "Figured that was the real reason he was outside. Well I don't blame him."

"He seemed worried by the guards but I told him we do have battles a lot, so I don't know what to expect at this point," she pulled back the covers.

Stinger sat on the bed, removing his shoes. "Doesn't help he's still jumpy about Shocker possibly showing up. You warn Hammy about the nightmares?"

She sighed, "I probably should do that..."

Stinger stood up and hugged her. "Unless you want her to have a heart attack?"

"I don't know which one is worse to deal with..." She smirked, pulling away from him a few seconds later.

She gave a knock on Hammy's door before opening it, "Ham?"

"Yeah, Daka?"

She didn't even enter or turn a light on, she just stood in the doorway, "I figured I'd warn you Kiba gets bad nightmares like Stinger does... So wake me if you end up hearing anything."

Hammy sighed, "Ok, I'm sure I'll hear anything that happens, I've gotten so used to the quiet around here. Night."

Andy chuckled, "Night."

Andy slipped back into the other room, "Hopefully everyone sleeps well tonight..."

Stinger nods and holds the covers open.

Andy cuddled up against him, "I love you."

He kissed her head. "Love you too." He turned off the light.

Hammy woke a few hours later hearing sobs. She pushed herself out of bed, headed into the hall and slightly opened Kiba's door, "Kiba? Are you ok?"

"Don't...please don't" The plea was pain filled. "Don't make me…."

Hammy froze, worry washing over her. She remembered what Andy said so she went and opened the door to the room she was in. She knelt by the side of the bed Andy was on, "Daka? Hey, Kiba is having a nightmare..."

Andy rushed up quickly, without saying anything. Hammy followed her back to Kiba's room. "Kiba?" Andy spoke softly, "Kiba, wake up." She turned on the light to see him better.

His hair was sweat soaked, plastered to his forehead. Tears streaked his face, his eyes squeezed tight. As she watched he screamed "Don't make me kill her!" He began thrashing, fighting an invisible opponent. He entangled the covers around himself as he panted desperately.

Hammy watched in fear, unsure what to do to help, making her feel useless.

Andy knelt by the bed and closed her eyes focusing on his mind, trying to find her way to his dream.

She opened her eyes to see Kiba armed with a sword in front of Hammy. "No... please."

A dark silhouette ordered "Kill her or I'll torture all of them. Saving her for last of course." Kiba refused to move, tears running down his cheeks.

Andy shook her head and approached slowly, "Kiba, it's a nightmare. This isn't real."

Kiba looked up. "They'll torture her. I have to save her." He began to walk toward the dream Hammy sword raised.

"Hammy is safe! That isn't the real Hammy."

Hammy watched Kiba continue to thrash on the bed and panic but Andy was still. Hammy didn't know what her sister was doing but she hoped it worked.

"Make it stop?" Kiba pleaded. His voice was soft like a scared child's.

Andy approached and put her hand out onto his, lowering the sword. "It's just a nightmare," she tried to speak quietly to prevent him from being frightened.

His eyes opened slowly as he dropped the sword. "Andy?"

"Yeah it's me. You're safe, Hammy is safe. Everything is fine," she put a comforting hand on his arm.

"I scared her didn't I?"

Andy sighed, "She's just worried about you. She's maybe seen Stinger have a nightmare once or twice but she's not used to it happening all the time like I am. Though after you died, I'm still a little wary of trying to help you through nightmares..."

He nodded, looking lost. "Thought I was getting better."

"Stinger got a lot better, but even then sometimes they still appear. You can heal but the memories of the trauma never fully go away and can always cause issues. Unless you get amnesia of course," she chuckled quietly. "It's nothing to be upset or embarrassed about. You've just had a rough past, and that's going to leave scars just like a physical wound would."

He smiled faintly. "Dad was lucky then?" He took a deep breath. "I'm going to try to go into a deeper area. Can't guarantee this won't happen again so maybe you should…" he tapped his arm. "Don't want to go after anyone here."

"I can stay here and keep helping you," Andy assured.

"You shouldn't miss your beauty sleep because of me." His grin was crooked. "But if you want to, I can't stop you."

"Are you implying that I need beauty sleep?" She chuckled. "You know I'm going to stay and help."

"Let's just say Stinger might decide to sting me again if I keep taking you away."

Andy shook her head, "I wouldn't let him. But he wouldn't anyway."

Kiba's eyes twinkled. "If you say so." He closed his eyes.

Andy took a moment to come back. She looked at Hammy, "He's going to be fine. I'm going to stay a bit longer, but you can head to bed if you want."

Hammy looked at Kiba whose body was finally relaxing a bit. She decided to sit on the floor and watch them a while.

Andy focused back, trying to find if Kiba was in another dream yet.

She didn't have to wait long, the first signs being his breath picking up speed. His hands clenched the blankets.

"Kiba?" She whispered before the scene fully appeared.

Kiba was bound, flanked by guards. The Kyurangers marched in bound. The same silhouette from the previous dream appeared and spoke. "Watch what happens to those who defy Shocker." It nodded to the guards.

Each one took a sword and as slowly as possible repeatedly stabbed each of them. As the dream kyurangers fell, Kiba screamed and fought.

Dream Stinger looked at him. "We should have killed you."

Dream Andy shook her head. "I should have let you die. You weren't worth saving."

Both lay still as Kiba sobbed "Kill me please."

The silhouette laughed mockingly. "Oh no DeStruct. We have plans for you…"

Andy momentarily froze, taking in the scene. She shook her head and focused on Kiba. She moved toward him slowly, finally just saying, "Everything is ok." Before putting an arm around him gently.

His body shook as he sobbed. "Shocker's going to kill you if they find me… I won't risk you guys."

"You are our friend. Our family. We aren't going to let you go off on your own. We plan to protect you the best that we can," Andy comforted.

He sagged in her arms. "I can't lose you guys…"

She gently rubbed his back, "We're tough. I can't make promises that we'll live forever, but we can get through a lot. I'd rather die fighting with and protecting my friends than anything else. So if it does happen, it wouldn't be your fault. I'm going to do my best to keep you from Shocker, even if you don't want me to. So you might as well just accept that. I'm sure the others feel the same."

He nodded slowly, eyes closing. The scene disappeared.

Andy opened her eyes and found herself back in her room. Kiba's breathing had evened out and he looked almost peaceful. She pushed herself to her feet, and noticed Hammy still sitting there. "I think he'll be fine for the rest of the night."

"How do you deal with that? It's scary seeing him that panicked."

Andy shut off the light and headed into the hall, closing the door once Hammy followed. "After such a long time with Stinger having nightmares, it's not really a big deal. I made a jutsu that helps me get into their dreams so I just have to try to calm them down that way." She yawned, "Plus I'm a medic, I get to see all of the scary things all the time. So unless it's really crazy, or something I already have problems dealing with, it doesn't faze me too much."

Hammy shook her head, "I don't think I could handle that. I'm glad, though, that both Kiba and Stinger have someone who can help them."

"You can help him in other ways," Andy assured.

"You look like you're about to drop. Go back to bed," Hammy put a hand on Andy's shoulder.

Andy just nodded in response before heading into the other room.

Andy woke smelling breakfast cooking. She glanced over at Stinger who was already awake, "Morning, love."

He smiled and kissed her. "Morning. Everything okay?"

She sighed, "Kiba had some nightmares, but I helped him through them. Hammy was kind of freaked, but at least I did warn her..."

He nodded in sympathy. "At least they weren't the violent ones. Hammy would have woken the whole house I think."

He stretched and sat up. "Breakfast? See if Kiba's feeling well enough to join us today."

Andy sat up as well, "Yeah." She frowned, "I'm just worried about them. It's great that they are going to go on a date, but I'm just worried Hammy's going to feel a bit hopeless, unsure how to help him if something goes wrong."

Stinger sighed. "Just emphasize that he needs to be reassured that whatever he's seeing is a dream. And don't let her fear show."

"I'd consider teaching her how to get into his dreams, but I really don't know... For one, she might not be able to master it anyway, because I know my healing jutsus helped me figure it out, but for two, the stuff he sees... I know she fought Armage and has seen a lot but I don't know if it can compare to his nightmares..."

Stinger winced. "You make a good point." He climbed off the bed and extended his hand. "Let's just get through the next few days. We can worry afterwards."

"You should know I worry all the time... but I'll try to relax," she smiled and took his hand.

After getting ready, she knocked on the door to the room Kiba was in.

No answer.

She knocked again with the same result. She frowned and turned the knob. She smiled seeing him still on the bed, curled up in the blankets looking like a young child. She crouched down next to the bed to get to eye level, "Kiba? It's time for breakfast."

He shifted but didn't wake.

Gently she pushed his bangs off his forehead, earning her a sleepy smile and his head pushed into the caress.

"I guess you can keep sleeping if you want, but you're going to miss breakfast if you do," she chuckled. "Though maybe I should just let you keep getting peaceful sleep..."

His eyes blinked open. "I'm awake." He uncurled and looked at her apologetically. "Sorry for last night."

"It's not a problem," she stood and smiled at him. "I'm here to help whenever you need it. It smells like Hammy's making breakfast so you might want to get up and ready before we go eat it all." She chuckled before heading out the door.

Kiba chuckled, reaching for his bag. He changed clothes, then emerged into the kitchen.

"Smells good. Any left?"

Hammy smiled and got up, fixing him a plate full. "So what are your plans today?"

"Like I said, I'm going to visit Naomi for a bit. And then later we're all going camping," Andy reminded. "Anything you two want to do?" She looked over at Stinger and Kiba.

Kiba shook his head, mouth full.

Stinger shrugged. "I just want to relax and not think about anything."

Andy chuckled, "Why don't we plan to leave for the Outlook around 3? So until then, you can stay here and relax, and Hammy can show Kiba around town?"

Hammy nodded in agreement, "Sounds good."

Kiba grinned at Hammy. "I second that."

Stinger smothered a laugh. "Go see your friend. I'll keep them out of trouble."

Hammy rolled her eyes, "I'm pretty sure I know how to stay out of trouble."

Andy chuckled as she stood and went to wash her plate. "I'll see you guys later then," she gave Stinger a quick kiss before she grabbed the box and headed to the infirmary. After a few hours visiting her old friend and student, she found herself walking to the cemetery. She sat in front of her parent's graves for a few moments before making her way to Avery's. She lost herself in her thoughts, totally losing track of the time.

Kiba paced in front of the house. "I'm going to look for her."

Hammy shook her head, "I bet I know where she is. Let's just grab her sleeping bag and go get her instead."

After Stinger grabbed Andy's stuff, and located Shishi, Hammy led them directly to Andy, "I knew we'd find you here."

Andy looked up at the voice, "I'm late, aren't I?"

Hammy chuckled, "It's fine, you ready to go?"

Andy stood, giving a final glance at Avery's grave before nodding.

Kiba remained silent, walking ahead of them.

"Did you guys have fun?" Andy questioned the group.

Stinger nodded. "Up till Kiba started pacing like Garu…"

Andy smirked before sighing, "I'm sorry if I worried you guys. I kind of just zoned out..."

Stinger gave her a hug. "No apologies. Let's just have fun."

When they arrived, Kiba had vanished.

Andy looked around, "Did anyone see where Kiba went?"

Hammy shook her head, "We should go look for him."

Rustling in the trees made them look up just as Kiba landed in a crouch. "You were right. It's a hell of a view."

Andy gave a relieved smile, "Right? Probably the best place on the planet."

Kiba noticed her discomfort. "Sorry. Needed some space."

"It's ok," she grinned, "Let's just get our campsite set up."

Hammy started laying her sleeping bag out, "Who wants to start the fire?"

Stinger grinned, loading a kyutama onto his blaster. "Got it covered." He aimed and fired it at a stack of wood. Soon a bright fire was flaming.

Andy smiled and set her sleeping bag out, "So, stay up late telling ghost stories, making s'mores?"

Kiba gave her a confused look. "Is that normal to do while camping?"

Hammy shot him a look, "You've never been camping? Basically we talk around the fire, cook, and then depending on who you're with, you can play games, sing, tell stories, whatever sounds fun."

He frowned. "I cook and sleep under the stars. But I'm usually alone." He gave Andy a look before quickly climbing the nearest tree and disappearing.

Andy sighed and looked at her sister, "Why don't you go talk to him and make sure he's ok?"

Hammy raised an eyebrow, "Wouldn't you be better?"

"You want to get to know him right? The best way to do that is to talk," Andy chuckled.

Hammy nodded before jumping up into the tree. She finally spotted Kiba, "Hey."

He gave her a small smile. "Hey. Let me guess. Checking on me?"

Hammy shrugged, "That's what friends do, right?"

He shot her an amused look. "Thought I was Andy's friend…"

"Well, we've spent some more time together, and I did agree to go on a date with you, so I'd say we are probably friends now," she smiled as she sat down on the branch.

He snorted. "Sure you just didn't want me to leave you alone? Pity date perhaps?"

She chuckled, "No. You seem interesting. Plus, you are pretty cute."

Kiba turned red and he coughed. "Interesting is not the word I'd use. Hunted, even murderer… but interesting?"

"Like I told you before, Andy hasn't told me much about your past so I don't know what you've been through," she smiled softly, "but you seem too good of a person to be a murderer."

Kiba's eyes focused on the branch above his head. "Have you heard of Shocker?"

She looked out at the forest in thought, "They fight against a lot of the Kamen Riders don't they?"

Kiba nodded. "They created me. Cloned me from two of the strongest Riders at the time. Raised me. Taught me it was my duty to collect the Rider powers. Only what they said and what actually happened was completely different."

"Well you're here now, aren't you? And the others trust you too, so even if that was the case, you figured out what was right eventually and came to the good side."

He closed his eyes. "Shocker's found me. Kojan told them I was here and now you're all in danger. This always happens. Someone helps me and ends up dead. I can't let that happen to you guys."

"It's not like we were free from danger before," Hammy sighed. "We always protect our team, even if they have other plans. You know Naga right? One time he was offered a chance to free his emotions. He took it and ended up being manipulated by Jark Matter. I don't know if he killed anyone but he did hurt a lot of people. We fought him and found a way to free him from their control, even though it was dangerous. He's our friend so we wouldn't think of anything else other than helping him." She looked over to him, "You are on our team now, so we're going to fight Shocker with you or protect you from them. I'm not Andy, I don't know the best way to try to help you, but just know that we are going to help you whether you want us to or not."

He laughed softly. "You sound just like her." He exhaled a long breath. "I escaped five years ago. I've never spent a night in the same place twice...until the Orion. I won't let that go without a fight." He looked at her somberly. "But I can't stand the thought of Shocker getting their hands on any of you. They won't kill you. They'll twist your minds until nothing remains of the real you. And that terrifies me."

"We know there will be risks but it's our choice to fight anyway," Hammy stood, approaching him before putting a hand on his shoulder, "Just let us worry about everything."

"I'll try. Probably should go down there before Andy sends Stinger after us." He grinned at her. "What are s'mores?"

"You've never had a s'more? It's great, chocolate, marshmallow... You'll like it," She smiled before jumping down a branch and waiting for him.

"You said the magic word…" He jumped to the ground with a smile.

She followed down and smiled at Andy before sitting back down.

Stinger had meat laid out on foil near the fire.

Andy looked at the pair, "hungry?"

Kiba nodded. "Starved."

After eating, Andy stared out at the village while listening to the others talk. She was half lost in her thoughts and half keeping an eye out for trouble, remembering Kiba's bad feeling.

"So Daiki looks this Shocker guy straight in the face. Says "I'm not heartless. I'll leave the ring and the number of my personal therapist. You need their help more than I do." Kiba paused, waiting for Hammy's reaction.

Hammy laughed, "So you got your attitude from Daiki, didn't you?"

Kiba grinned. "That's the general consensus. Natsumi said it was better than getting the ego of Tsukasa."

Hammy chuckled, "They all sound great."

Kiba nodded. "They are. When they aren't driving each other crazy."

"I know you said you're just a clone of them, but are Tsukasa and Daiki actually together?"

Kiba shrugged. "Depends on the mood. Sometimes they're attached at the hip, other times they refuse to be in the same world together. It's like they don't know how to fully accept each other." He shook his head. "They say it's complicated."

"That's rough. Some couples are like that though, I guess," Hammy pulled out the supplies for the s'mores. She glanced at Stinger and Andy, "Ready for dessert?"

Andy wasn't even looking that way, still focused on the village, so she was unaware she was even being spoken to.

Kiba moved to her side, tapping her shoulder. "Andy?"

Andy looked over, "Sorry, what?"

Kiba gave her a searching look. "Hammy's going to make s'mores. Are you okay?"

She smiled and took a deep breath as she moved back to the group, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Hammy looked at her sister before looking at Kiba, "I'm betting she's just missing Avery, right?"

Andy nodded, "I miss coming up here, talking with him and camping. I'd give anything to talk to him again."

"I miss him too," Hammy looked Andy over sadly. "But let's enjoy this camping trip while we are here."

Stinger patted the ground next to him. "Come here and relax."

Andy sat next to him and leaned on his arm, "Did anyone remember to bring sticks for the marshmallows?"

Stinger chuckled and held them up. "Right here."

She took one and plopped a marshmallow on it before sticking it over the fire, watching it slowly brown.

Hammy did the same, quickly blowing it out when it caught fire.

Kiba slowly followed their lead watching attentively.

Stinger let his marshmallow get almost black before removing it.

Hammy handed out graham crackers and chocolate, "Now you just slide the marshmallow off in between the graham crackers and make sure the chocolate stays in too, then it's like a little dessert sandwich."

Kiba did so, biting gingerly into it. His eyes lit up, a broad grin stretching his face. "This is wonderful!"

Hammy laughed, "I told you you'd like it."

Andy smiled as she ate hers quickly and starting up another marshmallow.

Kiba licked his fingers, then gave a yawn. "I think I'm done." He stood and scrambled back up the tree he'd been sitting in.

1Hammy chuckled, "I'll be back." She jumped up into the tree and found Kiba, "You sleeping up here or down by the fire?"

"Think I'll stay up here for a while, just watch things. I'll come down eventually though."

"I was going to go get some more water. Want to come with?"

"Sure." He gave her a soft smile. "I've never been on a date. What usually happens?"

Hammy smiled, "It depends. Sometimes it's going to dinner, or some planets have movies which are a big date thing. Here it's usually a meal or something outside like hiking. But the main thing is it's just focusing on the two people getting to know each other."

He nodded, jumping down and extending his hand. "So this could qualify?"

Hammy blushed and took his hand, "It could."

His eyes twinkled. "I think I like dates." He helped her down to the ground.

"Some couples like double dates, where two couples go do something together. This whole camping trip could count as a double date, if you wanted," she smirked.

He grinned. "Sounds good to me. Shall we?"

She nodded and headed in the direction of the nearest stream. They talked the whole way there but she paused and silenced his laughing, "Did you hear that?"

He tensed. "Think we've been spotted?"

Hammy listened, not hearing a sound until a twig snapped right behind her. She turned and pulled a kunai out, blocking a hit. Her eyes widened as she noticed four ninjas behind the attacker. "They're from a rival planet."

Kiba cursed under his breath. "Knew there was something off." He dodged a slash, rolling to his feet and shooting her a glance. "Any idea why they want us?"

Hammy shook her head, "Rival planet, they just want to take out as many of us as they can. They want to take over our planet."

She sent a kunai flying, before she felt a prick in her neck. She felt it and noticed one of the enemies shot them with tranquilizing darts. She soon fell, world going black.

Kiba tried to keep the ninjas away from her, but his eyesight was blurry and his legs wouldn't hold him. He collapsed near Hammy and lay still.

Andy frowned, "It's been a while since Hammy followed Kiba..."

Stinger gave her a look. "They could just be talking."

She looked at him with worry, "Can we go check on them anyway?"

He nodded, his face grave.

Andy stood and grabbed her bag, before jumping up into the tree. After not seeing anything she added, "Maybe they went to get water...?"

Stinger rubbed his chin. "Too long for that. There's something wrong."

Andy nodded, "Come on," she rushed back down to the village, looking for the guards. She ended up running into Niko, "Have you heard of anything going on? Hammy and Kiba disappeared."

Niko looked surprised, "Nothing. We have been expecting an attack since Khad took over Farla. But even then, they've only ever attacked in the daylight."

"Well, keep an eye open. We are going to go look." Andy was about to turn when she heard an alarm.

Niko's eyes widened, "We must be under attack. I'll keep an eye out and tell Naomi to keep me updated if they end up in the infirmary. Stay safe."

Andy nodded, "You too." She turned to Stinger, "Let's go."

They searched through the forest, not finding anything, but soon a ninja familiar to Andy appeared, "I was sent to inform you the enemy is using unusual tactics. They've managed to bring our own people back to life and control them."

Andy looked at him in disbelief, "What?"

"It's some new jutsu they've created. Captain Niko wanted me to inform you."

Andy shook her head, "Ok. Message received."

She headed on but glanced at Stinger, "How do we fight people we know? Even if they are dead..."

Stinger's face was a masque of frustration. "We have to be careful. Andy, you can't hesitate. If they bring someone you know back, you can't freeze. Hammy and Kiba's lives might be at stake."

Andy nodded, "I'll try. I mean... they are dead anyway right? So just kill some zombies and get Hammy and Kiba back..."

Stinger sighs. "Hopefully without us getting killed."

Kiba regained consciousness slowly, his head pounding. He raised his eyes, looking for Hammy.

Not finding her, he tried not to panic. 'Deep slow breaths' he reminded himself as he struggled to sit up. His hands were bound tightly behind his back, his feet at the ankles. He pulled on the ropes, but there was no give. He closed his eyes, trying to formulate a plan. He reopened them as he sensed movement close by. "Hammy?"

His gaze landed on a young ninja who brusquely moved to his side, removing three syringes from his pocket. Kiba's eyes narrowed as an empty one was used to draw blood from his elbow.

"What are you doing?"

The ninja didn't answer and Kiba wrenched away. "I don't think you're getting any more."

That elicited a reaction, the man roughly backhanding Kiba across the face. The Rider lay stunned as the next needle was filled with blood as well. Then the third was uncapped, a light yellow liquid filling it halfway.

Kiba tried to move backwards but the ninja was quicker, injecting him in the leg. Kiba's eyes rolled up, the last image being the man walking away.

Hammy woke, finding herself tied up. There were unconscious bodies around her, tied up in similar fashion. She recognized many of them were from Farla. She wondered why she was here with them. Glancing around she noticed she was in an odd tent. Luckily the ties on her were loose enough she managed to slip out of them. Sneaking to the tent entrance, she glanced out, finding a large campsite, filled with Khad scientists. She raised an eyebrow wondering what she was taken for.

She went invisible before sneaking out of the tent. Glancing into the other tents she found Kiba laying on a table. She waited until the man left the room before going in there. She shook his arm, "Kiba, wake up, it's Hammy."

He gave no reaction.

Hammy knew she couldn't carry him, but didn't want to leave him behind. She moved back to the wall of the tent, still hidden, when she heard someone coming.

"It's not working on him," one of the ninjas complained.

"Just leave him for now. Later, we'll try again or kill him. They have a few more ready in the next tent, let's make sure it's working smoothly," another answered before exiting.

Hammy moved up and tried to wake Kiba again, "Come on, Kiba. What did they do to you? Wake up!"

Kiba gave a muffled groan, his eyes flying open. "Hammy?" He whispered.

"Yeah, let's get out of here. Can you walk?"

He grimaced. "Definitely going to try. There's some world-class fuckery going on and I want no part of it."

"Let's get to Stinger and Andy and then we can talk about it," she put a hand on him to show where she was. "It'll be easier to sneak out if you're invisible too, right? Or do you plan to try to fight them?"

Kiba shook his head. "Don't think I can fight anyone right now. Lead the way."

They made their way out of the campsite, avoiding the people working. After a few moments they heard yelling.

Andy and Stinger stared forward at the campsite, trying to figure out what was going on. Andy sighed as she recognized a couple ninja, "I think this is where they are making the zombie people."

Stinger cursed. "How do we find Hammy and Kiba? We have to shut this place down too."

Andy shook her head, "We can't leave without checking the tents. If they were taken, they could be in there. There doesn't seem to be a ton of people working here, unless they are all hiding in the tents, so we could probably take them out quickly."

Stinger nodded. "You check the tents over there. I'll look over here. Take out anyone you see that's a threat."

Andy morphed quickly and ran forward into the campsite, slicing down enemies. She glanced into one of the tents, finding it empty. The next tent was a couple more enemy ninja, who she also took down. She completely froze though when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Andaka?! Is that you?"

She turned toward the voice in fear, "What's going on?"

"They're doing crazy things here! You have to run!"

Andy saw him coming at her but still wasn't moving.

"Andy! I can't control my movements! Don't let me hurt you."

Hammy recognized the voice and panicked, "Kiba...What are they doing here?"

"Andy's here? Shit. Hammy, we have to go back."

"Kiba. What are they doing here!?" Her voice was strained as she tried to stay calm.

Kiba grabbed her shoulders. "Hammy! Hammy look at me. I don't know who 'they' are. But we have to help Andy. No doubt Stinger's here too." He shook her hard. "Focus Hammy!"

She nodded before morphing but stayed silent.

"I'm not really alive. You have to stop me," Avery looked at Andy, coming at her with a kunai.

"I can't... I can't fight you..." Andy panicked but managed to block his attack.

"Don't be a baka, Daka! You have to stay safe! Don't worry about me," Avery attacked again, wincing as he sliced her arm.

Hammy ran toward the voices and froze watching the scene in front of her.

"What the hell?" Kiba's voice was low, almost a growl.

"Avery! Stop this!" Hammy finally choked out.

He glanced back at her with a sad look on his face, "I can't control my body, Ham! You have to stop me!"

She shook her head, "What is going on?"

Stinger slid to a stop. He'd come running at the shouts. "Andy?!"

Andy was weakly blocking the hits Avery was throwing at her. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to slow her breathing down.

Kiba charged toward them. "Andy, stop messing around!" His head was pounding from whatever they'd given him and he knew he was in no shape to fight, but he'd be damned if he allowed Andy to get hurt or worse if he could stop it. He knocked Avery back a few steps, standing in front of Andy protectively. "Get away from her."

"Someone with some sense!" Avery smiled, "Don't let me hurt my sisters... Take me out."

"Not a problem." Kiba pulled his pistol, aimed and fired into Avery's chest.

Avery fell back, clutching his chest. The sisters stared in horror and confusion but eventually Avery pushed himself back up and looked down at his body, "I don't think that was enough." The hole was slowly filling back in.

Andy took a moment before somewhat snapping back to herself, "Kiba... Shoot him again."

She waited and watched Avery fall again. She rushed over and scanned him over, "His body is self-healing... He also is at full strength. What did they do to you?!"

Avery pushed himself up again, "All they told us is we were brought back to attack our village. I can talk and think but I can't really control everything."

Kiba cursed. "How are we supposed to fight this?" He pulled a card out. "Think if he gets hit multiple times at once?"

"Hammy, go look through the tents and see if there is any paperwork or notes about this..." Andy ordered.

Hammy looked at Avery worriedly but nodded.

"I guess just don't get hurt until she finds something," Andy glanced at Stinger and Kiba.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "That's your advice? Don't get hurt?"

"Sorry, I'm not thinking clearly..." Andy admitted.

"Well get your brain together Daka!" Avery threw a kunai which she barely dodged.

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" Andy threw a few kunai that hit him in the chest. "You _knew _I watched our parents die because I couldn't heal them." She started shooting at him, "So what was your bright idea? Prevent me from healing you so I had to watch you die in front of me too!"

"I hate that you're angry at me, but this is good, keep attacking me," Avery sighed as he pushed himself back up.

Kiba exchanged looks with Stinger.

Avery noticed Andy had gone quiet again, "How long has it been since then? Shouldn't you have gotten past it by now?"

"How do you get past something like that?!" Andy ran to him and attacked, trying to get him back to the ground.

"Don't you have a therapist on the ship or something? You're on a massive ship, there has to be something."

"I'm the medic! Which basically makes me the therapist too," she answered.

"Well then, free therapy," Avery got a good hit in and sliced her arm again. "What else do you want to yell at me about?"

"You should _not_ ask her that." Kiba and Stinger chimed in unison. They chuckled at each other for a second.

"Who are they? The one looks familiar," Avery wondered.

"Stinger you met before. He's one of the original kyurangers. He's also my husband," she informed. "The other is Kiba."

"You're married? Seriously how long have I been gone?"

"It's been years, Ave. I don't remember exactly..." She stabbed him making him fall back for a moment.

"Is Hammy married? Do you have kids?"

Andy looked up noticing a group of ninja appearing.

"What happened?!" One of them yelled and circled around to attack.

"He's one of the reanimated," another motioned toward Avery.

"Take the rest out then!" The first ordered running forward to attack Stinger and Kiba.

"Here we go…" Kiba kicked the nearest ninja, causing him to knock down three more. He lost track of everyone as he was being herded towards the tents. "Have a taste of this!" He aimed and fired, multiple bullets hitting the guards. Suddenly he felt a prick in his back. The world went black.

Stinger was having his own problems, several ninjas encircling him. He released his tail, stinging several before a kunai buried itself in his side. He went down hard as the guards approached.

Hammy heard the commotion so she finished reading the page she held up before rushing out. She saw Andy continuing to fight Avery and watched as the boys both fell to the ground.

"Andy! We can't destroy him without taking out the jutsu caster. You just have to manage to hold him off or tie him up or something," Hammy yelled before rushing over to Kiba and fighting off those ninjas.

Andy looked around, "Stinger could paralyze him." She noticed Stinger on the ground and dodged one of Avery's attacks before rushing away to Stinger's side, taking out the ninjas around him.

Once the guards were all taken down, Andy yelled at Hammy, "Hold him off while I check them."

Hammy paused but nodded and went to fight Avery.

Andy knelt by Stinger noticing none of his wounds were fatal, but he did have quite a bit of bleeding. She then rushed to Kiba and noticed he had some kind of drug in his system.

"Let's just hold him off until Stinger can wake up and paralyze him," Andy suggested. "Unless you know a better way to stop him."

Hammy shook her head.

"You two have gotten better," Avery commented as he ran forward.

Andy rushed and made a clone, trying to grab hold of Avery. He smirked, "Nice try."

Three clones of Avery appeared, two rushing Hammy and the other going for Andy.

Hammy shot at them, making one of them disappear but the other ended up using a substitution and appearing behind Hammy to knock her out.

"It's just you and me now Daka." The clone that took Hammy down disappeared.

"You didn't kill her," Andy looked surprised.

"It seems as long as my main body is fighting to take someone out, I can just knock the others out and plan to come back to them. But right now I'm worried about you because I know my body is trying to kill you."

"Well, it's not like you're in control of it..." She dodged a hit before shooting at him.

"I hate this," Avery admitted pushing himself up once again.

"I said I'd do anything to talk to you again, but this definitely was not what I wanted," Andy shot at him hoping to keep her distance. She noticed more and more slices were getting through and her armor was protecting her less and less as the arms stained with blood.

Avery quickly took her clone out and Andy shot at his doing the same.

Hammy moved slowly trying to fully wake up. "Andy, look out!" She tried to push herself up but couldn't.

Andy turned and quickly took a hit from another clone, making her fall forward, unmorphing.

"Andy!" Stinger's shout reached her ears, as well as the sound of Kiba's gun firing. The gunfire abruptly cut off, followed by a cry from Hammy.

Andy groaned as she pushed herself to her feet. She pulled out two more kunai and stood her ground.

"Stinger, we need to paralyze him. Sting him if you can," She ordered as she watched Avery get back to his feet, wounds reclosing.

Stinger uncurled his tail and waited.

Andy watched the other three barely dodge shuriken Avery sent out before he appeared right next to her side. She stuck one hand up to block his attack but he swung around and stabbed her in the back with his other hand. She froze, eyes searching Avery's face in confusion before she collapsed to the ground.

"ANDY!" Stinger's tail arced, the point viciously stabbing Avery in the neck.

Avery fell forward simply muttering, "I'm sorry," before he stopped moving entirely.

Hammy pushed herself to Andy, fighting the pain in her body, before removing the kunai and turning her sister over. She checked Andy's pulse, noting how low it was. "Andy, you have to stay with me," she begged trying not to cry.

Stinger cradled Andy, ignoring his own injuries. "Beautiful? Don't go… please." He was sobbing.

Andy's eyes moved slightly, hearing the noises around her but she couldn't find the energy to answer. The last thing she remembered was Stinger's face above her before everything went dark.

Hammy panicked as she felt Andy's pulse drop lower eventually stopping. "Andaka please!" She kept searching for a pulse for a whole minute before dropping her hands and breaking out into sobs.

Stinger went still. He glimpsed Andy's kyutama lying nearby and slowly picked it up. He stared at the dolphin numbly, one arm still holding her. His eyes began to slip closed.

Kiba regained consciousness, grimacing as he felt the kunai stuck in his shoulder. He heard sobbing, but couldn't pinpoint the cause. Forcing himself to his feet, he moved toward the sound.

"Andy? Stinger?"

He froze as he took in the scene. "Andy?" He collapsed to his knees as he realized what had happened. Silent tears began streaming down his cheeks.

Hammy tried to wipe tears away as she looked down at her sister. She paused though seeing an odd light coming from Stinger's hand. "Stinger...?"

Stinger forced his eyes open, feeling warmth emanating from the kyutama. He opened his hand, staring perplexedly at it.

The light soon surrounded Andy's body.

"What's happening?" Hammy whispered.

Stinger shook his head, not trusting his voice. The light… could it be?

Andy sucked in a deep breath right before the light faded away. Hammy checked her sister's pulse and noticed it was back up to a normal heart rate.

"She's alive?" Hammy wiped the rest of her tears away in confusion and stared at her sister watching her chest move up and down slightly with her breathing.

Stinger released the breath he'd been holding. He gently cupped Andy's face. "Beautiful?"

Kiba stared in disbelief before his eyes rolled up and he collapsed.

Andy blinked her eyes open and looked at Stinger in confusion, "Love?"

He raised her kyutama. "This…" He suddenly sagged, tilting to the side.

Andy sat up quickly, raising her hands to him. She analyzed his wounds and started healing him.

Hammy just stared at her sister in shock, staying silent before glancing over at her brother's paralyzed body.

Stinger's eyes were barely open, but he looked at Andy. "Don't ever do that again…"

Andy just shook her head, "Just rest."

She moved over to Kiba and started stitching him up. "He's going to be out for a while with the drug they gave him." She healed him up a bit more before going back to Stinger and stitching him up. She focused her energy on him more before looking to Hammy, "Are you hurt?"

"Nothing major..." Hammy stared, still in shock.

Andy glanced over at Avery, "I'm going to the village to check in with Niko and see if they know who cast the jutsu."

Hammy shook her head, "Don't go."

"Who knows how many other zombie people they made. Our village could be in massive trouble," Andy reminded.

"How can you just get up and start healing them and then talk about fighting more and act like nothing happened?!"

"I'm a ninja, a kyuranger, and a medic. It's my job."

Hammy shook her head, "Don't leave."

Andy sighed in frustration before going back to Kiba to do more healing.

Stinger lay still, mind racing. That light had been exactly what she had described to him on the previous times he'd died. He had originally picked it because he had felt it suited Andy's personality, but now he wondered if it had always been meant for her. If she had been older when the kyurangers had been assembled, would it have chosen her like his had? He shook his head in annoyance. The galaxy sure liked throwing him curve balls it seemed.

Kiba wasn't fully healed, but he was in decent enough shape. He was still out from the drug though. She couldn't tell exactly what they'd given him but she could tell it wasn't dangerous.

Andy moved back over to Stinger, "How are you feeling?"

"Ask me later. What are we going to do with Avery?"

Almost seconds after he said that, a light shot up from Avery. Andy rushed over in confusion. She saw lights off in the distance too. Looking back at him she saw almost a ghost like figure of Avery rising up from the body.

"What's happening?" Hammy looked up.

Avery looked at himself, "I think the jutsu is releasing."

"So... you're dying again?" Hammy asked.

"I didn't really come back to life," Avery admitted before noticing Andy. "I don't know what happened, but I'm glad you are ok."

Andy just nodded before Avery disappeared in front of them. She bent down and scanned over the body, "It's not Avery. Whoever they are, they're dead now."

Hammy just shook her head, "I don't know what's happening anymore..."

Andy sighed, "The jutsu caster must have been taken out."

"That's not what I meant."

Andy shrugged, "We should get back to the village."

Kiba gave a groan. "What happened?"

"The zombie things are gone," Andy answered.

Kiba opened his eyes and stared at her. "You..." He struggled to rise. "You were…"

"Don't look too surprised, it seems to happen to everyone on this team, right?" Andy sighed sitting down. She stared at her hand, clenching and unclenching it.

"It's not like it happens often though! You died Daka!" Hammy finally snapped.

Andy shrugged and ignored her.

Stinger spoke slowly. "Andy's right. Let's get back to the village. We can deal with this,"

He waved a hand. "Later."

He began to push himself to his feet.

"Even if they've taken out the jutsu caster they might still be fighting," Andy reminded. "They'll probably need me in the infirmary."

"Don't know about Stinger, but I think I could use a week's sleep." Kiba stood and swayed.

"They drugged you, you're going to feel like that," Andy chuckled. "Hammy, make sure he gets home safely."

Hammy shook her head, "You're coming home too."

"Hammy, I'm fine and I can help," Andy growled.

"You're not leaving my sight," Hammy answered.

"I don't want to fight you. I'm an adult and can decide to fight or go help in the infirmary if I want."

Stinger glared at her. "If you fight I fight."

"If I fight the enemy or Hammy...?" Andy frowned.

"At this point does it matter? Now is not the time for this." He grimaced as he breathed deeply.

"I'm with Hammy on this one. At least until we get back to the village. View may change depending on the situation."

Andy glared but stayed silent as she pushed herself onto her feet.

"Do you need help?" Hammy approached Kiba.

He looked at her through half open eyes, then nodded.

She held out a hand to him, "Come on. Let's get you home so you can go back to sleep."

He chuckled and took her hand.

Andy glanced at the three of them before jumping up into a tree and started heading toward the village.

Hammy shook her head and walked slowly with Kiba.

Stinger sighed. He hadn't meant to anger Andy. 'Guess it's my turn to be overprotective' he thought ruefully.

"Some date I took you on." Kiba cracked as he bumped Hammy's shoulder.

Hammy smiled softly, "We can try to have a better one sometime."

Kiba grinned. "Gonna test your luck again huh?"

"Yea, just probably not in the next few days..." Hammy sighed, "I didn't mean to make Andy mad but I'm just worried about her. Our brother just killed her and she came back to life. How can she act so normal?"

Kiba chuckled. "Ask her how she dealt with both Stinger and I practically racing into battle after our deaths? And Stinger's died TWICE."

She stopped walking a second, "...You died?"

Kiba paled. "Stinger didn't say anything? Shit." He froze, pinching the bridge of his nose.

She shook her head, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Just was dreading this conversation."

"I'm glad you're alive," Hammy squeezed his arm. "You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to."

He smiled softly. "No, it's alright. Might give you an idea why Andy is trying to act normal."

He took a deep breath. "After we escaped Kojan's headquarters, I was pretty badly injured. Between the poison and the other injuries everyone was worried. Then I had a pretty nasty looping nightmare. Andy came in to help me but freaked out. By the time she got things sorted, my heart had given out. Apparently nothing she or Raptor did worked. When Andy finally got the courage up to take care of my body I was cold. Somehow she discovered a vial hidden in my jacket and injected me. I regained consciousness and nearly gave her a heart attack. Two days later I was fighting again."

"That sounds scary," Hammy admitted. "Though honestly, now I'm a little more worried about Andy than I was before..."

"She's constantly blaming herself. And now this thing with your brother. She's heading for a breakdown and it won't be pretty." He gave her a sympathetic look. "Take it from someone who has been running from the trauma in his past for years. She's going to need support."

Hammy nodded, "We better get home and make sure she's ok. And get you to sleep."

He chuckled. "Think I'm halfway asleep on my feet."

She laughed and put her arm around him for support, "Well, just sleep as long as you want to, but once we get you to bed."

Andy entered the house, heading for a shower. She was already done before anyone else got home. Laying on her parents' bed, she stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Beautiful?" Stinger stood in the doorway watching her.

She turned to him, "Hey, how are you feeling? Do you want me to heal you up some more?"

He sat down on the end of the bed. "I'm sorry for earlier. I didn't mean to order you around. It's just..." He fought back tears as he remembered the feeling of her in his arms.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "But my village and people were at battle. They still could be. I'm sure they need help in the infirmary. You know I want to help as many people as I can..." She turned back to look at the ceiling again. "I'm sorry I died. I'm sorry I froze while fighting him. Believe me, I know what it's like to watch someone die in front of you. It haunts your nightmares, even if the person got brought back. And I'm sorry you'll be haunted by that now too."

He curled up beside her. "Stop apologizing and hold me."

Andy moved and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her.

After a few minutes, his breathing slowed as he slept.

Hammy made sure Kiba got to bed safely before going to check on Andy. She met Andy's eyes after opening the door, but just gave a nod, noticing Stinger was asleep. She went and cleaned herself up, bandaging the few wounds she did have, before heading to bed. She stayed awake for hours, unable to turn her mind off. Eventually though, she fell asleep around sunrise.

Andy eventually fell asleep, cuddled up against Stinger. She woke multiple times from nightmares but was thankful they weren't ones that made her body act up.

Andy woke in the morning and placed a kiss on Stinger's forehead before heading out to make breakfast. She didn't know if anyone else would be awake to eat but she figured she'd make enough they could reheat it whenever they did decide to start their day.

Kiba was sitting in the kitchen, absently staring out the window. He jumped when she entered.

"Andy? What are you doing?"

She shrugged, "Cooking."

He gave a sheepish grin. "I meant I'm surprised you're not asleep still."

She shook her head, "I slept enough." She pulled out some pans, "I'm surprised you're up with all the drugs they gave you."

He nodded. "So am I. Thought for sure I was going to be sleeping for days. But I woke up a couple of hours ago. I was kinda avoiding making another attempt. Don't need a nightmare on top of everything else going on."

She stared into the fridge looking for ingredients, "You can sleep more if you want. I'm awake and can help you if you have a nightmare."

He frowned. "Don't want to put you through that after..." He fidgeted, leaving the words unspoken.

"You want some help?"

"You wouldn't be putting me through it if I'm offering to help," Andy snapped at him. She took a deep breath, "I've got the food, don't worry. If you do want to though, you could pour us some drinks? There's juice in the fridge and glasses up there," she pointed to a cabinet.

He didn't say anything, just retrieved the items and carefully poured two glasses. He placed one near the stove, then leaned against the sink. He sipped the juice, watching her intently.

Andy grabbed the spoon to stir the food, taking a moment and staring at her hand again, tightly squeezing it around the handle. She shook her head before grabbing some seasoning and sprinkling it in.

"Something wrong?" Kiba's voice was soft.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "No. Why?"

"You were doing that yesterday too. Like you were testing it." He drank the last of the juice without meeting her eyes.

"Did I ever tell you about the brain hemorrhage I had? My arm never really wanted to work right after that. I learned how to deal with it, and trained enough to adjust throwing kunai and shuriken with my weaker grip."

He shook his head, his face unreadable.

"I've gotten way too many head injuries since joining the kyurangers... things just don't always work right in my hands or my memory. But since yesterday my hand is actually cooperating with me, and hasn't even gone numb. I don't know if the kyutama did something to fix it or if it's just working temporarily," she started plating up the food. She handed him one of the plates before taking hers and her juice over to the table.

He sat across from her. "How are you doing otherwise?" He began to eat while waiting for her answer.

She shrugged, "I'm fine. I still want to go to the infirmary to check on everyone though, so if Stinger and Hammy are still asleep when I'm done eating, I might sneak out to do that."

Kiba smiled. "It's not sneaking if someone knows about it." He stretched and gave a small wince. "I'd go with you, but I think my body has other ideas." He got up to put his plate in the sink and yawned.

She frowned, "I meant sneaking from the people who wanted to stop me from going yesterday. But if you want, I can heal you some more and I'll stick around in case you have a nightmare."

He shook his head. "Healing maybe. You shouldn't have to babysit me though. You should check on your people."

"Sit back down then," she ordered. "It's not exactly babysitting if I am offering it." She stood for a moment and put her plate in the sink. She washed up the few dishes and stored the leftovers in the fridge before she made a clone. The clone headed out the door while the real Andy moved to Kiba to heal him more. "I got most of the major injuries yesterday, so I'll do what I can now but you might still feel a little sore. I can give you medicine too if you want."

He was half asleep, one arm pillowing his head on the table.

After a few minutes she nudged him lightly, "Come on, I'll help you get back to bed."

He stood clumsily and stumbled into the hall.

She put a gentle hand on his back and helped to keep him up. She waited for him to climb into bed before tucking the blankets around him, "Night, Kiba."

He murmured something unintelligible.

She smirked before heading into the hall and shutting the door. She headed back into the room she had been sleeping in and slid back into bed next to Stinger.

She focused on her clone who was now in the infirmary talking to Naomi. She helped care for a few patients but surprisingly there weren't too many terrible injuries and only a few casualties in the battle. When she was done helping, the clone disappeared, leaving Andy just staring at Stinger's sleeping form.

A crash sounded from Kiba's room. Suddenly she heard him shouting wildly in the hall.

"Come and get me! You so scared you're picking on the dead?!"

Andy shook her head and pushed herself off the bed. She entered the hall carefully, unsure if he was carrying a weapon.

He swung a fist at her face, kicking out at the same time.

She jumped back to avoid it, hitting the wall. "Kiba? It's Andy... Wake up."

He gave no sign of hearing, instead slamming his arm against her neck and holding her against the wall. "You like picking on the dead so much I'll let you join them." He began putting pressure on her windpipe.

She kicked out at him, hoping it would get him off.

He went backwards, head slamming into the other wall. He dropped to the floor, lying still.

Andy's eyes widened in fear as she rushed over to him and started checking him over. She sat next to him and healed up the bruising that was forming before focusing on his mind. She wasn't sure if he was still having a nightmare but she wanted to help if he was.

She saw ninjas and zombies massed against him. He fought violently, reminding her of Stinger during his manic nightmares. Soon though she realized he was weakening, yellow liquid beginning to drip from his eyes.

Andy yelled to him, "Kiba? This isn't real. You need to wake up!"

He met her eyes but they were unfocused. He struggled to regain control. "I-I can't...something's...wrong" He toppled over on his side.

She rushed to him, ignoring the figures in his dream. "Kiba?" She scanned him over trying to figure out what was wrong but didn't see anything. "Kiba, how can I help?"

He shook uncontrollably. "The... drug they gave me… I think it was… to make me like… your brother." He arched his back with a cry.

She frowned, "But it didn't work..." She tried to think of ways to help him, "I wonder if I can formulate some sort of antidote?"

He gasped. "I don't know… but I can't hold out much longer..." His eyes were slipping closed as she watched.

"Just hang on, Kiba. I'm going to help you out." She left his mind, quickly forming a clone. The real Andy worked on keeping his vitals at a steady level while the clone took a blood sample and rushed to her voyager. She knew her planets infirmary didn't have the technology the Orion did.

Andy forced herself to keep working, trying to keep his body working normally. Within twenty minutes the clone had returned and stuck a needle into his arm, filling it with an antidote she hoped would work.

His breathing evened out, his color returning. His body quit shaking and calmed. Andy's clone disappeared, before she leaned back, resting onto the wall. Her hand rubbed at her throat, realizing he had left some bruising on it. She watched him breathing for a few minutes, knowing she should probably move him off the floor but she ended up drifting off to sleep herself, still leaning on the hallway wall.

Kiba blinked his eyes open, alarmed to find himself on the hallway floor. Pushing himself to a sitting position, he looked over. Seeing Andy, he was puzzled until he looked at her throat. He gasped at the bruising. Had he done that? He panicked, almost tripping in his haste to escape the house. He started running, not stopping till he had reached the Outlook. His breathing was ragged, his chest heaving as he practically flew into the tallest tree he could find.

Andy woke, panicking when she noticed Kiba wasn't there. She searched the whole house quickly before looking around outside. Her next thought was to try contacting the comm they made for him. She hoped he had it on him. Grabbing her seiza blaster she called, "Kiba?"

"I'm sorry..." His voice was faint and sad.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. Where did you go?"

"Camping."

"Can I come talk to you?"

There were a few seconds of silence, then a muffled "yes."

"Ok, please don't go anywhere else. One of the drugs they gave you messed with you and I don't know if there'll be any more complications. I'll be up there soon. Ok?"

"Ok." His voice sounded young and frightened.

She left a note in the bed by Stinger before heading off to look for him. She headed to the Outlook, keeping an eye out for him. After not finding him she called his name hoping he'd hear her.

"Up here." He sounded a little calmer. He peered out from a tree.

She jumped up next to him and sat down, "I'm sorry I just left you sleeping on the floor. I got a little worn out trying to keep you alive..."

He looked at her, then reached out with a shaking hand to touch the bruises. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"No," she shook her head, "Why would I be?"

"I could have killed you...like I did her." His face crumpled, tears began to well in his eyes.

She scooted a little closer and wrapped an arm around him, "Your nightmares get bad, but normally you don't attack people. Do you know how many times Stinger's almost hurt me while having nightmares?" She rubbed his back gently, "I don't know who you are talking about, but I'm not worried about you hurting me. I trust you."

"Why?" His eyes were sad. "Remember when I told you I used to sleep with a gun?"

She just nodded in response.

"Right after I escaped, after I learned the truth a young woman took me in. She was like you, a nurse who wanted to help. One night I had a nightmare and she came into my room… I shot her."

"I'm sorry... I know you didn't mean it though. And I'm betting she wouldn't blame you either. It was Shocker that traumatized you in the first place, so it's their fault for the nightmares." She gave him a soft smile, "I trust you, because I know you are a good person. You're one of my best friends and you are like a brother to me. I know you would never hurt me on purpose."

He sighed. "Why can't I trust me?" He stared at his hands.

"Because, you blame yourself for things that weren't your fault. You think you'll turn back into the person Shocker wanted you to be. But I think part of trusting yourself is also trusting those around you, knowing we have your back to stop that from happening."

He nodded. "It's so hard. I spent five years running, hiding. When Stinger told me what Kojan had done, it took all my willpower not to just disappear. But I can't leave you to face Shocker alone…"

"Don't just stay because you feel you need to help us fight them... Stay because you want to and because you enjoy being there. I know things haven't always been the best since you joined, I mean we've both died, right? But it's the good memories that are most important. As long as you are having fun and enjoying your life, that's what matters most."

He met her gaze. "You and the Orion are the first real home I've ever had. I won't leave it without a fight. If I run now, I'll never stop. It ends now."

Andy gave a soft chuckle, "I'm glad it's been much easier to get you to stop running than it was Stinger."

He grinned. "Told him you could do better. I'm smarter."

She laughed, "It wasn't until about two years ago that he finally stopped trying to run away... Though that was probably one of the craziest little adventures we had. I'm glad he stopped running and I'm glad you are stopping too."

Kiba nodded and leaned on her shoulder. "I don't feel good."

She smiled softly, "Let's get you back to the house and back to bed, ok?"

He began to carefully climb down. He was shaky but reached the ground without incident.

Andy jumped down and offered her arm for support.

He gave her a grateful smile, his eyes half closed.

They walked slowly, Andy trying not to rush him. She heard a noise nearby and almost panicked but chuckled when she noticed Shishi appear, "I'm sorry, we left you at the campsite didn't we?" She kept walking with Kiba, the cat following close behind.

Kiba chuckled. "Bad owner."

"It's not like she can't care for herself," Andy answered with a laugh, "And it's not my fault I had to rush off to rescue you two."

Kiba laughed. "Okay okay. It's not like we were looking to get kidnapped."

Andy smiled as they approached the house. After opening the door and entering she found both Stinger and Hammy at the kitchen table. "Hey."

Hammy was silent but giving her a glare. Andy just rolled her eyes in response.

"Uh oh… think she's going nuclear." Kiba whispered in her ear.

Andy chuckled, "Let her. Let's get you back to bed first, ok?"

He gave her an amused smile. "I'm glad it's not me she's mad at. She's scary."

After getting him back to the room, Andy went back out to the kitchen and repeated her greeting. Hammy still just answered with angry silence, so Andy glanced at Stinger.

"He okay?" Stinger gave her a smile.

"Really bad nightmare, sleep attacking, one of the drugs they gave him messed him up so I had to send a clone to formulate an antidote while I tried to keep him from dying. He was in really bad shape... But of course, he ran off when he did wake so I went after him."

Stinger rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What are we going to do with him?" He looked at her. "How are you doing?"

She chuckled, "You have no room to talk, he runs off less than you used to." She rubbed her throat without thinking, "I'm fine. Tired from trying to care for him but fine."

Stinger rose and took her hand down. He looked at the bruises, anger starting to show in his eyes. "Did he do this?"

She looked at him confidently, "He was having a nightmare. Don't get angry at him, you've hurt people too during your nightmares."

He sighed. "I know. It's just seeing you hurt…" He wrapped his arms around her and didn't say anything more.

After Stinger pulled away, Hammy finally spoke, "Why would you think it was a good idea to randomly leave after what happened yesterday?"

"Like I said, I was going after Kiba."

"He should have known better too."

Andy sighed, "I left a note."

"Still! What if something happened while you were out?"

Andy shot daggers with her eyes, "You can't follow me everywhere. Yes, I know what happened yesterday but we are rangers. You and I are ninja. Fighting is our way of life, death is inevitable."

Hammy groaned, "I can still worry about you! You're all I have left!"

Andy shook her head, "I'm not saying don't worry entirely. But you have to accept death will eventually happen whether you try to stop it or not. So enjoy the present time and be happy instead of yelling at me." She headed out the door.

Hammy shook her head and glanced at Stinger, "Did I screw up?"

Stinger shrugged. "You're both right. Just give her some time. Maybe you should check on Kiba?"

Hammy nodded before standing up. She glanced into the room Kiba was in and watched for a moment, noticing he was fast asleep.

Andy was outside throwing kunai into a tree angrily.

Stinger approached her from behind, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She spun around in surprise, kunai in hand, holding it to his throat before she realized who it was. Her eyes widened and she stepped back quickly, dropping the kunai to the ground. "Sorry."

He shook his head. "I should be the one saying that." He took her right arm and held it. "Your strength's back?"

She shrugged, "I don't know if it's temporary or not."

Stinger looked at her. "You know it's just because Hammy loves you right?"

"I know... I just don't want to think about it. It's like when I'm working and there's multiple patients coming into the infirmary, I just need to focus on them and the important things and push emotions and worry aside. I'm just trying to focus on the other things right now, but she seems insistent on stopping me from doing that."

Stinger sighed. "She's trying to process it. And you can't push everything away forever." His com buzzed.

He touched it. "What is it, Champ?"

The bull's voice was grave. "Dai-Shocker is threatening the Orion."

Stinger and Andy exchanged looks. "Wake Kiba. We have to go _now_."

Stinger walked away, giving instructions to Champ.

Andy rushed into the house and grabbed her stuff before entering the room Kiba was in, "Kiba... you have to wake up."

He opened his eyes, frowning at her tone. "Andy? What's going on?"

"Promise you won't do anything stupid?" She started.

"That's not reassuring. Okay I promise." He sat up and waited.

"Champ just called... Dai-Shocker is threatening the Orion."

Kiba's face paled and he began to shake. His breathing sped up and he stared at the floor unseeing.

"Hey, we're going to take care of everything," Andy reassured. "Don't worry."

"You don't know...the things they have done. If they get you…" He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. "Remember when you saw me in the gym?"

She nodded, "Yeah?"

"Those scars aren't all from fighting..." His breathing was slowing, the shaking almost gone.

"It's going to be ok. We'll figure something out, I promise."

He didn't answer for a minute. Then he met her eyes defiantly. "It ends here. They aren't taking anything else from me."

Andy nodded, "Come on, Stinger's waiting."

She headed out to find Hammy. "We have to go. There's a threat we have to take care of."

Hammy looked at her worried, "Do you need help?"

"You can come if you really want, but you should probably stay here..."

Hammy looked at Andy sadly, "Just come back alive, ok?"

Andy pulled her in for a hug, "I'll try. I love you."

"Love you too."

Andy pulled away and glanced at Kiba who was now standing nearby, "Ready?"

He nodded solemnly. "Sorry, Hammy. Date's going to have to wait a little longer."

Hammy sighed, "All of you better come back safe. Good luck. You know I'll be there if you need me to help."

Andy nodded before glancing at Kiba.

Kiba gave a small smile to them. "Tell Stinger I'll meet you when you arrive." He waved his hand and stepped into the grey haze.

Andy gave Hammy one final hug before rushing out the door.

She relayed Kiba's message to Stinger before making sure Shishi was behind her, "Let's get to the voyager."

Once they were in the voyager heading to the Orion, Andy looked at Stinger, "We can protect him, can't we?"

Stinger's hands tightened around the controls. "Damn sure going to try."

Andy rested her head on his arm, "I just want to keep everyone safe. Are we ever going to be able to actually relax and retire? Because at this point I don't see it happening..."

Stinger sighed. "I wish I knew."

She slightly joked, trying to lighten the mood, "Looks like I can keep pushing my problems away for now though."


	18. Taking Out Shocker Fortresses

Andy watched Stinger land into the voyager bay. She climbed out and glanced around looking for Kiba.

A flash of black caught her eye near Stinger's voyager.

"Kiba?" She approached slowly.

He looked up slowly. His face was pale and tear streaked. "Andy...I have to leave."

"Kiba? You don't have to go anywhere," she said softly.

"They have a crisis fortress. They plan to incinerate the Orion in ten minutes unless I go with them."

She shook her head, "We can fight them. You don't have to go with them."

He shook his head. "You can't fight a fortress."

She sent a memory into his mind of her telling him they'd protect him. She soon saw the fortress in his mind and frowned, "We can figure something out. I'm not letting you just walk into their hands like they want."

He clenched his fists. "They will do it. I've seen them incinerate planets just to kill one person."

"I'm not letting them take you without a fight, Kiba. You promised not to do anything stupid and giving yourself up counts as something stupid."

"I don't have a choice!" He growled. "I can't be responsible for your deaths... That would break me beyond repair."

"Look, if you give yourself up, you better know I'm going to chase Shocker down and break you out."

He shook his head. "There won't be anything to break out. Either I'll be dead or my mind will be theirs. I advise as soon as I go over for you to warp the hell out of here as far as you can go."

"You have to know I'm going to try anyway. You're talking to someone who threatened to kill themselves just to stop Stinger from doing the same. I don't always think rationally, especially when it comes to my family. You can say whatever you want, but if you go to Shocker, I'm either going to come rescue you, or take you out so they can't use you anymore." She shook her head, "Whether you go willingly or not, I'm not giving up this fight. So it's better if you don't leave in the first place."

He bent his head. "Forgive me?"

She put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm going to fight to keep you safe, no matter what it costs. That's what family does for each other."

"I'm sorry." His hand shot out, aiming for her temple.

Her hand moved quickly, blocking him, "What are you trying to do, Kiba?"

"I can't let you die... And Shocker will make me kill you. All of you." He tried to get free of her grip. "I have to go!"

"I'd rather die trying to save you than to live knowing you walked right back to them!" Andy gripped his arm harder.

He was shaking, breathing ragged. "We lost you once... I can't do that to Stinger again." He wrenched his arm free, jumping to his feet.

"We watched you die once too! You want us to lose you again?! You're literally making the same arguments as I am, why do you want to hurt us by leaving?"

"You can't fight Shocker alone. The Riders barely managed together to weaken it." He took a deep breath. "You'll be destroyed. Worse they'll take your mind and you'll be helpless to stop them. Either way they will still get me. At least this way you'll be safe." He began to walk away.

"Once I make up my mind, I don't change it. You can do what you want, but I'm still coming after you. You can't convince me not to," she yelled at him.

He stopped and turned. He gave her a sad smile. "Don't worry. They won't have me long." He produced his pistol. "A matter of seconds and we'll all be safe."

She froze, eyes narrowing, "What are you planning?"

"I told you no more running. So I'm going to give them their desire, then have them see my free will. I'll end it with my own hand." He looked down at the pistol ruefully. "Only fitting that the weapon I used to kill the good guys takes me out."

Andy took a second and sent a memory of what Kiba just said to Stinger, hoping he'd be able to sneak up and paralyze the rider. Tears started falling from her eyes, "Please don't do this, Kiba."

He raised his head. "I don't want to, believe me. I wanted to stay here. I wanted to go camping and eat s'mores again. I wanted to see if Hammy would actually love me. But I want you all to live more."

She shook her head, "I died yesterday. I shouldn't even be here now," She raised the arm with her seiza blaster and pointed it at herself, "I told you I don't make rational decisions. I swear if you give yourself up to Shocker and kill yourself, I'll just do the same. You want us all to live, so do I. But I refuse to live if it means losing another person I care about. I can't take that pain again."

Kiba's eyes widened and he gave a step forward. Then he stiffened and began to sink to his knees. A flash of orange retreated behind Iruka voyager.

Andy lowered her arm slowly, tears still streaming down her face, "I can't take it again..."

Stinger emerged, kneeling beside the paralyzed Kiba. "We are not losing anyone. Especially not you." He looked up at Andy. "I'm going to the bridge. I'll send Champ down to help you with him."

He disappeared out the door.

Kiba struggled to speak. "W-Why? Why do you...care so much?"

Andy fell to her knees as sobs took over her body. She struggled to talk, "You're my brother right? We're family. I can't let you go without a fight."

Kiba fell onto his side, eyes closing.

Andy looked back up when Champ entered, "Can you get him to the infirmary?"

Champ nodded, picking him up. In the android's arms he looked small and frail. The bull left the bay.

Andy pushed herself up and wiped the tears away as she followed behind. When they got to the infirmary, Andy put multiple restraints on Kiba to prevent him from leaving. She then set up an IV of sedatives to keep him under while they came up with a plan.

After finishing up, she headed to the bridge to see what Stinger and Champ had come up with. "Any ideas?"

Stinger looked up from a console. "Run? I'm starting to think Kiba was right."

"That doesn't mean we should just let him walk in there willingly!" Andy shook her head trying to formulate some ideas.

"Andy, this thing is heavily shielded and has the ability to shoot fireballs." Stinger slammed a hand down. "I don't want to let him either. But it may be the only way."

"We could use the Ushikai kyutama to make the Orion go faster, if we did run. Do you think we could use the Futago kyutama and clone the Orion so they think they destroyed the real one while ours goes cloaked?" She scanned through a list of available kyutama on a tablet, "We could run in and trap them all with the Corvus kyutama? Could the Fuuchou kyutama be strong enough to transport the whole ship?" She was silent for a moment before suggesting, "We could also use the Futago kyutama on him and send the clone in instead so they think they have him, then we could run?"

"How long would the clone last? If they find out before we can get far enough away…" Stinger frowned. "They'll come after us you know."

"I don't know! I'm just trying to come up with ideas!" She groaned in frustration.

Stinger gave her a hug. "I know you are. This situation though…."

She sighed, leaning into him. After a moment she answered, "Let's clone Kiba. I'll create a clone too. My clone will go in, invisible, to watch if they get suspicious and to see how long the other clone lasts. If I can get any intel I will and since I'll be here on the Orion, I can report anything we find to you. As soon as they have the clone, who should be an exact replica so he should pass any scans they run, the Orion can get as far away as possible." She looked up at him, "What do you think of that plan?"

Stinger grimaced. "I think it's the only thing that will work."

"If the clone lasts long enough and they start messing with him, at least our Kiba won't remember it..."

Stinger's eye twitched. "Let's not go there. Go do what you need to."

She quickly made a clone of herself before heading to the infirmary. She untied one of Kiba's hands for a moment and slipped the seiza blaster in it, putting the futago kyutama on and using his finger to fire it. She looked up and saw a clone standing there in front of her. She quickly restrained the real Kiba's arm and looked at the clone, "I have a plan."

The clone of Andy soon became invisible and put a hand on the clone Kiba's shoulder before following him off into the Shocker fortress. She soon moved away from him, hiding against the wall, avoiding the Shocker troops. She watched and waited to see what would happen.

Kiba grinned smugly. "Took you idiots long enough."

A scaly half human creature pushed himself through the mooks. "Ahhhh DeStruct. You got smarter."

Kiba bristled. "That's not my name." He cocked his head. "You got uglier."

The creature jerked his head at the mooks who surrounded Kiba. He gave no resistance as they bound his hands behind his back. "Great leader will be pleased. Take him to the medical chamber."

Kiba kept his eyes straight ahead as they marched him down the hall.

Andy followed behind, dodging figures walking down the hallway. She saw a medical chamber which looked almost familiar to her, maybe from one of his nightmares?

Kiba began to struggle as they unbound him, forcing him into a metal chair. The mooks struggled to latch the restraints around his wrists until a white coated man appeared and stabbed a syringe into Kiba's neck. The Rider's eyes closed, his body going limp. The mooks finished and left the room.

The scaly creature looked at the lab coat. "Great leader commands you to perform the surgery at once."

The lab coat bowed. "It shall be done."

The creature left the medical chamber as the lab coat began hooking a machine to Kiba's head.

Andy's clone kept watching, worrying what would happen once the surgery was started.

The real Andy was sitting on the bridge, eyes closed, occasionally telling Stinger and Champ what was happening.

Stinger tensed. "Surgery? That doesn't sound good."

Champ moo-ed his assent.

"I'm hoping being an exact clone that he lasts through it..." Andy mumbled as she watched what was happening through her clone's eyes.

"Me too." Stinger's hands gripped the chair arms.

Lab coat had finished hooking up the machine and pressed a button. A hologram of Kiba's brain appeared along with a set of brain waves. The scientist reached for another syringe, this time injecting it into Kiba's arm.

A few minutes later, Kiba's eyes blinked open. He yanked on the restraints violently as soon as he fully woke. "Let me go!"

The scientist shook his head. "I can't do that. But don't worry, everything will be fine."

He then restrained Kiba's head in place. "Can't be moving around or else it will end badly for you. I'm sorry that I can't put you to sleep. Need to see your reactions."

He adjusted a laser over a certain area of Kiba's head, double checking the placement with the brain scan and nodded. "It's ready." He then pressed a button on the tablet he held.

Kiba screamed as the laser activated.

Both Andy's cringed hearing the screaming but she tried to take a deep breath and stay quiet, the clone to not give away its location and the real Andy to not worry her teammates more.

The scientist kept nodding, his eyes flitting back and forth between Kiba and the tablet. "Very good."

Kiba tried to thrash, the restraints keeping him securely in place. He had stopped screaming, the only sounds now harsh grunting. Suddenly he went limp, his eyes glassy.

The scientist tapped a button and the laser deactivated. He walked into Kiba's line of sight and paused. "What is your name?"

In a monotone, Kiba answered. "Kamen Rider DeStruct." He looked straight ahead without blinking.

The scientist smiled widely. "Very good. And who do you serve?"

Kiba looked at the scientist. "Dai Shocker. Swear allegiance or be eliminated."

The scientist laughed. "Oh I swore allegiance a long time ago." He began to remove the restraints as Kiba sat quietly. "Great Leader will be pleased indeed."

Andy shook her head, trying to remember the real Kiba was safely on the ship. The real Andy spoke up to Stinger and Champ, "How far have we gotten?"

Stinger checked the console. "We've just entered the Orion galaxy. I think we're safe for the time being. Why?"

"I think I might have to kill the clone soon. They've turned him into DeStruct..." She sighed, "I will take out as many Shocker troops as I can after that. Then if I let them kill my clone, they'll have no reason to come back after the Orion because they'll think they took out the threat."

Stinger swore under his breath. "Any information?"

She was quiet for a moment as the clone got closer to the screens trying to read them over. She hoped they'd give Kiba an order soon or talk about upcoming plans so she had something else to report on. "His brain patterns are odd. It could be because he's a clone. The real Kiba is a clone, I mean. It could explain why the control gun and zombie thing didn't work on him..."

Stinger frowned. "Odd how?"

She thought for a moment, "It's like... there's two patterns there almost?" She moved from looking at the screens to glancing at the papers on the table nearby.

The scientist nodded over his tablet. He turned back to Kiba who hadn't moved. "Orders from Great Leader. You are to go to the planet Kaien. Eliminate the king so Shocker may rule it."

Kiba nodded once and rose, heading for the door.

Andy cursed. Her clone snuck up behind the scientist and sliced his throat with a kunai. She turned toward Kiba, even though she was still invisible, she knew he'd have heard the body drop to the floor.

The real Andy kept her eyes shut, trying to focus all of her energy into her clone, but she spoke quietly hoping Stinger would be able to hear, "They want to go after Lucky and take over the Leo system."

She wondered how she'd take down the Kiba clone, as she watched it turn.

"Show yourself before I start shooting!" Kiba yelled at the seemingly empty room.

The scientist lay dead in front of him and he knew there must be a cloaked intruder. He reached for his pistol.

She appeared before his eyes, "Don't shoot! I work for Shocker. This man was a traitor." She took a breath, "He gave you a slow acting poison, trying to take out Shocker's best weapon. I can give you an antidote."

Kiba glared at her for a minute, then nodded. "I have a mission. Remove the poison quickly." He reseated himself and waited.

She nodded and moved to look into the cabinets nearby. She found a vial and quickly filled up a syringe with the liquid. She moved to his side and quickly stuck it in his arm and watched for a reaction.

He began to tilt forward, the sedative quickly causing him to become sleepy. She took his arm and felt his pulse starting to slow, but she stayed quiet.

Kiba felt groggy, his mind disorientated. He forced his eyes open and saw Andy watching him. "Andy?"

Both the clone and the original Andy gasped, "It's ok. It's going to be ok..."

Kiba nodded. "Don't let them use...me."

His eyes fluttered closed as he went limp.

She felt the clones pulse slow to a stop. She hoped it would last long enough for the others to see he didn't escape.

The real Andy took another deep breath before asking, "Stinger? Should I just go run and attack whoever I see like I originally planned? Or should I try to find a control room and blow it up?"

Stinger thought a moment. "Control room. We do not want that thing getting to Lucky."

She nodded before making her clone invisible again. She searched down different hallways, avoiding troops the best she could. A few times they got within an inch of her but she somehow managed to not touch them.

She finally found a room that looked promising. She found a self-destruct button but it needed a key card to activate it. She rushed back to the other room, cringing when she noticed troops were in there realizing Kiba and the scientist were dead. She knew they'd be after her so she had to hurry. She found the card she had seen on the table earlier, grabbing it and making it invisible with her. She went back to the other room and was about to put the card in when someone knocked into her.

She stuck the card in quickly before becoming visible. She fought off the troops surrounding her, stopping them from pulling the card out. She heard a countdown start, a simple ten seconds. Just ten seconds to keep them away from the card.

More troops entered, and she got pushed back up against the panel. She sliced at everyone coming at her, finally falling with one second left. She took a deep breath though as she heard explosions starting. Within seconds, her and all of the Shocker troops on the fortress went up in flames.

Andy's eyes shot open as her breathing quickened, seeing Stinger and Champ nearby she started to calm a bit.

"Andy? Are you alright?" Stinger gave her a questioning look.

She met his eyes and nodded, "Yeah... sorry." She took another couple breaths, "The fortress is destroyed."

Stinger sighed in relief. "Excellent news. Let's just hope no more show up. I'll contact everyone to keep an eye out."

Andy spoke, barely above a whisper, "Can you come to the infirmary with me?"

Stinger looked at her and nodded. He stood from the chair and extended his hand.

She took it slowly, and started walking in silence.

Stinger tried to talk to her but finally gave up.

When she got to the infirmary she took a deep breath moving to Kiba's side. She stared down at him for a minute before unhooking the IV drip.

Stinger gently asked, "What happened on the fortress?"

She looked at him numbly, "I tricked the clone. And I sedated him to death basically... But he recognized me again at the end, even after they turned him back into DeStruct."

Stinger's jaw tightened. "I wish I could have destroyed them."

"And after that, I knew it was just my clone getting hurt, but blowing up isn't that fun..." Andy gave a sad smile. "I know Shocker is terrible, but... their screaming..." She shook her head, "Sorry."

Stinger embraced her. "Don't be. You can't keep this stuff bottled up. Look what it did to me and Kiba."

At the mention of his name, the rider stirred. "Andy? What happened?" His voice was groggy and childlike.

She moved toward him shakily, "It's ok... don't worry..." She tried to smile at him.

"We were in the voyager bay...I was going to surrender." His eyes went wide. "What did you do? Andy, tell me what you did!" He yanked at the restraints.

She stepped back, bumping into Stinger. "I... I took out the fortress."

"Wait...what?" Kiba stilled looking at her in disbelief.

She took a deep breath and repeated, "I took out the fortress."

"How?" Kiba was staring.

"Clones...Invisibility...Self-Destruct..." She talked slowly trying to not panic.

Kiba was quiet a moment. "So everyone's safe?"

She simply just nodded.

Kiba grinned, then closed his eyes.

"You aren't planning on going anywhere now, are you?" She asked a little nervously.

"No. I would appreciate these off though." He eyed the restraints. "And I'm so sleepy."

She nodded and undid the restraints, "Well, you have been sedated for a couple hours at least..."

"Really? I guess I should stop pissing you off huh? You might make a mistake in the dosage next time." He chuckled a little.

She stared at him blankly a moment before she ran from the infirmary.

Kiba stared at Stinger. "What did I say?"

Stinger sighed. "Apparently things went bad with your clone and she had to overdose him."

Kiba paled, looking toward the door. "Oh shit… and then I make that comment. I am an idiot. Wait a minute...clone?"

Stinger smiled. "One of our skill kyutamas can create clones."

Kiba raised his eyebrow. "So she created a clone of me and I went to the fortress? Weird."

Stinger laughed. "Get some sleep. I'm going to find her."

Andy was in their room just staring at the wall when she heard the door open. "Sorry for leaving."

Stinger shook his head. "Not surprised. I was amazed you stayed as long as you did."

She shrugged, "I just need a bit of time to process things. I'll be ok soon."

Stinger gave her a lopsided grin. "I know. And don't worry I set Kiba straight. I'm expecting he'll give you an apology the next time you see him."

"I don't need an apology. He didn't know what happened," she sighed and rolled onto her back. "I think the problem with processing things, is in war, we end up having battle after battle, so there is never time to get past things. That's why it's easier to just try to push it all away."

Stinger nodded. "I hear that. I was dealing okay with everything until everyone left. Or so I told myself. You've dealt with the fallout."

Andy held an arm up, "Hug?" She waited for him to join her on the bed and hugged him close, trying to relax. "So much happened today. Was the battle at home really just yesterday?"

Stinger gave a muffled chuckle. "Yeah it was. I'm still sore." He wrapped his tail around her leg and drifted off.

Andy tried to sleep a few times but kept waking with nightmares. She decided to go back to staring at the ceiling as she cuddled Stinger. Shishi eventually appeared too, and she slowly pet the cat.

She gave a small smile at Stinger when he finally woke back up, "Sleep well?"

He searched her face. "You didn't sleep..."

"I did a little," she argued lightly.

His lips quirked upward, but he decided it wasn't worth arguing about.

"Sorry I dragged you to the infirmary... Don't forget you need to go make some calls. Tell Hammy we're all safe too if you can."

"I will. What are you going to do?"

"I might check in on Kiba. I might just go train," she thought before pushing herself up. She gave him a quick kiss before heading out of the room. She walked slowly, finding herself standing in front of the infirmary, struggling to find the strength to go in.

The door opened suddenly and he was there. "Andy! Hi..."

She jumped slightly, not having expected the door to open. "How are you feeling?"

"Still tired, but better than yesterday. By the way Stinger's pretty sneaky with his tail."

She smirked, "I _might_ have sent him an image of what you were doing to try to get him to come stop you."

Kiba's eyes narrowed. "Oh so you're the culprit…"

She chuckled, "Sorry. I told you I was going to stop you one way or another."

Kiba rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… thanks for that. And I'm really sorry for that crack I made."

She shook her head, "You didn't say anything wrong. You didn't know."

Kiba gave her a sheepish grin. "Still... Feel bad about it."

"Don't." She sighed, "Are you hungry? I just realized we probably haven't eaten in over a day."

He nodded. "Find out anything interesting while you were on the fortress?"

"Come on, I'll go cook us something." She walked down to the kitchen. She stared at the stove, "They wanted to go after Lucky and the Leo system. Also, I think I've figured out why the control gun and zombie thing didn't work on you. I want to do some scans here to double check though."

Kiba sat down. "Assholes. Wish I had been there to rain on their parade. And sure, as long as I don't need to give blood." He rubbed his elbow self-consciously.

"Just brain scans. It seemed like you had two frequencies working at the same time. I'm wondering if, because you are a clone of two people, somehow it gave you frequencies matching both of them instead of a new one..." She shook her head, "I don't know why I wouldn't have noticed it before, though, especially having gone into your mind multiple times..."

Kiba stared at her in shock. "You saw two frequencies? How?"

She kept staring at the food, "The clones the kyutama makes are basically exactly the same as the original, so I'd assume everything would look the same on you. They had the clone hooked up to a brain scan."

Kiba paled. "Why?" The question was soft and strained.

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it."

Kiba's next words were so low she almost missed them. "They did the surgery... That's why you did what you did, right?"

"I hope it never happens, but I think we could break you out of it if they take you over again..." She sighed and pulled the food from the stove, "Your clone recognized me at the end. It was back to normal Kiba instead of DeStruct..."

Kiba didn't answer. He had his eyes squeezed shut as he gripped the table white knuckled.

She placed a plate in front of him, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked about any of this..." She went to get her own plate.

Slowly he shook his head and opened his eyes. Releasing his grip, he sighed. "I asked. Just having a nightmare confirmed is kinda horrifying."

She sent a message to Stinger saying there was extra food if he was hungry before she joined Kiba at the table. "If it helps, I took out hundreds of Shocker troops..."

He took a deep breath. "And one of their fortresses too. I'm impressed."

"And if more Shocker fortresses come, I'll take them all out too," she took a bite of her food, still not meeting his eyes.

He gave a short laugh and then began to eat.

Andy looked up when Stinger finally came in. "What did Hammy say?"

"She's planning another camping trip as we speak." He got a plate full of food and joined them at the table. "I didn't have the heart to tell her the bad news."

"Bad news?" Andy glanced at him in confusion. "What now?"

"Tsurugi got an ultimatum from Shocker three hours ago. Return Kiba or they annihilate Eden."

"I took a clone and killed him in front of them so they wouldn't be out looking for him anymore! How do they know we still have him?!" Andy panicked.

"Something about no controller chip in the body. Tsurugi didn't get all the details."

The sound of Kiba falling to the floor broke the shocked silence.

Andy got up shaking her head, "The whole ship blew up. How would they be able to prove that?! And I've scanned over Kiba multiple times and never found a chip?" She took a deep breath and made a clone, before carrying Kiba to the infirmary. She restrained him to prevent him from doing anything stupid before she headed back to talk to Stinger. "What's the plan? I could look for this chip and if I find it we could put it in a clone and trick them again?"

Stinger frowned. "If you've never found it, you might not be able to remove it. But scan for it anyway. We might get lucky. Is he okay?"

"He's unconscious and restrained for now..." She moved their plates to the sink. "Are they stationed on Eden or do they have another fortress?"

Stinger sighed. "Both. There are troops on the ground and a fortress in orbit."

"I can blow up a fortress but I can't blow up a planet. Do they plan to fully blow up the planet or just kill everyone on it?"

"The feeling I got from Tsurugi was they were going to blow it into little pieces."

"Do you think they'd send their troops off of Eden before blowing it? Because if they take their troops off, we might be able to time it just right to blow the fortress right before they blow up the planet... It'd be risky though."

Stinger shook his head. "The spokesman specifically mentioned shocker troops were expendable." He rolled his eyes. "Such a wonderful organization… why ever would Kiba want to leave?" His jaw twitched angrily.

She sighed and rested her head on her hand. "I guess I'll look for the chip before we make any other plans. I'll update you when I find it."

Andy headed to the infirmary and started scanning Kiba over.

"Sorry."

Andy glanced down at the voice and smiled, "You have nothing to be sorry about."

Kiba sighed. "I'm so embarrassed. Passing out like a swooning girl."

"You know neither of us think of you like that," she assured as she rescanned every inch of his body.

"I had just gotten used to the idea that they thought I was dead…"

"I'm sorry. I'm going to figure this out though and continue to keep you safe."

He looked sad. "What if you can't? I don't want you blaming yourself if…"

"I won't be here to blame myself. If they want you they are going to have to go through me. End of story," she paused a moment rescanning an area again.

"Andy?" He tensed at her expression. "What is it?"

She took a breath, "I found the chip. Let me call Stinger and we can figure out where to go from here." She used her comm to call Stinger to the infirmary.

Kiba watched her and knew it wasn't good. It really did seem like karma was out to get him.

Stinger entered and stopped short at the twin expressions of despair. "Andy?"

"I need you two to make a decision." She pulled up a scan. "The chip is located in his brain stem. Now, I could perform surgery to remove it, but that is such a tricky area so there are a lot of risks." She glanced at Kiba, "If I do this, you aren't leaving the infirmary for at least a few weeks so don't expect to go off fighting. That is the best case scenario if there's no complications." She looked back to Stinger, "I could create a clone again, and implant it into him, and do something similar to last time, where we take the clone in, hopefully this time they believe it's the real Kiba, and then we blow the ship. We'd need reinforcements though to take out the troops on the planet." She finished up, "If we leave the chip, there wouldn't be the risk of complications, but they would know when they don't have the real Kiba."

"Worst case scenario?" Kiba's voice was low but steady.

"Worst case scenario," She paused and tried to push the worry from her mind, "I mess something up and you will either be permanently disabled or die. If it helps, I have performed brain surgery a couple times, so I'm not completely inexperienced."

He gave her a weak smile. "There's a third option."

"I'm not letting you give yourself up or commit suicide," she glared.

"They're going to destroy a planet, Andy! A planet of innocent people- over me…

I can't have that on my conscience. The clone trick won't work twice. Shocker isn't stupid. They'll be on their guard. On one hand it's just me. The other is a whole planet. What happens if you can't remove the chip? Are you willing to sacrifice all those people?" He closed his eyes. "Sometimes the only answer is a bad one."

"If you don't want to trust me or my plan, I guess that's your choice," she spoke quietly. "I'm just trying to do what I can to save you. You are important to us. But like I said, the choice is between you two. I'll be in our room when you guys come up with a final decision." She moved out of the infirmary, struggling to control her emotions. She wanted to scream and fight with him, but she also wanted to cry. If she screwed something up, he'd die anyway, but it was a better choice than handing him to Shocker. When she got to her room she grabbed her bag and started checking the supplies in it.

Kiba slammed his head into the pillow. He wanted to punch something, but he was still restrained. "Why can't she just accept that there isn't any other way to do this?"

Stinger gave a sad chuckle, "She's never accepted the bad truths. But somehow she's almost always found a way out of them."

Kiba growled. "Why is she fighting so hard for me? She knows my past...I'm not worth dying over."

"I said the same thing for years and she insisted on fighting anyway. She's rushed into danger countless times worrying more about me or the others than herself. She's... stubborn. But somehow when she sets her mind to something, things work out."

"I'm dead either way. One way saves a whole planet. The other way sacrifices a planet."

He looked at Stinger. "If it was your choice what would you do?"

"Old me would say sacrifice myself. After knowing Andy for so long, I'd trust her plan," Stinger admitted.

"Do you believe she can remove the chip? I mean, knowing Shocker, they planned in advance safeguards against this very idea."

"Well apparently their self-destruct method just involved entering a code card, so not everything they do is that smart," Stinger chuckled. "But I'm sure she'd find a way to work around any safeguards if they show up."

Kiba cracked up. "A code card? Seriously? Wow." He sobered and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "I trust you. I trust her. Let's do this before I back out."

Stinger nodded, "I'll go talk to her."

Andy was sitting on the bed petting Shishi when he came in. "What's the decision?"

Stinger leaned on the dresser. "He says he'll trust your plan. He's skittish as all hell though and it's giving me flashbacks."

Andy sighed, "I'm sorry there's no easy way to do this." She looked back at the cat, "I do have a couple questions though... How far are we from Eden, how many people live there, and do we have any backup in the sector?"

He reached for his tablet. "We're two days from Eden. Approximately 6 million people. And we're in luck. Our favorite thieves are "relaxing" a few hours away."

"And, knowing how far we are, how long did Shocker give us to respond?"

"They gave a generous four days."

She smiled, "Perfect." She got up from the bed, carrying Shishi. "Let's get this started then."

Stinger gave a nod. "I'll update Tsurugi and contact BN." He paused and looked at her. "Andy, Kiba is convinced he's going to die either way. He's just trying to make his life mean something. Go easy on him."

She nodded, "I know, I just get so frustrated sometimes. I was good just leaving the infirmary instead of snapping... You know how I used to get with you." She chuckled. "Obviously my focus for the next while will be this surgery. Not to give you orders, but as soon as I'm out can you give me a report on any safety measures Eden has. Do they have any weapons or anything like that? Or a bunker type thing? I'm trying to think some things through."

He walked over and kissed her. "Tsurugi is sending that info as we speak."

"Good. I'll meet you in your office with my updates when I'm done," she carried Shishi off to the infirmary.

Andy smiled at Kiba when she entered. "I'm sorry for getting angry earlier."

He shrugged. "I needed my head removed from my ass. You gave me the kick I needed."

"I'm just trying to do what I think is best to help both you and the people of Eden," Andy admitted.

He sighed. "I know. I just feel so worthless most of the time. I'm nothing special."

"You're special to us."

He chuckled. "You've made that quite clear. You really think it will work? I mean I'd rather die like this than by Shocker's hand..."

"You said they will be expecting it again. I'm hoping they will expect us to not use the same trick twice. Especially once they see the chip."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "What are we waiting for?"

She looked at him and smiled, "Before I get started, I just want to say thank you for trusting me enough to do this. Especially with everything I've been through the last few days... I'm going to do my best to get this done as safely as possible and to keep you alive and unharmed."

Kiba grinned, his eyes twinkling. "I always wanted a beautiful woman to say that to me. Never figured on this situation though. Always thought it would be said in bed, but Stinger got there first." He sobered. "I trust you more than anyone else I know."

Andy chuckled, "Now I'm just wondering if you agreed to date my sister because you couldn't get me," she smirked before creating a clone who started gathering supplies. "I'm going to take the restraints off because I'm going to need you laying on your stomach. Please don't run off on me." She started undoing them letting his wrists and ankles free.

He laughed. "I would never pick another girl in the same family for a trivial reason like that. I wanted to see if she was as sweet as you." He slowly turned over and laid down again. "Don't tell Hammy about this, okay? Not unless something goes wrong."

"Most planets have rules on medical information not being shared, so I try to keep it to myself unless it's something need-to-know." She took a deep breath before informing, "I'm setting up an IV sedative..."

He sat up and looked her in the eye. "I trust you. Stop dwelling on what happened. If you don't, the IV will go in you and I'll disappear. Got it?" He returned to his previous position and waited.

Andy hooked up the IV carefully before slipping a small oxygen mask onto his face. The clone finished setting up the table with everything they needed. Finally, Shishi laid on Kiba's lower back for a mix of relaxing him and to help with the healing.

She waited until she knew he was out to get started. When the clone wasn't handing her tools, she had her hands up trying to keep his vitals steady and healing up the blood vessels so he wouldn't bleed out.

Andy paused a few times glancing at the scans she had taken to make sure she was cutting in the right places. Soon enough she pulled a small chip from him. She closed him back up putting a few stitches in before wrapping a bandage on it. Afterwards they moved him over onto his back again. The clone stayed continuing to try to heal up what she could. Shishi resettled on him, this time laying on his chest.

Andy headed off to talk to Stinger. She found him in his office staring at his tablet. "Hey."

He raised his head. "Done already?"

"Well, I had myself as an assistant and Shishi helped too," she smirked. "I'm actually still trying to heal up the small incisions right now."

He nodded. "Alright. About what you requested…" He trailed off with a sigh.

"What's up?" She asked worried.

"No weapons to speak of. Makes sense because they are primarily a farming planet. But they do have a bunker. But whoever designed it was an idiot."

"Why?"

"The only way to close it is from the outside. Apparently there's a legend about a hero who saved the planet by placing everyone inside except for himself and fighting some big bad to the death."

"How long would it take to get everyone into it?"

"At least two days. I've already contacted our thieves and Tsurugi is calling the others. But it's going to be damn close."

"Did you send out the hebitsukai and tenbin voyagers yet?"

"Two hours ago. They have 'acquired' other transportation and will meet them enroute." Stinger gave her a faint smile. "I'm_ not _asking for elaboration."

Andy chuckled before thinking over the plan. "We'll get them into the bunker so they can't hurt the people that way. Then we'll wait and try the clone plan. We'll blow the fortress so they can't blow the planet, and then we'll take out the troops on the ground."

Stinger pursed his lips. "How long to put the chip into the clone?"

"I'll make the clone as soon as Kiba wakes. Then it won't take too long."

He nodded. "Alright. Then do it. We'll go with the plan until something happens."

Andy headed back to the infirmary. The clone working on Kiba had finished up with what it could do so she let it disappear. Shishi still laid on his chest though. Andy sat down at her desk and glanced at her tank with the toads in them. She dropped a bit of food in for them before she started writing ideas out on paper. She paused though when she heard an odd beeping noise coming from one of the machines Kiba was hooked to.

His hands were moving as his eyelids twitched furiously. The oxygen mask was blocking any noise, but she could tell he was muttering something. As she watched, his blood pressure and heart rate started dropping, causing the machines to beep faster.

She quickly created a new clone having it focus on his vitals while she focused her energy into his mind searching for his nightmare. She found herself staring out at space. She could see the Orion in the distance too. A Shocker fortress appeared, firing upon the planet. Another shot was fired hitting the Kyuranger's ship. Both exploded into pieces. She noticed Kiba nearby, floating almost like she was, just randomly in space.

"Kiba? This isn't real you know," she spoke, hoping he could hear.

"Why? Why didn't they listen?!" Dream Kiba was screaming. "I didn't want this! It was supposed to be me…" He turned to face her and she was horrified to see blood pouring from his head.

"Kiba, this isn't real. The planet and the Orion are safe for now," she assured.

The machines were faintly wailing now. Kiba was staring where the debris floated. He gave a final cry and went limp, the blood floating in little bubbles around him.

Andy found herself back in her body and rushed to his side, holding her hands up to try to fix the wound she had seen in the nightmare before she realized it wasn't real. Her clone was still trying to keep his vitals evened out.

She spoke slowly, almost begging, "Kiba, please. Don't give up. I'm going to do my best to keep you and everyone else alive. So please, Kiba, come back to us. Wake up."

There was no response for a minute, then Kiba coughed. His eyes cracked open, but they were glassy. He struggled to focus on her. He tried to speak, confusion in his gaze.

"It's ok," she assured. "Everything is ok. You had a nightmare and you still have sedatives in your system."

He blinked slowly, then slipped back into unconsciousness.

After his vitals calmed back down, the clone disappeared again. Andy stayed by his side a few minutes making sure he was still doing ok before going back to her desk.

It would still be over a day until the Orion arrived near Eden but fortunately the voyagers were faster. She needed to perform the surgery on the clone before starting up on the next phase of her plan though, because she'd need all the focus she could to pull this all off.

She had wanted to wait to clone Kiba until he was awake, but she was going to have to do a lot of healing on the clone to make it look like the chip had been there for years. She wrote a few more things down before making another clone, grabbing the futago kyutama, and starting up the next operation.

After completing the operation her clone focused on healing up the clone of Kiba while she sat back down at the desk. She heard one of the heart rate monitors start picking up pace so she headed over and noticed the real Kiba starting to wake.

His eyes were hazy, but clearing quickly. He shakily removed the oxygen mask. "I'm alive so I guess everything went okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, everything went well." She smiled at him, "Don't worry. Just rest."

He gave her a look. "Something's wrong isn't it? You've got that look."

She shook her head, "I have a few different things going on at once, my mind is just in too many places." She sighed, "You had a nightmare but the surgery went well. I also did the surgery on the clone to implant the chip and he's being healed up right now."

He tried to sit up, but didn't get far before he grimaced. "I want to help." He touched the bandage and winced.

She shook her head, "Remember, I told you you are going to have to stay here a while. I can probably heal you up more but I need to make sure I have enough energy for everything else going on. Especially healing up the clone so they aren't suspicious. I'm also going to be working on getting some intel soon I hope. There's nothing you can do right now anyway, the Orion won't be near Eden for another day."

Kiba frowned. "I'm the expert on Shocker. You're going to need me." His eyes were starting to close as the sedatives dragged him down.

"I told you in advance you wouldn't be going anywhere, so don't start arguing now," she said softly. "Good night, Kiba." When she was sure he was out, she pulled out the restraints and wrapped them around his wrists and ankles to protect him and stop him from trying to leave.

When she finally left the infirmary, her clone was still working on Kiba's clone and Shishi was back on Kiba's chest. She headed out and found Stinger. "Any updates?"

Stinger grimaced. "Troop strength is increasing. I have a feeling Shocker is planning something."

"I'll figure it out," she nodded. "The Kiba clone is being healed up with the chip in him so he'll be good to go whenever we get there."

He nodded, exhaustion showing on his face. "I hope we can finish this quickly for Kiba's sake."

His eyes turned sad. "Can you imagine running from_ that _for so long? Knowing if they caught you, you'd lose your free will? Even Jark Matter was more humane." He scowled. "I can't believe I just said that."

She sighed, "I know. And I plan to do whatever I can to keep him from their hands."

Stinger clenched a fist. "You and me both." His monitor beeped and he touched the button.

Balance appeared in the cockpit of Tenbin voyager.

"Hey!" Balance waved.

Stinger nodded. "Balance. What's the situation?"

"We are working on getting the people to their bunker. We've hit a couple snags with troops though, but it's been pretty smooth," Balance informed. "They are sending down more troops from the fortress to the planet in transport ships."

Andy listened intently trying to figure out a plan.

Stinger scowled. "Thanks. Keep an eye out and report if it gets worse. Be careful. We'll be there soon. Orion out." He shut off the monitor and glanced at Andy.

"We should take the clone to the planet instead of the fortress. I doubt they can perform the surgery on him there, but if they do manage to scan him they'll find the chip and think he's the real one. And the clone can help take out some of the Shocker troops on the planet with us."

Stinger thought a minute, then nodded. "I agree. Less chance of something going wrong."

"I'll figure out the fortress and see about taking it down," Andy added.

"You know, once they think they have Kiba it might just leave."

At Andy's look, Stinger chuckled. "I know. A pipe dream right?"

She chuckled, "I know everything won't go right with my plan, but I've already set things in motion to see about taking the fortress down anyway and so far things are working out perfectly." She sighed, "I just hope things keep going the way I want them to."

Stinger sighed. "I hope so too."

"How long until the Orion arrives near Eden?"

"Five hours. Tempted to go in shooting, but too much risk to the people. Though if we could get a lucky shot at the fortress, it would be a win." He shot her a grin. "I swear it's only a wish."

"We can't blow the fortress until we know the people are safely in the bunker because if we do the troops will start attacking innocent people. And like I said, I'll take care of the fortress, you just set up a plan to take out the ground troops."

He shrugged. "I'm sure Balance, Naga and I can handle the situation on the ground. Just worried about everything else. How is Kiba doing?"

"When the real Kiba woke, he was insisting he needed to help. So you know, I restrained him," she smirked. "I told him he wouldn't be able to go anywhere for a while. I _could_ heal him up completely but I need to make sure I can cover the rest of my plan first so I wasn't going to tell him that."

Stinger chuckled, then pursed his lips. "I mean he could help advise. He's familiar with Shocker's troop movements and he can tell if they are buying our story with the new clone. Nothing he needs to do out of bed. Just watching a monitor and reading the intel Balance has sent."

Andy nodded, "I'll let you undo one of his hands to hold reports but he's staying restrained in the infirmary. I'll have more intel though soon." She paused a moment, "Can I have something to write on?"

Stinger gave her a confused look. "Your tablet not working?"

"Faster to write on paper," she admitted.

He gave a lopsided smile and reached into a drawer. "I know what you mean. Here." He handed her a stack of paper.

She nodded in thanks and closed her eyes. She started taking notes, writing down anything she thought might be important. She cursed after a couple minutes though. "You said we have five hours right?"

Stinger's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "Let me know the moment they get the people into the bunker. Don't give them the clone before that." She was silent for a moment, "Look, just... trust me. I'm going to be here for a while longer taking notes when I can."

Stinger exhaled sharply. "Alright. Anything else?"

"They want to destroy the planet either way. That's why I need to know the people are safe before trying to blow the fortress."

His jaw twitched. "Not a problem. Should have known they weren't going to just go away."

"If you go to the infirmary, my clone healing the clone can update you if I find anything else major. I'm going to stay here taking notes and writing down any other intel my first clone can find."

Stinger rose. "Is Kiba awake? I want to get his opinion. Maybe we're overreacting."

The clone in the infirmary glanced over before the real Andy answered, "He's still asleep. But I'm not overreacting, I'm telling you their plan."

"How would you know…" He looked sharply at her. "Andy, what the hell did you do?"

"You guys decided to go with my plan, I'm just doing more of my plan." She answered. She blinked an eye open to look at him, "Don't worry."

He growled. "I'll stop worrying when you stop doing things behind my back." He took a deep breath. "Keep doing whatever you're doing. But I need Kiba awake soon if at all possible so I can get his input. Any plan I make will be highly questionable if I can't cover all the angles."

She opened her other eye and glanced at him, "This is the real me in front of you, so I'm not in any danger. There's a medicine I can give Kiba that should be able to wake him. I'll have my clone in the infirmary do that now so you can talk to him."

Stinger stood with a nod. "I'll be in there then." He picked up his tablet and left the room.

In the infirmary Andy's clone moved away from the Kiba clone and injected medicine into the real Kiba. She stared at him for a few minutes making sure his vitals stayed steady. She glanced up at Stinger when he entered, "He should be waking up any moment now."

Kiba's eyes fluttered open slowly. He looked at Andy blearily. "I thought I was supposed to rest?"

She chuckled, "Commander's orders to wake you, sorry."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "What can I do for you Stinger?"

Stinger smiled. "I need advice."

"On what? Your love life or how to keep from killing your boss?" Kiba cracked as he tried to wriggle out of the restraints.

Andy's clone chuckled and moved back to the Kiba clone, resuming healing him.

Stinger bit back a laugh. "Neither. I have some intel reports I want your input on."

Kiba stilled. "That bad? Let me see."

Andy winced as she remembered she was supposed to unrestrain him. She turned, "Here." She tossed the keys to Stinger.

Stinger chuckled, catching them and unlocking one of Kiba's hands. "Only doing this. Medic's orders."

Kiba shot Andy a dirty look. "Where do you think I'm going to go?" He held his hand out for the tablet.

Stinger handed it over, Kiba scanning the reports with an intent stare. He frowned when he had finished, staring down at the screen blankly.

Andy and Stinger exchanged glances.

"What are you thinking?" Andy finally asked.

Kiba didn't look up. "Shocker is not going to leave if they get me like we thought. They are settling in for a takeover."

Andy paused a moment, "Other than the fortress near Eden, there's only one other fortress that's come over to our universe. Though they might bring more..." She stared blankly back at the clone.

Kiba's voice was grim. "Leo system was just the start. We stopped that plan, but Shocker obviously had more ideas. We have to find their portal system and destroy it. That way it will slow, if not stop completely their invasion."

Andy spoke up, "Portal system? Would it be built into their ships or would they have a base set up somewhere in our universe?"

Kiba thought a moment. "When I was under their control, I remember seeing small systems in the fortresses. But it acted more as a receiver or repeater. Like it was being sent information on how to create a portal."

Andy smirked, "If _you_ had access to their computers, what code words would you search to find information on portals?"

Kiba grinned and typed a phrase onto the tablet. "Sorry. Shocker language doesn't translate well. This is the best approximation of the codes used." He held the tablet out to Stinger.

"By the way, if you stick with the plan to defend that bunker be careful. Shocker once tricked a planet into hiding inside one. They took the planet without a fight."

Andy glanced over Stinger's shoulder and looked at the codes. "I wish it was easier to understand all of this Shocker stuff. I'm getting some of it though."

Stinger gave Kiba a worried look. "How did they take the planet?"

Kiba sighed and looked out the window. "They disintegrated the bunker with everyone inside. Used the planet as a base for troops."

"Do they have a way to take out the bunker without the fortress?" Andy wondered.

Kiba shook his head, his hand rubbing his neck. "Honestly I don't know." He yanked on the other restraint in annoyance. "There are a few things I don't remember."

Andy sighed before glancing at Stinger, "Let his other hand go..."

"You sure?"

Andy glared at Kiba, "I swear if you try to leave this ship I will take you down." She looked back to the clone and gave a final scan, "I think I'm done with him."

Kiba looked down at the bed. "Right now I think you probably could. But I don't plan to. At least not unless you guys need help. I don't even think I can leave here by myself." He looked at Andy. "Just with everything going on, these are messing with my head."

She nodded in understanding, "I'm sorry, I'm just trying to keep everyone safe right now..." The clone stared blankly again for a moment before asking, "If you could look up anything on their computers just to have more information, what would you look for?"

Kiba didn't skip a beat. "Information on the cloning process, any records on me." He sighed. "There's quite a bit I don't know. Like what the vial was in my jacket…"

The clone in the fortress started reading what she could decipher from the Shocker computer, taking notes in Stinger's office. All three versions of Andy gasped as she read into the clones. "They tried making hundreds of clones... None of them ever survived except you." She paused, "Shit, someone is coming." The clone in the fortress closed the computer tab and moved away to avoid being detected.

Kiba gasped. "You're in the fortress!? If they find you…" He sat up shakily. "Do you have a death wish?" He paused as he registered what she had said. "Hundreds of clones?"

"Real me is in Stinger's office, don't worry..." She sighed, "At least a few hundred. It might be higher."

His face went pale. "That's why they don't stop. I'm too much of an investment..." He looked at Stinger. "There's no getting away from them…" He stood shakily, breath fast and ragged. "I shouldn't have come here…"

Andy shook her head and grabbed a nearby syringe and quickly stuck the needle in Kiba's arm. "You need to calm down. Everything is going to be fine," she put a comforting hand on him. "Just trust us. We're going to try to keep you safe."

His eyes stared into hers, clouding as the sedative took effect. They were lost, almost hopeless and she sighed as Kiba finally sagged into her arms.

She shook her head and got him back into the bed and restrained again, "Sorry I sedated him," she looked at Stinger, "I can't handle him panicking right now though."

Stinger nodded. "He helped all he can right now. That information really threw him though."

His com buzzed. "Stinger. What is it?"

Champ answered. "Balance reports all villagers are in the bunker. But Shocker troops are massing and he requests we back him and Naga up if possible."

Stinger swore. "Acknowledged. Tell him we'll be down as soon as we establish orbit."

Andy sighed, "What do you want me to do? Obviously blow up the fortress... but are we trying the clone? Are we just going to go fight the troops without that plan?"

Stinger tapped his chin. "We'll do the clone. See if they fall for it twice. I don't think we can get out of a fight though. I think the best we can hope for is stopping them here and making them believe Kiba is dead."

"Blow the fortress before though so they can't blow up the planet or just hope they wait long enough, let them have the clone, then blow it?"

"Blow it as soon as we hand the clone over. Then we kill the clone and anyone else in our way."

"Won't they realize we won't kill Kiba? They'd question us if we killed him as Kiba and not as DeStruct..."

"Get the clone to kill himself then. It's something that isn't out of the question for Kiba to do."

Andy took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll try. I guess I should wake the clone and go over the plan with him. Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"No. Once we get into orbit I'll have Champ watch our wonder child here. I'm going to the bridge."

He kissed her quickly and left.

She sighed and grabbed some medicine, hoping it would wake the clone. Once he was awake she updated him on the plan.

Clone Kiba thought for a moment, then nodded. "It's a good plan. No questions will be asked of you, they'll believe I'm dead." He looked at her, noting her distress. "Hey, it's fine. I was planning something like this anyway."

"I just hate making you do it though. At least your clones aren't like mine, your real body won't remember what happens."

He chuckled sadly. "Yeah. That would really mess him up." He shrugged. "Always thought it would end like this. Not being a clone of a clone though."

"This way you can be safe... Hopefully we can take them out and you can be free from Shocker forever." She glanced at the Kiba who was sedated. "I'm trying for it at least..."

"Only problem is if he ever goes back to his universe, Shocker will realize their mistake. And you know he can't resist helping his fathers or anyone else who might need it…"

"I'm sure Stinger feels the same way I do... If we have to we'll try to take Shocker out in any universe Kiba goes to. Obviously I wish he'd stay here and be safe, but I plan to help him wherever he decides to go. He's family now and that's just what we do."

Clone Kiba gave her a soft smile. "Believe me we know." He chuckles. "You do know he's in love with you? He'll never act on it because he loves both you and Stinger too much. Just thought you should know."

She sighed, "I had a feeling. If it was a different time or place, maybe things could be different, but for now all I can do is treat him like a brother."

The clone chuckled. "He knows that. And fully accepts the role."

"I have to ask again though, does he really like Hammy? It'd be nice if things would work out between them..."

"He is head over heels for Hammy. The way he sees it is you were his first love, but Hammy's his soul mate. Not sure Hammy feels the same way… but that's us." Kiba's clone laughed at Andy's expression.

"I think Hammy likes you. Camping was a good idea at the time... Though I was a bit too mad at her afterward to ask her thoughts on you," she chuckled. "We better get going and meet Stinger on the bridge..."

He gave her a nod. "He wants to do it again. He just has one request though."

She looked at him in confusion.

"No zombie ninjas okay? He wants to enjoy his s'mores in peace."

Andy laughed, "Hopefully next time we go home, nothing bad will happen." She gave one last look at the real Kiba and smiled before opening the infirmary door.

The clone walked out of the infirmary without looking back. After getting to the bridge the clone of Andy disappeared. The real Andy now sat in the bridge, still scribbling on paper.

Stinger looked up at Clone Kiba. "Ready for this?"

Kiba took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be. The plan is less frightening this way."

Stinger sighed. "Maybe so, but it's going to be difficult seeing it."

Kiba gave him a sad smile. "It will be okay. Just remember it's better this me than the real me."

Andy nodded before asking Stinger, "Can all three of us fit in your voyager? Oh or he can do his portal thing..."

"Why don't I go by portal? You two can meet me on the surface." Kiba looked at them.

"Why don't we all portal?" Andy wondered, "My voyager is nearby."

Kiba shrugged. "I'm fine with that."

Stinger sighed. "Yeah. We might even catch them by surprise."

Kiba waved his hand and the portal appeared. Before stepping through he nudged Andy.

"Stinger looks like he's the one going to his own death. What gives?"

She looked over Stinger before shrugging, "I think he's just worried... Which reminds me..." She hadn't planned to leave a clone on the ship but decided she should, "I don't want Kiba worrying if he wakes and no one is there..."

Kiba gave her a smile. Then he turned to Stinger. "Hold tight." He walked through, the two of them following.

Andy's clone made her way to the infirmary and sat in the chair next to Kiba, just closing her eyes. Andy's clone on the fortress got ready to blow the ship. Of course the scientists were so focused into their projects they left the cards lying around so it wasn't hard for her to swipe one again. She was hiding in an empty corridor waiting for the right time.

The real Andy stepped through the portal with Kiba and Stinger, looking around at the planet's surface.

The town was surrounded by fields overflowing with grain. Kiba had put them directly in the center, the bunker to their left. A large building lay directly in front of them. A large door began to open.

Andy's hand subconsciously reached for a kunai preparing for an attack.

Kiba grabbed it and shook his head. "Exchange first, fight after."

"Habit, sorry." She glanced at him quickly before looking back at the door.

A half human half chameleon creature exited the building, approaching them slowly.

"Ah DeStruct. Come to your senses?"

Kiba snarled. "Stop calling me that!"

The creature laughed loudly. "It appears that it's you. I remember your insolence. But we must make sure. Scan him!"

A Shocker mook approached waving a wand over Kiba's head. He turned back to the creature and nodded.

Andy internally gave a sigh of relief but just kept a straight face, analyzing the creature.

Kiba was tense. "I'm here. Now leave this planet."

The creature laughed again. "You actually thought we'd keep our word? You are dreadfully naive." He motioned to the mooks who approached Kiba.

Kiba met Andy's eyes, mouthing "Sorry" as he drew his pistol and fired it at his head in one smooth motion. He dropped to the ground, eyes open and staring as blood began to puddle beneath him.

Andy knew it was only a clone but she momentarily panicked. She needed to focus on blowing the fortress so she rushed to Kiba's side, crying, using the time to do what she had to. The tears she was crying weren't at all fake, she hadn't really been ready to watch that happen. She sobbed as she stared at him, knowing the scene she just watched would haunt her nightmares.

Andy was a little smarter this time, barricading the door to the control room so she only had to take down the troops in the room with her. She put in the card and started fighting, listening to the countdown. She took them down in seconds but heard pounding on the door as more tried to get into the room to stop it.

The real Andy looked up when she heard the explosion, tears streaming down faster as she felt her clone blow up. She rose to her feet, trying to wipe them away, missing many but not caring as she pulled out her kunai and glanced at Stinger.

Stinger had his hand on his blaster. He nodded at her, then morphed as the creature yells for the mooks to attack. He began to fire, aiming at the creature as he moved away from her.

Andy morphed as well and ran forward attacking the mooks. "Where are Balance and Naga?"

"I don't know!" Stinger swung his tail, knocking several mooks down as he ran for the chameleon creature.

It charged forward and suddenly wrapped it's tongue around Stinger's throat and squeezed tightly.

Andy cursed and shot at the tongue trying to get him to release Stinger.

He laughed, knocking aside her shots easily. He continued to squeeze as he withdrew a sword.

Stinger felt light headed, but kept trying to reach his blaster. He gasped when he felt a sword impale him. The last thing he heard was Andy's panicked scream.

She rushed forward cutting through mooks, getting closer to the creature. She threw multiple kunai out trying to hit him before she got close enough to slice at him herself.

The Andy clone on the Orion tried calling Balance and Naga to see where they were. She then called Champ and told him they were in trouble.

Andy finally got to the creature and tried slicing at the tongue hoping to get him to drop Stinger. She saw faint signs of breathing when she glanced at him but she turned her eyes back to the creature.

It made a hissing noise, finally removing the sword and dropping the injured kyuranger. It swung the sword at Andy and began to attack, stepping over Stinger's unmoving form.

Andy ran forward, shooting at him as she prepared to block his hits. She used her kunai to stop the sword a few times but she noticed more mooks approaching.

Her clone tried calling Balance and Naga again, praying they were still alive.

Naga answered, sounding out of breath. "Andy?"

"Stinger's down and I'm alone getting surrounded. Where are you?"

"On the other side of the bunker. We were ambushed. Balance is down as well."

She shook her head, "Alright. Just stay alive."

"I fear that may be impossible but I will try." The com cut off in a screech of static.

She thought quickly, and though she knew she didn't have much energy left she couldn't think of a better plan.

The real Andy jumped back from the creature before creating as many clones as she could.

She ran forward again to attack the creature. Her clones took down mooks, trying to open a path for another clone who hoped to get to the voyager to start shooting with that instead.

The creature snarled wordlessly as his tongue flew at her.

She ducked, reaching up and grabbing it tightly. She aimed her blaster at its face and fired repeatedly. She let go as it collapsed, a look of surprise in its fading eyes.

She turned and noticed the mooks turning on her, the clones gone. She took a moment and realized her little plan worked though and the clone was climbing into her voyager.

The clone lifted off the ground, and started aiming at the mooks. After making sure the ones near the real Andy and Stinger were taken care of, she flew over trying to find Balance and Naga.

Andy moved to Stinger's side, scanning him over before starting to stitch up the wound from the sword.

Naga appeared leaning on Champ, but stopped short as he saw Kiba. The bull whispered something to the ranger, who then nodded and approached Andy.

Andy glanced up but kept her hands focused on Stinger, "Where is Balance?"

"Powered down. He's in the bunker." Champ helped Naga sit down. "Aibou?"

"He's alive..." Andy answered, "but he's not in the best shape. You better call Raptor because I might be able to last to get to the ship but I'm not going to be able to stay awake and monitor everyone..."

"Your clone already did. She's warping here. An hour is what I heard."

Andy glanced up at him and shook her head, "Yeah I'm not going to last long if I'm not even remembering what my clone is doing." She looked back at Stinger, "Did we get all of the Shocker troops on the planet?"

Naga nodded. "We lured them into one of the fields and detonated explosives. Champ helped me take out the rest. Eden is safe."

His eyes drifted to where Kiba's body lay. "Did you know he was going to do that?"

She paused a moment before nodding, "I knew but it was still really hard to watch."

Champ moved to his side, closing Kiba's eyes. "What do we do with him?"

Andy blinked slowly, "I don't know..." She took a moment to look at the real Kiba through the clone's eyes, seeing his steady breathing. She then looked back at Stinger. "Can you bury him?"

Champ nodded, picking the body up and disappearing into the fields. He reappeared ten minutes later alone.

"An..dy?" Stinger's voice was faint and pain filled. "Is.."

"Shh. Don't talk," she gave him a tired smile, "The planet is safe, everyone is going to be ok."

Stinger struggled to look at her. But his eyes closed and he lost consciousness.

Andy looked at Champ again, "Let's start getting our team to the Orion, then once Raptor gets there you can come back and make sure everyone leaves the bunker safely..."

Champ moo-ed and carefully lifted Stinger in his arms. "Come on aibou." He headed toward his voyager.

"Come on," Andy pushed herself up and moved over to Naga, "How are you?"

"I believe my only injuries are minor. Bruised ribs mainly. Nothing to worry about."

"How is Balance?" She helped him stand.

"He will need some rewiring and fluids. I can do it with Champ's help when we return to the Orion." Naga began to move away. "We will return with him after the villagers are released from the bunker."

Andy started toward her voyager. She moved slowly as her clone made notes for Raptor on everyone's injuries. She finally climbed into her voyager and set it to autopilot before finally losing consciousness. Her clone faded away from the infirmary chair.

Kiba awoke groggily when he heard Raptor's voice. He squeezed his eyes tight against the lights and called her name.

Raptor moved over to him, "Yes?"

"The plan? Did it work?"

"From what everyone told me, it seemed to. Eden is safe, the fortress was blown up, they did believe your clone was real but the people who scanned it all died. The clone was buried there though." She informed, "Everyone else is still alive."

He cracked his eyes. "Where's Andy?"

"She left me notes on everything. Apparently she is just very exhausted from performing two surgeries, multiple clones, and trying to heal Stinger. She's asleep over there."

Kiba's eyes flew open. "Heal Stinger? What happened? Is he alright?" He tried to rise only to find himself restrained. He'd been loose before hadn't he? His head hurt and he struggled to remember what had happened.

"Someone tried to strangle him and he also received a stab wound. He's going to be fine. Andy had stitched him up and stopped the blood loss down on the planet."

Kiba took a deep breath and inclined his head towards his arms. "Mind letting me out?"

Raptor shrugged, "I don't know why you are in them. Andy didn't say, so I don't know if she wants you up yet."

Kiba pouted. "Raptor…" A stab of pain shot through his head at the overexertion the word caused and he grimaced.

"I'll give you some medicine, ok?" Raptor suggested.

He gave a nod, trying to jostle his head as little as possible. He lay back with a groan.

She injected him with some pain medicine, "If Andy is awake when you wake again you can ask her about getting out of the restraints."

His eyes closed, his body relaxing slowly.


	19. Shocker's Base

Andy saw herself in a familiar room, Stinger, Kiba, and Hammy standing in front of her. Kojan's cold laugh filled the room and she looked up to see him holding the control gun at the three.

She watched their bodies freeze up, eyes looking at her terrified.

"I've got you this time, there's no escaping." He looked over at them, "Do it."

Her eyes widened in fear as they all pulled up their blasters, pointing them at their own heads.

"Don't do it. Please don't!" Andy begged, voice straining.

She fell forward on her knees after the first blaster went off. Seconds later, all three people she swore to protect were gone, bleeding out onto the floor.

Sobs took over her body as she realized she failed. She couldn't protect them.

She faintly heard a voice come up next to her. She looked with bleary eyes and noticed her brother standing there. "Join us Daka. Everyone you love is dead. You couldn't save any of us, so why not come join us? Things will be better this way. No more pain. No more worry. Just you and everyone you love together again."

Andy sobbed, voice barely above a whisper. She nodded, "Do it then."

"I've missed you, Andaka. I'm glad Kojan caught you and is giving us this opportunity to be together again. I know Mom and Dad will be happy to see you and Hammy."

"Stop talking and do it already! Just kill me, please!" Andy begged, seeing Avery was now right beside her. She felt pain explode in her back as his kunai struck.

"It's going to be better this way," Avery assured as she fell forward. The last thing she heard was Kojans laugh before everything went black.

Her body sobbing, face streaked with tears, more visions continued haunting her sleep. She lay curled up in the infirmary bed, her mind filled with unrelentless horrors.

"Stinger!" Kiba desperately called as he fought the restraints. "Wake up! Andy's having nightmares!"

Stinger groggily registered the words. He forced his eyes open, almost falling off the bed. He lay breathing hard for a minute, then carefully slid off and crossed to Andy. Taking her in his arms, he softly called "Beautiful? Wake up, you're safe."

She didn't react or wake, just continued sobbing, muttering out, "Don't die..."

Kiba tensed, "Stinger! Shake her...slap her! Get her awake!"

Stinger sighed and slapped her face hard.

Andy's eyes darted open in confusion, sobs continuing but slowing a bit. She searched around her, unfocused eyes finding Stinger.

"You back, beautiful?" He bit a groan as his body protested being upright. He ignored the pain as he waited for her to answer.

She wiped her eyes and pushed herself up, noticing where she was. Eyes widened, "What...?"

Kiba answered. "You were having a nightmare. Pretty nasty one from the sound of it. I woke Stinger cause I'm a little tied down at the moment." His voice was light, but there were hints of anxiety coloring the words.

She jumped slightly at the voice, having expected Stinger to answer. "I'm sorry..." She looked up at her husband, "Lay back down, you shouldn't be up."

He gave her a weak smile. "Couldn't let you suffer." He released her, trying not to fall over.

Andy caught his arm and pushed herself out of bed, helping him walk back to his own. She scanned him over, "Go back to sleep, love. Do you want me to get you more medicine?"

He gave a slow pained nod as he tried to breathe slowly.

She moved and grabbed a syringe. She moved back to his side, kissed Stinger's forehead before sticking him in the arm with the needle. She pulled up a chair and started healing his wounds.

Kiba lay his head back in relief. Everyone was alive, even if they weren't one hundred percent. Shocker was, for the moment, not a problem. Then why was he still filled with foreboding? He sighed heavily.

After about ten minutes, Andy noticed herself getting dizzy. She stood slowly, using the bed for support before seeing Kiba. She frowned and moved toward him, "Sorry... How are you feeling?"

He gave her a smile. "A lot better seeing you awake. Head seems to be okay. Can you tell Raptor next time to let me out before you fall asleep?"

Andy winced, "Sorry. I had a clone taking notes in here while I was trying to heal Stinger, and then get to my voyager. I didn't even make it back to the Orion before passing out." She swayed a bit as she went to get the key. She came back and started undoing the restraints.

Kiba took the key from her. "You need to lie down and rest. Everything is fine for the moment. I'll go to the bridge and check on things okay?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine. Plus, Champ is there, I know he'd call if something important happened."

"You can't even stand upright. I'm probably the last one who should be talking, but you won't be any good to anyone if you don't recover." He stood and pushed her onto his vacated bed. "Turnabout is fair play. If you don't rest on your own, I'll have to use these." He raised the restraints with a grin.

She gave a small chuckle before admitting, "I don't want to go back to sleep... I can't keep watching everything happening over and over."

Kiba's grin disappeared. "We're quite a pair aren't we?" He leaned on the bed.

She sighed. Going back to avoiding her problems, she reminded, "You aren't fully healed yet. You shouldn't really be up."

"I think you might be right... The room is doing an impressive imitation of a merry go round."

She pushed herself up, "Lay back down and I'll go try to rest."

He took a deep breath, rolling back onto the bed, asleep within seconds.

Andy gave a soft smile at him before making her way back over to her bed. She climbed in, sitting up, staring numbly at the wall across the room. She finally let her eyes rest but fought as hard as she could to stay awake.

-time jump-

Andy stared up at the screen, "So, this is Shocker's base? Do we have a plan or back up coming?"

Stinger shrugged. "Tsurugi ordered the rest of the kyurangers to back up positions but we're already here. It will take them a few days."

"But are they planning an immediate attack or anything? It might be better to wait for the backup."

Kiba stared out the viewscreen, his jaw twitching. "Do we really want to wait?" He took a deep breath and turned. "If you want to wait, I won't hold it against you. But I'm going."

Andy sighed, "I was just trying to think of ways to keep everyone safe. But if you're going, I'm not letting you go alone."

Kiba laughs humorlessly. "You might not want to. I may not be able to restrain myself from killing everyone I see in there."

"They don't even know you're still alive... It might be better for you not to go so they keep thinking that." She shook her head, "I know, you're going to rush in there anyway. I just don't want you dying, I can't handle watching you die again. Plus, I don't know how I'd tell Hammy if you did."

"I have to stop them. If they manage to gain a foothold here, Jark Matter will be the least of your worries." He gripped the railing tight enough that his knuckles whitened.

Andy sighed tiredly, "Alright. Do you have any intel on how their base would be set up?"

"If it's anything like the one I was in, it's all up here." He tapped his temple.

"So you two come up with a plan so we aren't just running in there blind. Let me know when you've got something figured out," Andy left the bridge. She went to one of the rec rooms and just sat on the couch, staring out at the stars with Shishi curled up in her lap. For a moment, she finally felt completely relaxed, until all of her worries and nightmares came back to her. She realized Shishi was probably helping to keep her breathing steady, because she felt like she should be having a panic attack.

Kiba went to one of the consoles and typed in a command. A hologram of a base appeared.

He pointed to a flashing area. "Self-destruct."

He touched another area. "Scientist labs and medical."

"Ops and strategy planning."

He looked at Stinger. "Suggest we hit hard and fast. You and whoever can hit ops for intel. Andy will probably want to go to the science labs. I'll hit the self-destruct and wait for your go ahead, then blow it."

Stinger shook his head, "That won't give you enough time to get out, will it?"

"You're forgetting my portal can get me anywhere in seconds." He met Stinger's gaze. "Don't worry. I'm not on a suicide mission. Firmly intending on keeping you on your toes for a long time."

Stinger sighed, "You better." He looked at the map, "Andy's not been handling things well lately. I'm just afraid if something goes wrong she's not going to be able to recover from it."

Kiba's expression darkened, but he didn't reply.

"Her plans are crazy, but normally work. She's not even here trying to help us plan..." Stinger frowned. "Honestly I'd like her input if one of us can get her to focus on it." He swiped at the map looking at the different locations before giving a sad chuckle, "Sometimes I wonder if she's really the Commander around here with how often she orders us around."

Kiba started to laugh. "That was my first thought. I kept expecting Shou to want to talk to her and wondered if you had lost the job."

He took a deep breath, calming down. "I'll go talk to her. See if she has anything to add or if she just wants to yell at us again." He picked up a tablet and walked out the door.

Andy heard the noise of the door opening behind her, but she kept her eyes trained on the stars.

"Hey, you okay?" Kiba sat down beside her and began petting Shishi, keeping his eyes on Andy.

"I don't know," she finally admitted. She shook her head before smiling, "Sorry, how's the planning going? I should probably be there helping."

Kiba gave a half smile. "We have an outline of one. Though Stinger doesn't trust it I think."

He handed her the tablet. "I put it here so you can review it. See if you have any ideas to streamline it. Or you can just yell if it makes you feel better." He returned to petting Shishi. "Remember when she first met me? I think I've finally won her over."

Andy smirked looking at the cat, "Yeah I figure if she hasn't eaten you alive by now you're probably safe." She read over the plan. "I hate that all of my ideas involve using clones but that's all I can think of... Especially if we aren't waiting for backup."

Kiba gave a chuckle at the remark about Shishi, but grew serious at her clone remark. "If that's what you and Stinger want to do. I'm honestly a little annoyed about constantly being treated like a child who can't join the grownups on the dangerous missions."

She shook her head, "I'm not saying for you to not go. I was thinking if you want to get the most amount of intel possible, we can clone you a few times with the futago kyutama. One of each of us can go with a clone of you and then portal out right before the self-destruct sequence starts. Problem is, if a clone goes down, the person who lost a clone is going to have to make their way to another one to get to safety. Alternatively, we could just make one clone of everyone and send them to do the more dangerous stuff..." She shook her head. "Sorry now I'm not sure I'm even making sense."

He got up and knelt in front of her. "You are. And I understand why you want to use the clones. But I also think you're overthinking in an attempt to make the mission absolutely safe. Too many clone means more opportunities for discovery. If the team is small enough, and we have a little of the luck the kyurangers are known for, then we might just be able to pull this off without Shocker even knowing until it's too late."

He took her hand. "If it goes wrong, then you have my permission to lock me in restraints and hide the key. And yell at me nonstop for however long you wish."

"I don't want to yell. I haven't even cried in a few days. Everything just feels so numb," she admitted. "As a medic, I'd advise someone acting like I am to stay off the mission, but I can't handle sitting up here waiting. If you think your plan is the best plan, then we can do it. I might use a couple of my own clones, invisible, of course, to keep things running smoothly but it seems ok. Stinger is normally skeptical of my plans too so don't worry too much about that."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "I meant Stinger's skeptical of my part. He seems to have the impression that I'm going to stay and let myself get blown up."

He sighed. "I know my track record hasn't been great, but if there's any chance for me to live a normal life then I want to take it." He pointed at her with a smile. "And before you say anything, I mean a normal- for- us life okay?"

She chuckled, "He has a worse track record than you, I think, in terms of suicide missions. And I can't see you having a completely normal life, but Hammy's doing decent at it, being a teacher. You could maybe go try teaching with her or some other normal job there. It's a nice planet once you get past the zombies and get used to ninjas just popping up everywhere..."

He gave her a grin. "What would I teach?" His eyes twinkled as he waited for her answer.

"I mean, there's normal classes like math, we also have classes teaching different jutsus and stuff. You'd be pretty good at teaching hand to hand combat? Or maybe teaching about different weapons we don't make on our planet that enemies might show up with?" She suggested.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Feeling less frazzled?"

She sighed, "A little I think." She looked away not meeting his eyes, "Every time I close my eyes, I keep seeing terrible things happening. And every time Avery kills me, he tells me how much better it'll be if I'm dead. No more worries or pain. It's just getting really hard not to believe him."

Kiba glared at her. "If I don't get to give up, then you don't either. Got that?"

He started to stand and suddenly swayed. "Whoa…I must not have gotten enough breakfast or something…." His eyes closed as his legs buckled sending him to the floor.

Andy rushed to him, "Kiba?!" She scanned over him before calling the bridge, "Can I get Champ or Raptor to come carry Kiba to the infirmary please?!" She stared at him confused at the sudden drop in energy.

Champ soon entered. "What happened?" He gently picked Kiba up and headed toward the infirmary.

"It seems almost like a drop in blood sugar? It's strange..."

Champ laid him on a bed. "That's never happened before has it?"

"No," she shook her head. "I'll figure it out and get him back up to normal." She set up an IV and sat near his bed to keep an eye on him, trying to translate some of the notes she had taken from Shocker regarding Kiba. She eventually shook her head in frustration and wondered if he'd be able to read them for her whenever he woke up.

"Andy?"

She looked up at the voice, setting the papers down beside her.

"Why can't I move?" Kiba's voice was shaky.

"I have you hooked to an IV. Your energy just completely dropped. The best I can equate it to is low blood sugar," she shook her head. "I'm trying to translate your info from Shocker but I'm not getting much." She got in his line of sight, "You _should _be feeling better soon."

He closed his eyes briefly. "I created a translation program. Give me your tablet."

She gently handed him the tablet.

He opened his eyes and typed for a minute, then handed it back before passing out again.

She checked him over and made sure the IV was still working before she started taking notes as she typed different things in.

She froze when she read something over. She reread it again to confirm her eyes were right. She typed in the next few phrases reading further. The tablet slipped from her now shaking hands, clattering to the floor. She stood slowly before running from the infirmary.

Stinger tapped his com anxiously. "Andy? Answer me. Where are you?" He tried to calm himself.

He had entered the infirmary after getting no response from Andy, only to find Kiba unconscious and alone. He tapped his fingers for a moment, then tried the com again. "Andy! Please respond!"

Andy stared numbly at the comm before finally just pressing the button, "Hmm?"

Stinger's voice was a mixture of relieved and angry. "Where are you? You left Kiba alone and now he's having a panic attack."

Off com she could hear Kiba's harsh breathing. "I should have translated it myself…"

"You can give him a sedative to help with the panicking," she said in a monotone voice.

"Dammit Andy! He needs you! His vitals are all over the place and I can't really help him with that now can I? I don't know what you read, but you can't fall apart right now." He cursed as Kiba said something she couldn't hear. "Just come back. Please."

She stood up and made her way back to the infirmary, not meeting their eyes. She checked Kiba over, made sure the IV from earlier was still doing fine, and then raised her hands up and tried to steady everything else. The only words she spoke were, "Take deep breaths."

Kiba did so, staring at her intently. "What did you find?" He asked when he had calmed.

She couldn't bring herself to talk so she picked up the tablet which was still on the floor. She checked and saw the translation was still up before she handed it to him. She wrapped her arms against her wishing she could just disappear.

Kiba read it slowly, forehead furrowing. When he reached the end, he looked up "It's not your fault. Your plan worked because you removed it. I'll manage this somehow. Who knows, it might be temporary." He shook his head at her. "Don't you dare put this on your conscience. This is Shocker's doing not yours." He sighed at the IV. "The plan may need to be reworked though. Unless I can get back on my feet."

Stinger looked between them in confusion. "Will someone please tell me what is going on?"

Andy spoke barely above a whisper, still not meeting their eyes, "His body is having problems without the chip."

Stinger frowned. "What kind of problems?" He ignored Kiba's "I'm fine." He forced Andy's chin up to meet her eyes. "Can you fix them?"

"We're going to have to figure something to keep his energy up, maybe formulate a daily medicine or something? I don't know what other problems it's going to cause..." She finally had tears in her eyes.

"Maybe we'll find something in the base." Kiba slowly pulled the IV out. "This just means the mission has to go now."

"You might not be well enough to go on a mission," Andy argued but her voice was still soft.

Kiba shook his head. "I'm feeling better. But I don't know how long it will last, so I say we go for broke. We have to finish this."

Andy stayed quiet, deciding not to argue further.

Stinger looked at her. "Can you devise something for if he goes down? Like an adrenaline shot or something?"

"I'll try. Give me just a few minutes to work on it," she headed into a side room and started grabbing vials and looking up information.

Kiba shot a glance at Stinger. "Maybe she should stay. She's not focused."

Stinger sighed. "I know. But if I say that she'll fight me."

Kiba stood and kicked the chair angrily. "Every time I get close to getting free, something else happens. Starting to wonder if it's even worth fighting anymore. Seems my clones are the lucky ones right now."

Andy had reentered the room to grab something and she heard him say that. She crossed the room and got what she needed, just muttering, "See? Maybe Ave is right..."

Kiba whirled and grabbed her arm. "DON'T YOU EVER THINK THAT!" His eyes began to well with angry tears. "You have everything to live for…" He dropped it, stalking out the door with clenched fists.

Andy realized she had been holding her breath, not looking at Stinger, she finally moved, going to finish the shot. A couple minutes later she came out, handing a syringe out to Stinger, "I made a couple. Hopefully it works."

Stinger nods. "Last chance to stay here."

She shook her head, "I'm going."

Stinger exhaled slowly. "Hope he didn't take off. Don't really want to try locating him while dodging Shocker."

Andy sighed, "I don't know what he's thinking..." She turned and made a clone who picked up the tablet and started looking at the translations.

Andy pulled Stinger in for a kiss before nodding, "Let's get the others and see if Kiba is still on the ship."

Stinger nodded and headed for the voyager bay.

Kiba paced back and forth, trying to keep his hands from shaking. "Dammit Andy… why do you always blame yourself?" He muttered angrily. He was so zoned out; he didn't even notice he had an audience.

"Habit. You do it too, you know." She spoke gently. "That's not why I agree with Ave, I'm just sick of the pain. But you have things to live for too, like Hammy. So let's get this over with and both not give up, alright?"

His head shot up, then he chuckled ruefully. "It's a deal. Who's coming with me and who's going by voyager?"

"Where do you plan on entering and where are the people in voyagers entering?" Andy wondered.

Kiba consulted the tablet he had tucked in his hoodie. "Figure the best way for me is through one of the storage rooms. Close to the labs and the self-destruct. The others can decide where they want to enter from."

He glanced at Stinger.

Stinger pursed his lips as he thought. "I think we should go in through the front. They probably don't expect us to show up especially after what happened on Eden. We can sneak in and grab whatever intel we find before blowing it."

Andy nodded before making another clone, "I can update between both groups faster than comms." She smirked, "Plus, I don't want to miss any fun." The real Andy stood by Stinger while the clone went over to Kiba.

Kiba grinned at her. "Fun huh?" The grin faltered for a moment as he leaned on Shishi voyager. He took a deep breath, then rose and waved a hand. The portal materialized and he began to walk toward it.

Andy threw her clone a couple of syringes, and she quickly shoved them in her pocket before grabbing onto Kiba's arm.

Stinger waited until the they and the portal had disappeared, then turned to the others. "Let's go. I don't want him to be alone any longer than necessary." As Champ and Naga headed for the voyagers, he caught Andy's eye. "He didn't look good."

"That's part of why I went with him. I wasn't sure he'd be able to make it by himself long enough..."

Stinger's face darkened and they headed for his voyager silently.

When they were both in, she glanced at him, "I'm sorry about earlier."

He shook his head. "You've had a lot happen in a short time. I'm amazed how strong you are."

"I just want all of the pain to end..." She whispered as she leaned her head on his arm.

He nodded wordlessly and lifted off, aiming at the planet below.

Kiba stumbled as he and the clone emerged from the portal, landing on one knee as it vanished. His eyesight was blurring and his limbs felt heavy. He forced himself to stay conscious, breathing deeply and slowly.

The clone took one of the syringes and stabbed him in the arm with it before raising up a hand to analyze how his body reacted to it.

He jumped and rubbed his arm as it felt like somebody had jump started his brain. "OW! What the hell is in that?"

"A mix of stuff. Sorry, need to keep you up for now," she smirked. "Be quiet though."

He grinned. "This stuff might make that hard to do. Feel like I could do the whole mission alone."

He stood quickly, cracking the door to check for guards. "Looks like we're clear."

Andy nodded, "Let's go then."

They cautiously made their way to the labs, which were empty. Kiba frowned but didn't say anything as she began to search. "I'm heading to the self-destruct. Gonna mess with the settings a bit." He disappeared before she could answer.

"Dammit Kiba," Andy cursed under her breath. She went in the direction he had, glancing into each room she passed, looking for anything useful.

Naga and Champ had entered through the landing bay. At first they had easily avoided guards, planting small explosives wherever they could. They were almost finished when Champ heard a noise. He looked up to see a large group of mooks aiming weapons at him. He turned to see Naga in the same situation. They raised their hands in surrender.

Andy and Stinger landed close to a large door. They waited and snuck their way in, managing to avoid the mooks. After a few minutes in a room, taking notes from a computer, they heard a noise. Andy darted up quickly, narrowly pushing Stinger from a hit. They were blocked into the room, so they raised their weapons, firing quickly. They managed to get out into the hall where it seemed like there were a hundred more mooks waiting for them. "What do we do?"

Stinger grimaced. "We can try shooting our way out. Or..." He looked at her resignedly.

"I'm not letting us get taken," Andy growled as she started shooting. She took down some of them, but soon saw one firing at Stinger. She ran forward, taking the shot instead. She winced, trying to push forward and attack more but soon she fell to her knees. She struggled to stay conscious. Her clones had work to do; she couldn't let go just yet.

She was having trouble controlling the clones, pain visible on their faces. The one in the infirmary disappeared as she focused her remaining energy into the other one, trying to find where Kiba had gone to warn him of the danger.

Kiba furiously typed commands into the self-destruct computer. He gave a low 'yes!' as he pressed the enter button and picked up the remote he'd programmed. This would allow him to blow the base without endangering the team or himself. He turned as Clone Andy stumbled in behind him. "Self-destruct's programmed." He stopped as he got a good look at her.

"Can you portal to us and get us out of here?" She took a deep breath, pausing, "All four of us are in a cell..."

Kiba's face darkened as he snarled and created a portal. "I'm on my way. Is the clone coming?"

She looked at him a second, "Do you want me to do the self-destruct?"

He waved the remote. "We can do it as soon as I free you guys. Creative programming."

She nodded and made her way to him. "No one else is badly injured. But I want to keep this clone active as long as I can to help..."

Kiba nodded and grabbed her hand, jumping into the portal.

They emerged in front of the cells. She led him to the one holding them.

"Get up. Cavalry's here." Kiba stood aside to let the clone shoot the lock. He guarded the door, hoping no one noticed how he was using it for support. He'd almost used up whatever had been in the syringe and he could feel his body weakening.

After moving back away from the door, the clone looked at Kiba. She shook her head, "You need to tell us if you start getting weak," she stabbed him with another syringe. "Sorry."

He waited a moment, then shook his head. "No time. They know you're here. We're-"

A voice interrupted whatever he was going to say.

"We are willing to trade your lives for DeStruct. Hand him over and you may leave here safely."

Kiba and Stinger swore, Champ moo-ed defiantly. Naga remained silent. Andy was too busy trying to stay conscious to respond, but she hoped the others wouldn't agree.

Stinger opened his mouth, but Kiba beat him to it. "Don't. You need to get her out of here. She can't fight. I can buy some time for you to get away." He handed the remote to Stinger. "Just press the button and this place will be dust."

He looked at Andy. "Thanks for everything. Tell Hammy I'm sorry." He slipped out the main door before anyone could stop him.

Andy internally cursed and made her clone go invisible, hoping to make it look like she lost the strength to control it so the Shocker troops wouldn't question it.

Stinger quickly hid the remote and gently lifted her. "We'll wait till they acknowledge Kiba, then head for the voyagers. Champ will take Andy to the Orion while Naga and I see if we can free him."

Andy whispered to Stinger, "Give me that syringe I gave you earlier."

Stinger frowned, but handed it over. She cursed quietly as she stabbed it in her leg. "I need to stay awake..."

He glared at her but remained silent.

Kiba took a shaky breath. He'd acted like the second syringe had worked as well as the first, but the truth was it had only given a fraction of the energy the first had. He leaned against a wall as several mooks appeared. He raised his hands. "Let them go. I won't fight."

A white coated man appeared. "Take him."

Kiba flinched as he felt a prick in his arm. The hall began to go black, the last thing he saw was the scientist approaching an intercom in the wall.

Stinger looked up as the voice returned. "You are free to leave."

Andy looked around and made sure no mooks were looking when she held a hand out and took something from her clone. She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the pain as the invisible clone went to look for Kiba. She closed her eyes, leaning her head against Stinger's chest, trying to continue to take steady breaths.

Stinger handed her over to Champ and nodded to Naga. They cautiously left the cell room, moving towards the nearest exit. When they had gotten far enough away, Stinger called for a halt. "We'll wait until Champ lifts off. He can remote pilot our voyagers some distance, then send them back when we call."

Stinger gave Andy a soft kiss. "We'll get him back I promise." He watched as Champ started walking toward the voyagers. Then he and Naga circled around to the base and waited.

Kiba awoke, his head pounding sharply. He growled as he felt restraints around his wrists, but it was the voices that told him he was in real trouble. He kept his eyes closed as he listened to the conversation.

"The control chip has been removed." A deep voice complained.

"The clone they tricked us with had no chip. The surgery was successful anyway." A second voice responded.

"His energy levels are too low."

"He'll be strong enough to hunt those kyurangers down. After that it doesn't matter."

The deep voice vanished and Kiba could only hope his friends had gotten away before excruciating pain became the only thing he could feel.

Andy's clone had snuck in a few minutes before, listening to the same things he was. She hated watching them hurt him but she knew she wasn't strong enough to fight them.

"Champ?" Andy groaned, not opening her eyes.

"Shhh. We're almost to the Orion. Raptor's waiting in the infirmary."

She shook her head, "I still have a clone down there. Don't let Raptor sedate me..." She winced as she adjusted slightly, "They are going to send DeStruct after us..."

Champ moo-ed angrily. "I wish I could thrash them. I'll tell Raptor." He reached for his comm.

Stinger and Naga exchanged looks and crept into the base. Stinger searched his memory for the location of the labs, leading the other ranger.

Kiba trembled as the pain suddenly vanished. What was he supposed to be doing? He struggled to remember as a voice muttered to itself.

"Energy levels holding at thirty percent. If we leave him to regain his strength, we can continue."

The voice vanished from earshot.

Kiba forced his eyes open with a grimace. Everything was doubled and he squeezed them shut again. The room coalesced into one on the second try and he tried to kick out at the computer array. If he could destroy it, his friends would be safe. His leg gave a weak kick and he internally swore. He had no strength and he sagged against the chair.

Andy moved closer to him once the Shocker scientists left. She placed a hand on his arm, "Shh. It's ok."

"Andy?" He turned to her, confused.

"Yeah. Invisible clone," she whispered. "Don't worry, we're working on getting you free."

He shook his head. "I'm too weak. The medicine isn't working anymore and the scientist will be back any minute. You have to end this. Please. While I'm still Kiba."

Her mind flashed back to when she killed the clone. She knew Naga and Stinger were trying to get back to Kiba though, so she refused to kill him. "Don't worry about a thing," she stuck a needle in his arm, giving him enough sedative to put him to sleep. She didn't want to kill him, but she would consider it if it really looked hopeless. For now, though, it didn't, so she just needed to make him sleep and keep an eye on things. She pushed a strand of hair from his face, "Don't worry. Just rest."

His eyes slowly closed. "I don't want to hurt...you." He sagged, breathing slow.

"I know. Don't worry," she whispered once more before moving away from him, going back to the corner she had been hiding in before. She hoped Stinger and Naga would be coming in soon.

There were the sounds of seiza blasters firing down the hall, then Stinger appeared. His face fell at the sight of Kiba, noting the almost unnoticeable rise and fall of his chest. "Kiba?" The Sasori ranger moved to the Rider's side, unbuckling the restraints with shaking hands.

"I sedated him. Don't worry..." Andy's clone appeared next to him. "Though we have to figure out the problems from taking the chip out. We can do that on the ship though."

Stinger jumped, but quickly recovered. "Champ's sending the voyagers."

Naga spoke behind them. "We must go. They are massing."

Stinger hefted Kiba in a fireman's carry and they headed for the exit.

Andy heard noises coming, "I'll try to keep them back. As soon as you three get to safety, blow it."

Stinger grimaced, then nodded. He and Naga raced for the landing voyagers. When he got to his, he looked back. The clone was gone. He took a deep breath and pressed the remote's button, then put Kiba into the voyager. He climbed in and as he lifted off behind Naga, he saw the base explode. He wanted to yell, but knew they weren't out of the woods yet. He aimed for the Orion as fast as his voyager could fly.

Andy fought from passing out as Raptor tried to care for her wounds. She stared at some papers, talking out to Raptor for ideas on how to help Kiba. "I have notes in the other room, and more here too," Andy tried to stop herself from screaming. Raptor had tried to numb the area but Andy refused to be sedated and, maybe knowing how serious the situation with Kiba was, Raptor agreed to follow Andy's orders.

Raptor had finally just finished stitching Andy up when the others arrived. She handed Raptor the pages in her hands, "I can't help any more..." She noticed her vision starting to blur. "Take care of him." She watched Stinger place Kiba on a bed and Raptor rushed over to him and started scanning him over. Andy tried to focus her eyes on Stinger but was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

Stinger gently smoothed her hair back. "Rest, beautiful. We're all alive."

"...love you." She whispered before finally losing consciousness.

He kissed her forehead, then headed for the bridge.

-time jump-

Andy pushed herself off the bed and scanned over the sleeping Kiba. She frowned but decided to talk to Raptor. She only had to wait a few minutes before Raptor entered. "How's he been doing?"

Raptor sighed. "You should not be up. And not well. The energy drain is stable at twenty-five percent, but he's comatose. Whatever they were doing to him didn't help. Your mixture is keeping him alive but just barely."

"Did you get any more useful information from the Shocker stuff I stole?"

Raptor consulted her tablet. "There is some information on how they created him. They apparently were very anxious to see if they could duplicate their success. But unfortunately, they only had the one control chip. You were right about one thing though."

"What?"

"He does have two sets of brain waves. Most of the time they meld but occasionally they don't. It sometimes manifests as panic attacks, other times highly risky behavior."

Andy nodded, "Do you think putting a new control chip in would help him?"

Raptor put her hand on her cheek, thinking. "If we had one. The notes I've read seem to point to it almost controlling his nervous system. It would certainly bring his energy up to a normal level. But I don't know about fixing whatever they tried to do in the base."

"Do you think we can build a new one from scratch?" Andy chuckled a second before pain shot through her. After she caught her breath, "Or we can go grave digging and have something to base a new one off of."

Raptor shook her head. "He won't survive long enough to build one." She shuddered. "As much as the idea revolts my circuits, we may have to have the original if we want to save him."

"Can we get a computer not hooked up to the main Orion system? I want to just look at the chip and see it's coding..." Andy sighed. "The clone body would already be decaying quite a bit, but it's not like we need to perform careful brain surgery to remove it. If you won't let me go, I'm sure any of the others can do it so you don't have to deal with the dead body." Andy smirked. "How far to Eden?"

Raptor answered as she hooked a monitor up for the Shocker information. "At this speed, two days. If Stinger takes it to warp, about 12 hours."

Andy nodded, clutching her side. "Please wake me to help him when we get there... I know I'm hurt but I'm not actively dying at the moment. I just want to help him..." She pushed herself back to her bed.

"I'll wake you." Raptor injected some pain medicine into her arm, then left the infirmary.

Stinger nodded to Naga who sat in his voyager checking his preflight list. "Champ gave you the coordinates?"

Naga nodded. "My seiza blaster has them. I expect to return by 1640." He activated liftoff and exited the Orion.

Stinger made his way to the infirmary where he sat down beside the sleeping Andy.

"Naga just left." He remarked to Raptor who was worriedly monitoring Kiba's vitals.

She nodded. "I hope he makes it back soon."

Stinger's eyes narrowed and he rose to his feet alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"Kiba's energy levels have begun to drop. They are currently at fifteen percent. If they continue to fall, even if we get the chip he won't be strong enough to survive surgery. His ECG is also starting to fall."

Andy groaned as she heard talking. She tried to open her eyes but they struggled to focus. She stared a few more seconds before spotting Raptor and Stinger standing near each other.

"What about the energy mixture Andy created?" Stinger was asking to which Raptor shook her head. "It's not keeping his levels stable anymore. And I am afraid of giving him anymore, with his scans the way they are." Raptor sent a glance to the motionless Kiba. "We may have to accept that we're losing him."

Andy pushed herself up slowly, ignoring the pain in her side. She grabbed her tablet and started reading over something her clone had been trying to work on during the mission.

Raptor turned and noticed her. "Andy, how are you feeling?"

"Physically, like I assume anyone would after being shot. Mentally, trying to keep myself stable to focus on this," Andy didn't look up from the tablet for a few moments but then pushed herself into the other room and started grabbing different ingredients and medicines.

"What are you doing?" Stinger followed her, gently supporting her back.

She looked up at him a moment, "I found this file in one of the fortresses, and if it's what I think it is, it's whatever was in that vial... I hope we don't need to try using it, but I'd rather get it ready in case we do..." She leaned against the table, trying to keep herself upright.

"Let Raptor do it. You need to get back to bed." Stinger supported her as he motioned Raptor to take her place.

Andy rested her head on Stinger's chest, taking a deep breath before nodding, "But as soon as that chip gets on the ship, I'm getting back up."

Stinger chuckled. "I know. But that will still be a little while, so rest now."

Andy looked up at him with tired eyes, "Do you think we'll actually get a break after this?"

Stinger returned her gaze steadily. "I'll make the universe give us a break. Now rest."

She gave him a tired smile before trying to move back to the bed. She closed her eyes and soon was back to sleep.

Stinger watched her and wished he could let her sleep. But he knew she would make his life miserable if he didn't wake her.

"Beautiful? Naga's back." He held the wrapped chip in one hand while gently nudging her with the other.

She blinked open slowly, "huh?"

"Naga's back. He got the chip."

Her mind finally registered the words before pushing herself up. She moved to the cabinet and searched through for some medicine and then took it before going back with a little dish. She held it out for a moment, waiting for him to drop the chip in.

Stinger unwrapped the chip carefully and placed it inside. "Do you think it will be usable?"

She looked at it a second before nodding. She moved over to a table and sprayed it with some cleaning solution. She let it soak for a moment as she scanned over Kiba.

She glanced back at Stinger, "Can you find Shishi? I just want all the help I can get and she might be able to help his vitals stay steady..."

She looked back and dried the chip off, putting it into the scanner to try to figure out how it worked.

Stinger left the infirmary, heading for their room. Entering, he scooped Shishi up from the bed. A few minutes later, he returned with the cat in his arms. "She was angry I didn't let her in here earlier."

Andy looked at the cat smiling before she moved the chip back into the dish. She recleaned it and prepared the table with supplies she'd need. "What's Raptor doing?"

"Think she was recharging. I'll go find her."

Stinger headed for the area Raptor commonly used. Sure enough, Raptor's eyes were glowing as she charged. "Raptor? Andy needs your help."

The light died as Raptor came on line. "Understood, Commander." She quickly followed him back.

Andy had created a clone who was standing with her hands outstretched, glowing as she tried to give Kiba a bit more energy. The real Andy looked up, "Can you help me turn him over?"

Stinger nodded and with Raptor's help gently turned the man over. "Anything else?"

Andy glanced at Raptor, "Can you put the oxygen mask on him?" She then looked at Stinger, "If you want to stay you can sit on one of the beds, but I think we can handle the surgery."

Stinger grinned, kissing her cheek. "I know when I'm not wanted. I'll be on the bridge." He nodded to Raptor who was making sure the oxygen mask was working.

Andy glanced at Shishi, "Come on." She waited until the cat was on his lower back. The clone was still watching his vitals. "Are you ready, Raptor?"

"Yes Andy."

Andy nodded and slowly started making the incisions. About an hour later, she finally stepped away, "Now we just have to wait..." She glanced over noticing his energy levels were a little better and she hoped it was from the chip, not just her and Shishi pouring energy intro him. Her clone disappeared. "If you can get Stinger, we probably should turn Kiba back over but I can't do it." She leaned against his bed, the medicine she had given herself for energy fading. She winced as she tried to turn, realizing the pain medicine had faded as well.

"Let's get you back to bed first." Raptor helped her into the bed, giving her more pain medicine before requesting Stinger's assistance. He arrived quickly and together they moved Kiba back to his previous position.

"What now?" Stinger glanced back and forth between the two beds.

Raptor sighed. "They both need rest. We'll know more in a few hours."

When Andy next woke she heard talking. She tried to focus on them to figure out who was speaking. She finally opened her eyes, noticing the lights had been dimmed again. She spotted two familiar figures talking to Raptor.

"Hey," Andy spoke quietly as she tried to push herself into a sitting position.

"Hey Daka," Hammy approached.

"Why are you here?"

"We were called for backup, just to find out you all went ahead with the mission anyway," Hammy scolded.

Andy just nodded before she gave a sleepy smile to the other figure in the room. "You had another growth spurt."

Kotaro chuckled, "Yeah. How are you feeling?"

Andy looked down at herself and back up before shrugging, "Medicated."

She noticed Hammy and Raptor had resumed talking, now down to whispers so she looked back at Kotaro, "I won't be able to do much the next few days... And I need mindless entertainment... Want to have a Disney marathon with me?"

Kotaro's eyes sparkled, "Yes! Maybe we can even get Aniki to watch too!"

"I hope so. How long are you staying?"

"I don't know. But I'm not rushing out of here so we have time to watch plenty of movies."

Andy gave a soft smile. Everyone on the ship lately had been worried, hurt, or traumatized. Balance had been trying to keep things from being too quiet and moody but it hadn't really been working. She wasn't sure if Hammy was still in a grumpy and worried state or if she'd be her normal upbeat self, but she hoped between Hammy and Kotaro the ship would be a bit brighter than it had been. She needed it. Kiba really needed it. She finally glanced over Kiba's way before asking, "Raptor? How is he doing?"

"His energy levels have stabilized at fifty percent. The chip seems to be working, although he is not out of the woods. Whatever they did to him in the base appears to have caused massive brain trauma."

"Do we have notes on the surgery they perform on him to turn him into DeStruct?" Andy pushed herself up, Hammy grabbing her arm for support.

Raptor nodded. "It doesn't appear they were able to finish. I'm not sure what you did to rescue him, but if you hadn't, if they had continued he would not have survived."

She handed one of the tablets to Andy.

"His energy was too low for them to complete it," Andy informed as she tried to look through the information. "How do his brain scans look? I'm wondering if I should try physical healing first or see if I can find my way into his mind..." She looked at Raptor for input before glancing at her sister. Hammy looked worried so Andy assured, "I'll find a way to help him. Don't worry."

She moved away from Hammy and sat in the chair next to Kiba. She was still waiting for any updates or ideas from Raptor but she held her hands out and scanned over him, starting to handle the physical damage he'd taken.

"The brain scans show severe damage to his frontal lobe. Personality, language and other characteristics are stored there. If he were to regain consciousness, his speech and memory would be significantly affected. That's if he woke up as Kiba at all." Raptor looked at her. "There's a good chance he would be DeStruct if you entered his mind right now."

Andy paused for a moment and looked back when Hammy asked, "Are there risks for you if you do go in his head or will you be safe either way?"

Andy sighed, "I don't know. I made the jutsu after all, but that only gives me the few limited times I've done it as experience." She tried to give a comforting smile before looking back at Kiba. "Kotaro, can you escort Hammy out of the infirmary?"

Kotaro raised an eyebrow before nodding and Hammy looked like she was about to argue but she gave in and let her sister get to work. Andy focused back on Kiba, "Raptor, can you restrain him in case this goes badly?"

Raptor nodded, moving to the table and retrieving the restraints. She had him completely restrained a few minutes later.

Finally, Andy pulled her hands away. She made a clone who then monitored his vitals while she spoke, "I'm going to try getting through to him and see how everything is working..." Andy informed Raptor.

She focused hard, searching for any sense of Kiba. Finally, she spotted him.

He sat up against one wall of the white room she'd seen in one of his nightmares. The room he wanted to hide in before she had convinced him not to. He appeared unconscious but she couldn't see any injuries.

"Kiba?" She knelt by him. "Kiba, wake up."

He stirred, eyes blinking open slowly. "Andy? What's happening?"

"Hey," she smiled at him, "It's complicated right now. But you're alive and we are...I guess in a dream?"

He squinted at her. "My head is killing me. The last thing I remember is giving myself up."

He frowned. "Are we still in the base?"

"We're on the Orion. Everyone is alive," she assured.

He sighed in relief. "Then Shocker's plans are toast?"

"The base was blown up," she nodded before moving to sit. "They tried to do the surgery, but your energy levels were too low... You took some damage, so now I'm trying to figure out how to actually get you awake."

He shook his head in alarm. "Don't do that! You can't do that..." He reached a hand to his head. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

She sighed, "You were still fully Kiba before I sedated you. I doubt you remember it. You wanted me to just kill you there, but I couldn't... I have you restrained and I swear I will take you out if I can't get rid of DeStruct, but I have hope we can figure this out still..."

He took a shaky breath. "You better figure out something fast because restraints won't mean a thing if you can't take HIM out…" He pointed to a darkened corner.

Andy looked over to where he was pointing and let out a small gasp. She stood and tried to look better seeing if the DeStruct in his mind was at all conscious.

DeStruct robotically stood and stared at her. "Swear allegiance to Dai Shocker or be eliminated." He began to walk towards them, face devoid of all emotion.

Andy cursed before taking a second to focus on her clone. The clone looked up, "Raptor? Can you go take Shishi out of the infirmary and make sure she has some food?"

Raptor nodded, picking the cat up and exiting.

The clone then moved over to a panel by the door, typing in her code. The door locked as well as a thicker shield came down. The system beeped, "Lockdown Active."

The clone moved back to Kiba's side before Andy spoke to Kiba, "DeStruct won't be going anywhere. And if for some reason you and I can't stop him, he still won't be able to leave the infirmary so no one will get hurt."

Kiba nodded. "I hope you're armed. I think we're going to have to kill him here. If he doesn't kill us first." He pushed himself along the wall until he was standing unsteadily.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a kunai, "I really should figure out how this works sometime if we make it through this... I guess it's just like making a clone so I have whatever weapons I normally do?" She glanced at him, "Let's do this."

Kiba shrugged, then gave her a teasing look. "I should ask Stinger if you sleep with one of those in bed..." He sobered, looking over at his alter. "Now or never. I'll distract him."

He ran full speed, knocking DeStruct into the opposite wall. They wrestled for control, DeStruct winning. The Shocker alter pinned Kiba to the ground by the neck, exposing his back to Andy and reached for his pistol. "ANDY! Do it now!" Kiba screamed before DeStruct's squeeze cut off his airway.

DeStruct aimed the gun at Kiba's head. "Elimination commencing." His finger began to tighten on the trigger as Kiba fought to breathe.

Andy rushed forward, grabbing hold of DeStruct with one hand and slicing his throat with the kunai in the other. She fell away from him while she looked at Kiba, "Are you ok?"

He coughed, one hand massaging his throat. "Give me a second." He lay there coughing, then pushed himself to a sitting position. "That really hurts."

He looked at the body, then at Andy. "So what now?"

She looked through her clone's eyes noticing his vitals were still steady, "I guess try to wake up?"

Kiba took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Nothing happened. He opened them again. "Don't think it's working."

Suddenly the body twitched, then sat up.

Kiba paled, backing up against the wall.

"I thought we killed him..." Andy's eyes widened in horror.

Kiba froze. "It's like the nightmare…" He stared at DeStruct who was starting to move again.

"Then how do we stop him if he's going to keep waking?"

Kiba quickly sidestepped DeStruct who reached for him confusedly. He touched Andy's arm.

"How did the dream end?" His eyes were serious.

She froze as she remembered, "...You died..."

Kiba nodded. "And this isn't really a dream. I think that to kill DeStruct for good, I have to die as well. DeStruct is, unfortunately, a part of me and as long as I'm breathing, he'll keep waking."

"Kiba... Are you sure?" She glanced at him sadly. "I know I said I'd do it if I had to but... I don't want to. If it's what needs to be done I will..."

He took a deep breath. "I think so. I think you need to kill DeStruct again, then kill this part of me. Then Raptor has to stop my heart. Don't think it matters how."

She quickly took down DeStruct again before staring at Kiba through tears. She took a deep breath and took a moment before finally asking, "How do you want me to do it...?"

Kiba gently took the hand holding the kunai and placed it above his heart. "Quick and almost painless."

She was struggling to keep her breath steady, tears now streaming down her cheeks. "What should I tell Hammy?"

"Tell her I love her." Kiba's eyes glistened, though he didn't cry.

She nodded before letting out a sad chuckle, "Should I countdown or...?"

Kiba shook his head sharply. "Do it before DeStruct revives."

Andy took one more deep breath, whispering out, "I'm sorry," before shoving the knife into his chest.

Kiba coughed, a stream of blood trickling from his lips. "I...know…" His legs buckled and he fell.

She backed away in horror before breaking out into sobs. She stared at him and waited for him to still. She found herself in her own body again, trying to fight back the sobs. Every time she did, pain rushed through her side where she was shot.

Andy released the clone before standing to her feet. She held her hands out over Kiba, and unlike so many times before, she forced his vitals to a stop. His heart was first before a final breath escaped. She scanned him over one final time before sitting there and staring, the weight of what she just did heavy on her. She wiped away tears, sitting there numbly. She finally was brought out of it when she heard her comm go off.

"Andy? Are you done with helping Kiba? I have everything set up to watch movies," Kotaro informed.

She stared at it a second before answering, "I'm sorry. I can't watch movies right now..."

"Andy? What's wrong?" He questioned the tone in her voice.

All she muttered was, "I'm sorry..."

"Andy?! What's wrong?" He repeated a few more times with no response.

Andy moved the comm away from her, pushing it further on the table. Her eyes landed on the notes she had been translating for his file. She took a sharp breath as she wondered if Raptor had finished the mix of medicine that had brought him back before.

She moved to the side room in the infirmary and found a vial on the table. She stared at it for a few moments before going back to her seat by Kiba's body. "Kiba... Would this even work again? Would it revive DeStruct as well?" She sat a few more minutes turning the vial in her hand, "You're finally at peace again... would bringing you back be selfish?"

She shook her head before grabbing a syringe, "You deserve a chance at happiness." She filled it slowly before sticking it in his arm. "And if DeStruct comes back... I'll just have to take you out again." She held her hands out over him waiting for any sign of life.

There was nothing at first, then slowly a heartbeat appeared. It got steadily stronger, the rest of his vitals following soon after.

Kiba started to cough, then blinked his eyes open. "Andy..how..?" He stared at her in confusion.

She looked at him, "...Kiba?"

He closed his eyes for a minute, then met her gaze. "It's me. DeStruct is gone."

She let out a deep breath wiping away the tears starting to well in her eyes. She shook her head, "I found the formula for the contents of the vial that we used on you before... I... I killed you. Then I remembered it and..." she took a breath again, "I knew it could bring DeStruct back too but I figured I'd try it again and take you both out again if I had to..." She gave a laugh of relief, "Can everyone just quit dying now?"

He gave a chuckle, then sobered. "Why would you risk bringing DeStruct back? All of you were safe. Bringing me back could have been disastrous."

She shook her head, "You deserve a chance at happiness." She then glanced at the door, "Everyone else was safe anyway. I've had the infirmary on lockdown since we first saw DeStruct. He wouldn't have been able to get out."

Kiba's eyes widened. "You could have been killed! I'm not worth that…" He tried to control the panic that threatened to overwhelm him.

"Shh, take a deep breath," She ordered. She glanced away, "You're worth it. Look... you're my best friend. All of us here care about you. You deserve the same chance at happiness that we all do." She shook her head again, "And honestly, if I accidentally managed to bring back DeStruct and he killed me, at least I wouldn't have had to face the fact that I killed you."

She wiped away a couple tears, "Just in the last month or so, I was killed by my brother, I've killed a clone of you after watching it become DeStruct, I saw a clone of you commit suicide, I just had to kill you in your head and stop your heart. I am so sick of having nightmares." She finally took a deep breath, "Sorry, you're the one that just died, let's focus on you... How are you feeling physically?"

He waited a moment before answering. "Surprisingly well. Slight headache which I figure is from what happened in my head. Other than that, just tired."

Andy pushed herself up, leaning heavily on the bed as she undid each of the restraints. "They are going to be so mad at me when I open the door..."

Kiba laughed. "Better you than me." He sat up, rubbing his temples slowly.

Andy pushed herself away from the bed and swayed. She managed to stay upright and get to the door. She held her hand up and typed in the code. The doors finally opened and she saw four faces staring at her in anger, confusion, and worry.

Stinger grabbed her arm. "Beautiful? You shouldn't be up."

Kiba stood slowly, leaning on the bed for support. "It's my fault."

Raptor looked between them and shook her head, "Why did you really send me out with your cat?"

Andy looked at Kiba and gave a nervous chuckle. She found herself struggling to keep her eyes open and leaning on Stinger for support.

Kiba shook his head at her.

Stinger carefully led her back to her bed. "Rest. When you wake, we'll watch Disney movies."

Andy looked up at him and smiled slightly before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "What are Disney movies?" He moved toward the door, hoping Raptor wouldn't notice he was trying to escape.

"They're movies from Earth," Kotaro answered.

Hammy glanced at Kiba, "You were almost dead earlier, how are you up? You probably shouldn't be leaving here yet."

He chuckled to himself internally and thought 'if they only knew…'

Externally he sent a pout towards Hammy. "I'm fine." His body betrayed his words as he felt lightheaded and near face planted into the infirmary floor.

Hammy caught him, "You don't seem fine."

Raptor shook her head, "Andy locked down the infirmary about an hour ago. She's never done that before so it can't have been minor."

Kiba's jaw twitched. "If she wants to tell you she will."

Hammy glanced over at her sleeping sister before looking back at Kiba, "Ok, but you still don't seem fine. Lay back down and rest."

Kiba grinned tiredly. "Is that an order?"

Hammy chuckled, "I can't go on a date with you if you don't even have the energy to stay upright."

He started laughing and nodded. "You have a point. Fine, I'll lay down."

Hammy helped him into the bed, "I'll even stay here if you want me to. Just get some rest."

His eyes closed, the grin still on his lips as he gave in to sleep.

A few hours later, Andy started mumbling in her sleep, "Stay back... I don't want to hurt you..." She found herself in an empty white room, similar to the one in Kiba's dream. Dream versions of Hammy, Stinger, and Kiba approached her but she held her hands out. She stared at her hands remembering how she had used her healing jutsu to kill Kiba. Her mind then flashed back seeing how she had stabbed him. More flashbacks raced through her dreams, making her start hyperventilating.

Kiba stirred, hearing the mumbling. Opening his eyes, he saw only he and Andy in the infirmary. He rolled off the bed and padded over to her. "Andy? Andy, wake up. It's just a dream."

He gently shook her when she didn't respond. "Andy wake up!" He didn't want to slap her if he didn't have to. "Andy!"

"Don't want to kill you..." she sobbed, still not conscious.

"Dammit…" He pulled his hand back and slapped her face.

Her eyes opened quickly, "What? Kiba?"

"Nightmare by the sound of it."

She clutched her side as she tried to sit up. She wiped the tears away, "I'm sorry if I woke you..."

"Hey you do it all the time for me, so it's only fair."

She took a deep breath, "You can go back to sleep. I'm going to try to stay awake a little while, so you won't be woken again soon anyway."

Kiba chuckled. "I'm feeling okay. Maybe Kotaro can show me some of this Disney?"

Andy laughed, "The ones I've seen are good." She glanced at the time, "it's late, everyone is probably sleeping..." She smirked before pushing herself out of bed, "Late night kitchen raid?"

Kiba's eyes lit up. "Do we have s'mores?"

She grinned, "We can look." She started walking slowly, using the wall for support. "Raptor is going to restrain me if she finds me up."

"I'll power her down...More worried Hammy will kick** my** ass for being up."

"I forgot Hammy is here..." Andy chuckled before moving toward one of the computer screens and typing something in. "All humans are in their rooms asleep, so we don't have to worry about Hammy. At least not for now." She held her side before pushing herself into the hallway.

Kiba wrapped his arm around her waist. "Lean on me. If you fall, Stinger will use me for target practice with his tail."

She smiled before sighing, "It'd be easier if I could just heal myself like I do everyone else. But I have to heal at normal speed, or slower if I'm pushing myself too hard," she shook her head, "It's fine though, I'd rather deal with healing slower than letting my teammates die."

Kiba cocked his head. "Thought Shishi could heal you?"

She frowned, "I normally keep her helping others... Like she had been helping you a bit until I locked everyone out." She paused a second and sent a mental image to Shishi, "She ends up falling asleep in random places so I sometimes forget she's here and can help." Soon she saw the cat come around the corner.

Kiba shook his head. "Remind me to get one of her siblings. Definitely handy. They could watch my back and keep me from getting killed."

Andy chuckled, "Yeah you need all the backup you can get." She looked down at Shishi again, "It helps being able to just think to her though instead of talking or trying to explain things." She pushed open the kitchen door and moved over to the cabinets looking for s'more ingredients. She grabbed some marshmallows and put them on graham crackers, "It won't be as fun as over a fire, but we can put it in here and watch them expand," she stuck it in the microwave and turned it on, watching it slowly spin.

Kiba grinned and went looking for the chocolate.

After half a minute she pulled the plate out and made her way to the table. After sitting down, Shishi curled up on the bench leaning on Andy's lap.

Kiba returned, munching on a piece. "Found it." He grinned as he looked at them.

She finished putting together a s'more and started eating. She rested her elbow on the table, "I hope it's not asking too much but the universe better give us a break for a while." She smirked, "Maybe we could all go on vacation. Stinger and I found a nice beach planet once."

"Hmm. Not sure anyone wants to see me in swim trunks. But it would be nice to relax."

Kiba bit into a s'more and gave a blissful sigh.

"Maybe I'm just feeling a bit better because of medicine or s'mores, or maybe because we are all alive, but I'm in a bit better mood than I was before the mission. But I really don't think I can mentally handle anything else for the next month," she said only partially joking.

Kiba sat down. "I know exactly what you mean. I think I just want to go on my date with Hammy and do something not life threatening." He finished his s'more and licked his fingers, then looked at her. "And I want you to stop blaming yourself."

She raised an eyebrow, "Even when I try to not blame myself, it doesn't stop the nightmares from blaming me." She looked at him curiously, "So what do you have planned for your date?"

"Nice job changing the subject. And I haven't planned anything. Hammy may have, haven't asked."

"I'm pretty good at ignoring subjects I don't want to talk about," Andy admitted. "I'm excited to hear how the date goes though." She was quiet for a moment, "Maybe I'll try to plan a date with Stinger. I don't remember the last time we had one."

Kiba chuckled. "And Stinger says I avoid my problems…" He laid his head on his arms with a yawn. "Do you think we're going to get caught?" His eyes started to close.

She blinked at him sleepily before resting her head down on the table, "Maybe if we both go to sleep they will just leave us alone and not yell? I didn't think about needing the energy to make it back to the infirmary..."

"Hope so..." He slurred the words as sleep overtook him.

Andy adjusted her arm a bit before Shishi jumped up and laid on Andy's shoulders. Soon they were fast asleep.

Andy groaned as she heard laughing. She tried to blink her eyes open but noticed how bright the light was. She felt Shishi shift off of her before she lifted her head and looked for the source of the sound. She then started chuckling too when she noticed Kiba laying on the floor with one leg up on the seat he had been sitting in before. He was snoring lightly with a small trail of drool running from his open mouth to the floor.

"We need a picture of this," Hammy giggled.

"That's not nice." Kotaro and Stinger said in unison through their laughter.

Andy yawned, stretching as well as she could with the pain in her side. She noticed she felt a bit better, thankful that Kiba reminded her of Shishi's healing. Andy looked at the cat and nodded at Kiba. She watched Shishi nudge Kiba's face with her head trying to wake him.

"Huh? Wha-?" Kiba's eyes cracked open. He smiled at the cat, then realized there were other people in the kitchen. He tried to quickly get up, wiping his cheek while turning dark red.

Hammy giggled again, "Good morning."

Kiba returned the greeting, still embarrassed. He left the kitchen quickly.

Stinger looked at Andy. "Thought you two were in the infirmary?"

She smirked, "The medic thought s'mores would be good medicine."

Stinger chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Was the medic right?"

"They helped. Didn't consider needing to make it back though," she sighed.

"How long were you down here?" Hammy wondered.

Andy glanced at the time, "Around five hours apparently."

"Why were both of you awake that late?" Hammy raised an eyebrow.

Andy just shook her head as a response.

Stinger frowned, but remained silent. He sat down beside her and wrapped his tail around her waist.

Andy leaned against him, "Who is cooking breakfast?"

Hammy smiled, "I will. But after you eat you are resting again."

"So... Disney marathon?"

Kotaro smiled at her, "Everything is ready."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "I better see where Kiba's hiding." He gave Andy a kiss and got up. "Any ideas?"

"If he's not in the infirmary I'd guess his room. If not there maybe training room? But he better not be in there," she warned.

"If he is, I'll kick his butt myself." Stinger promised as he left.

Hammy watched her as she got out the breakfast ingredients. "Are you going to answer my question?"

Andy looked up at her confused, "I'm sorry... What question?"

"Why were you two awake?" Hammy stirred a bowl before pouring it into a pan.

"Oh." Andy looked down at the table, "I accidentally woke him up when I had a nightmare."

Hammy paused. "Are you okay? Are they that bad now?"

Andy looked up, "Has Stinger told you anything that's happened since we left home?" She glanced over at Kotaro, "and did anyone tell you what happened when we all tried to go camping?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"Aniki hasn't been very talkative lately. It's like when I first joined and he didn't let anyone in." Kotaro looked sad.

"So the four of us went camping on our home planet. Kiba and Hammy went missing, so of course we went after them. An enemy group of ninjas had made... zombies is what I've been calling them at least... so anyway I had to fight my brother and then he killed me," she sighed. "Anyway, after that we learned Shocker was threatening the Orion... Let's just say a lot has happened since then. I'm not trying to keep secrets, but I don't know what Kiba wants everyone to know."

Hammy nodded slowly as she cooked. "If Kiba wants to tell me I'll listen." She looked at Kotaro. "Set the table please."

"I don't think he wants to hide anything, especially from you... but I think everyone needs time to process everything," she looked up at her sister, "At least I do..."

Hammy nodded, beginning to portion out the food.

Kiba stood under the shower spray, wincing at the hot water. After a few minutes, he shut it off and wrapped a towel around his waist. He went through his bag and grabbed a clean shirt and underwear, dressing as he entered the bedroom. He had just slipped into his jeans when the door chimed.

He sighed and opened it, eyes widening as he saw Stinger.

"How are you feeling?" Stinger wondered. "Breakfast will be ready soon."

Kiba gave him a wry grin. "Feeling like an idiot honestly. But I know that's not what you're asking. Physically aside from some muscle soreness, I think I'm good. Mentally, I'm dealing with things."

"Did one of you two have a nightmare last night?" Stinger wondered.

Kiba waved him in as he reached for his boots. "Yeah. Andy had a bad one. Had to slap her awake." He paused and ruffled his hair. "I'm afraid it was about me. Didn't come out and ask, but what I heard..."

Stinger winced, "I haven't had a chance to talk to her... What happened yesterday?"

Kiba grimaced. "All I'm going to say is DeStruct happened. If you want details, ask her." He huffed. "Better yet, don't ask at all." He finished putting his boots on, but made no move to get off the bed.

"I can't help her if I don't know what's wrong." Stinger shook his head, "I know she's seen a lot lately, but I don't know everything. Most of the time she's been talking to you. Not that I mind, you're the one she's been busy helping, but I just want to help be there for her."

Kiba held his head in his hands. "How do you help someone get past having to either kill or watch their best friend die?"

He raised his eyes to Stinger's. "Especially when it's a choice between him dying or becoming the monster he once was?"

Stinger frowned, "I don't know... I'm starting to think, though, that maybe we should all just sit down together and get the whole story..." He sighed, "Did she really have to choose that?"

Kiba's voice was so soft Stinger almost didn't hear it. "Yes. I _made_ her choose that."

Stinger took a deep breath, "She's strong. I know she's hurting right now, but you know she'd never blame you for that."

Kiba took a harsh breath. "I blame me."

"Hey, let's go get some breakfast. We can talk more later?" Stinger didn't want to push Kiba into a panic attack. "Andy is strong, I know she will find a way to get past this."

Kiba nodded and rose. "Alright." He narrowed his eyes at Stinger. "How much teasing should I look forward to?"

"From Hammy? Probably a lot unless she's too focused on Andy," He chuckled.

Kiba face palmed, then opened the door. "I'm doomed." He walked out.

Andy glanced up and gave a soft smile at the two walking in the door.

Kiba chuckled wryly. "Go ahead and get it out of your system. I'm ready."

"I just wish we got a picture," Andy smirked.

Hammy giggled at Kiba, "Good to see you actually awake."

Kiba blushed and Stinger patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. I stopped them."

The Rider gave him a grateful smile. "You are my new favorite person on this ship."

Hammy and Andy both shot him mock glares.

He held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry!" He sat down after retrieving his plate from the stove. "But you two should be nicer to me."

The sisters gave each other a look before chuckling. Hammy smiled, "I think cooking breakfast for you is nice enough."

Kiba rolled his eyes with a smile. He got up and quickly kissed her cheek before blushing again as he reseated himself.

Hammy blushed and tried to avoid meeting Andy's eyes, knowing her sister was just looking between them smirking.

"So... Disney movies?" Kotaro finally spoke up again.

Andy laughed, "We can probably start after breakfast."

Kiba grinned. "Are they really fun?"

"Some have sad moments, but they are always pretty funny. A lot of them have music too," Kotaro informed.

Kiba's eyes lit up and he cleared his plate quickly, eliciting laughter.

Andy glanced at Stinger before nudging him, "You look like you are thinking hard about something. What's up?"

"Just some things Kiba told me. I'm glad you guys can get him to relax."

She smiled looking at Kiba before looking back at Stinger, "We were talking about all of us needing a vacation to relax." She sighed sadly though, "You probably need to know what happened soon so you can give reports to Shou and Tsurugi, don't you?"

Stinger shook his head. "I already gave my report on the Shocker base. I would like to know what happened so I can help both of you though. But I won't push. Kiba almost had a panic attack just mentioning you had a nightmare. When you're ready."

Andy nodded and finished her food. While Hammy and Kotaro were at the sink washing dishes, she looked at Kiba, "You guys can go start on the movies. I'm going to talk to Stinger for a bit."

Kiba exchanged a look with Stinger, then asked "Sure you don't want me to stay?"

Andy looked back over toward her sister, "She wants to know what happened. She doesn't know any of our adventures since we left home again. I wasn't sure what you'd want me to tell her. If you want, I could tell her now too so I don't have to try to get it out twice..."

Kiba nodded towards Kotaro. "Maybe he shouldn't hear this."

After the two came back from the sink, Andy smiled, "Kotaro, give us just an hour or two before we start the movies. I promise we'll watch them today, especially since it was my idea in the first place. But we have to finish up the medical reports from the procedure I performed on Kiba yesterday."

Kiba gave her a startled look. "What procedure?"

She shook her head at him, "Why don't we go talk somewhere else? Stinger's office maybe?"

Stinger nodded. "Good idea. Come on." He stood and dragged Kiba down the hall.

Andy looked at Hammy as she stood. She winced, remembering the wound in her side. She spotted the orange cat under the table, "Come on Shishi. You too," she ordered her sister.

Hammy raised an eyebrow and followed.

Once they were all sitting in the office, Andy asked, "Should we start in time order or start from yesterday and go back?"

Stinger shrugged, then glanced at Kiba who was clasping his hands together nervously. "Probably start with yesterday so he calms down."

Andy took a deep breath, "Kiba's energy levels kept dropping no matter what we did..." She looked away from Kiba, "The only thing that could control it was the chip, so we went and got it. I looked into the chip to see what was on it. I edited something which I think will prevent them from taking control of him again, but we had to put it back in to get his energy to even out."

Kiba's face was pale, his eyes closed as he tried to keep his breathing steady. "You realize that's what probably caused…" He trailed off, clenching his fists to keep them from shaking.

Hammy put a hand on his gently for comfort.

"I know, Kiba... But what else was I supposed to do?!" Andy snapped a moment before rubbing her hand over her face. "I took it out of you, which screwed you up. I put it back in you, which also screwed you up. So what happened, all of the clean-up, is all on me."

Kiba flinched, then shook his head. "It's on me for coming here and causing all of this. And Shocker for creating me. You did nothing wrong. Tell them the rest."

Andy glanced up at Stinger a moment before looking back down at her hands, "We put the chip in, and his levels rose, but he still wasn't waking. I healed up what I could before going in to try to wake him, as I do waking him from a nightmare."

She paused for a minute before continuing, "I found Kiba, but there was also DeStruct. We took him down but then when Kiba tried to wake, DeStruct got back up. It was a nightmare loop... The only other time I've seen one on him was right before he died..."

"So how did you wake him?" Hammy spoke gently.

Andy shook her head, "We took down DeStruct again but the only way to stop him permanently was to kill Kiba..." She finally lost the battle with her eyes and tears started streaming down her face. "So in the mind room, I stabbed him... and then I stopped his heart." She started sobbing, curling up in the chair in pain.

Stinger sat silent, absorbing the information. He glanced at Kiba, noting the fact he was hiding his face in his hoodie as he shook slowly. 'No wonder he didn't want to talk'. Stinger thought before getting up and moving to Andy's side.

"Shhhh beautiful. It's okay. Everything worked out right? Kiba's right here and he's free. You did what you had to."

Hammy tried to stay silent but she wrapped an arm around Kiba, rubbing his back gently.

When Andy finally could speak again, she finished, "I remembered Raptor working on the formula, so I looked and found it, and gave it to him, which is how he's alive now..."

Stinger looked at Kiba. "Is DeStruct still a threat?" He hated asking the question but he had to know.

Kiba sucked in a shaky breath and shook his head. "Between whatever she did to the chip and…" He forced the shaking to stop. "DeStruct is gone. Pretty sure for good."

Hammy gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, but looked over at her sister, "So that was yesterday... What else happened?"

"We used the futago kyutama to clone Kiba, and a clone of me snuck into a fortress... The clone of Kiba got turned into DeStruct, but I tricked him and then killed him with sedative. Then I blew that fortress." She squeezed one of Stinger's hands as she tried to stay calm, "The next fortress I snuck into and destroyed. The second clone of Kiba got the chip implanted into him to trick Shocker. That clone shot himself in the head... Then we tried to fight the rest of the Shocker troops but Stinger got hurt. Then this battle, I got shot but my clone stayed to help free Kiba and then to fight off guards until they got free. So then that base blew up." She frowned, "And so between those three explosions, I also have a really good feel for what it's like to die from bombing." She stared at the table numbly. "It all just happened in such a short amount of time. I keep going from crying to depressed to just numb. And I keep trying to help everyone and not bring all of this up, but I'm obviously not handling it well."

Stinger wrapped his arms around her. "You can't hold it in. You have to let us help. We are always being taken care of, but you seem to forget we're here to take care of you too." He looked over to Kiba, who was leaning his head on Hammy's shoulder. The Rider's eyes were closed but Stinger suspected he was still awake. "That goes for you too."

Kiba's lips twitched. "I'm fine. And I'm not a child who has to be coddled." He squeaked as Hammy pinched his arm. "Sorry! You know I'm not calling your sister a child, right?"

"Kind of seemed like it. And obviously you need someone taking care of you or she wouldn't be helping you so much," Hammy squeezed his hand lightly to show she wasn't mad at him. "Andaka... I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this. I'm your older sister, I'm supposed to protect you, right? But it seems like you're always the one protecting everyone else."

"She wouldn't be dealing with this at all if I hadn't come here. All of this is firmly on my shoulders." Kiba stood and knelt before Andy. "Forgive me?"

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Even if I'm not blaming me, I'm definitely not blaming you. Let's just say Shocker is the cause of all those problems and be done with it?"

Kiba smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I wish I could be like you. But I can't. I have to bear my sins, but there's no reason any of you have to."

He fled the office, leaving them speechless.

Hammy took a second to process things before she rushed out after him. "Kiba?"

He stopped, but didn't turn. "How can you stand being near me? I've done nothing but cause Andy pain. Stinger was almost killed because of me. All because I wasn't brave enough to stand up to Shocker in my own universe." He clenched his fists. "We can't even be sure they are gone for good from here. Which puts you all at risk."

Hammy moved quickly and grabbed his arm, turning him and pushing him against the wall, "Just shut up. You know what hurts her more? You acting like this. You are her best friend. You are Stinger's friend. They care about you. They don't care what you've done or what you think you should blame yourself for, they just want you as you are. She would rather deal with any pain to have those good moments than to not have met you." She angrily slapped him, "You need to get yourself together. Who cares if we are at risk from you being here? We are kyurangers we don't have easy lives anyway! If Andy says it's all Shockers fault, why keep arguing?! It is Shockers fault. I hated watching Stinger keep running from our team and then from Andy, I will not let anyone else just run away.

You said you weren't brave enough to stand up to Shocker in your universe, it doesn't seem like you've gotten any braver because you're too afraid to finally accept you have people who care. It seems you just want to run from that too. Just stop running. Stop leaving. Stop blaming yourself. Andy and Stinger have been fighting to get you freedom and happiness, and now you finally have it and still are refusing to take it? Seriously Kiba, get yourself together." She took a breath before pulling him forward into a kiss. She pulled away and let go, starting to look a bit embarrassed at the outburst.

Kiba stood blinking for a minute, then gave her a sad smile. "Now I know where Andy gets it from. But I'm a murderer, Hammy. You haven't seen what Shocker is capable of. Andy learned the hard way, I don't want you to. I'm trying to protect everyone. Just accept that, please." His eyes brightened for a moment. "That was my first kiss. Thank you for giving me that to remember." He took her hand off his arm and continued down the hall without another word. He turned into his room and she heard the door close. When she opened it the room was empty.

Hammy slowly made her way back to the office where Stinger was still hugging Andy. When she told them what happened Andy got livid, "I'm going to hunt him down. I literally have done all of this so he can be happy, but what does he do? He leaves. I swear I will find him and if he still refuses to come back and be happy, you might need to stop me from killing him again."

Stinger fought a smile. "We're so much alike. Remember how many times you had to kick my ass before you got through to me?"

Hammy looked at the pair, "I can try to find him... You guys have spent more time helping him than I have."

Andy glared, "Exactly my point though! I brought him back for a chance at happiness but if he's refusing to take that chance, I'll take it back. I have not spent the last few months trying to help him just for it to be washed away." She looked at Stinger, "Maybe it's different because I chased you so many times and I got mad at you but I always just wanted you back. I literally want to just punch him or stab him or something."

"How do we find him though?" Hammy wondered. "He straight up disappeared."

Andy took a deep breath, "I can track him."

Hammy raised an eyebrow waiting for Andy to explain.

Andy stood, swaying slightly. She finally looked at Stinger, "Can you help me?"

Stinger stood. "What do you need?"

"Just help me get to the infirmary," she took a deep breath, "And also, this is exactly why I didn't want to say anything. If I just hid the problems, he wouldn't have run off blaming himself."

Stinger sighed and took her arm.

Hammy's next question stopped them. "Why does he keep calling himself a murderer?"

Andy turned and moved to her sister, "Shocker created him. They manipulated him into killing Riders. He thinks he's a murderer but it was all Shocker's fault and no matter how much I try to convince him otherwise; he still blames himself."

Hammy forced back tears and took her other arm. "Let's find him."

They moved slowly down the hall, Andy's wound starting to hurt more with each step, "He's been through so much but I never wanted to share it because it's his story to tell. I just happened to be the one breaking into his nightmares... I thought we'd got through to him though. And maybe we had. But I know it scares him having the chip back in and he probably blames himself for me freaking out..."

Stinger sighed. "This whole Shocker has had him on edge. We should have expected this. He kept being pushed and now instead of just going over the edge, he jumped off the cliff. Just hope he doesn't have the same mindset I did when I ran the last time."

"I kept seeing the signs and thinking he'd run, but he never did. Except when he was going to run to Shocker to give himself up. This time I didn't see the signs and he bolted," Andy entered the infirmary and grabbed some medicine before sitting at one of the computers. "I'm sorry if I pushed him away, Hammy."

Hammy shook her head. "You didn't do anything. He's just scared."

Andy pulled up something on the screen before standing again, pushing herself to the table to get her tablet. She glanced at the table but then her eyes stopped as she scanned it over. She moved to the cabinet again and looked through the medicines. She rubbed her face in frustration, "I know I said I'd kill you in anger, Kiba, but seriously?" She pushed herself to the computer and typed something into her tablet. She grabbed her comm, "Who is on the bridge?"

Stinger thought a minute. "Champ. Andy, what's wrong?"

"Champ?" She called through the comm, "I'm sending you coordinates. I don't care how, but get us there as fast as you can."

The bull acknowledged and she could feel the Orion speeding up.

She spun the chair she was in to look at Stinger, "Remember you just said you hoped he didn't have the same mindset as you did...?"

Stinger swore. "What did he take?"

"At least three times the amount of sedative it would actually take to kill him. I just hope he hasn't used it yet." She froze before she looked back at Hammy nervously.

Hammy's face fell. "That's why he thanked me for giving him the kiss to remember…" Tears began to fall down her cheeks.

Andy tried to get to her sister for a hug. "It's going to be ok. I swear if he kills himself I'll find a way to bring him back again so we can both rip him apart." She gave a sad chuckle, "I'm sorry. I am going to bring him back though."

"Please… just stop him." Hammy turned and ran from the infirmary.

Andy pulled her comm out, "Raptor, come to the infirmary please." She then called Kotaro, "Disney movies are paused again, but you can totally come help us on a mission. Come to the infirmary and I'll update you."

She looked to Stinger and wrapped her arms around his waist, still sitting in the chair, "I told him I couldn't handle anything else happening... So why add something else?"

"He's scared and hurting. He's thinking if he leaves then we'll let him go and then when he doesn't return it won't matter. Remember when I ran home?"

She shook her head, leaning it on him, "I hated seeing you like that."

He grinned wryly. "Yeah it was pretty stupid. But I told you I wasn't expecting anyone to follow. I would have stung myself and died alone."

"I hope we can stop him... I honestly wish Hammy would try talking to him again but I don't know how that would go. I guess we have to force him back to safety before she talks to him..."

Stinger hugged her. "Give Hammy time. Maybe when we find him, she'll be ready."

Andy chuckled sadly, "At least she's not stupid enough to threaten to kill herself to get someone else to stop..."

Stinger chuckled. "Yeah. I couldn't believe you actually said that."

"And then I did the same thing to stop Kiba that one time too," she reminded.

"That was a distraction for me wasn't it?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

She shrugged, "I mean, I hoped you had gotten my message and were coming to help, but I wasn't actually sure you'd make it in time."

He rolled his eyes and kissed her. "You're crazy. But I wouldn't change you for the whole universe."

The comm buzzed and Stinger answered.

"We're at the coordinates Andy provided." Champ told them.

Andy looked up noticing Kotaro and Raptor entering. Andy gave Raptor a task before heading out to the voyager bay.

"Look, Kiba isn't really doing well right now... So we need to stop him from doing something dumb," Andy told Kotaro. "I don't know the best way to go about it, but I don't think I can actually hold him down or anything myself right now. I need you two to force him down and hold him. I'm going to try to talk sense into him, but from past experience it doesn't always work when people are being dumb, so we'll drag him back here at all costs. Got it?"

Both he and Stinger nodded, before climbing into their voyagers.

Kiba swore as he dropped the second vial for the third time. He was getting really sleepy but he forced himself to pick it up and inserted the syringe into it. He drew back the plunger and filled it, then dropped the vial next to the empty one. He began to inject it, stopping halfway when he heard voices.

Andy pushed against the pain and used her ninja speed to appear right by him, pulling out the syringe and needle from his arm. She knelt by him, wanting so much to yell at him but knowing she needed to be gentle. "Hey," was all she could manage to push out.

"Go away…" The words were barely intelligible, his eyes glassy and unfocused.

Andy sighed and brushed a strand of hair from his face, "You... your clone, once told me that you think Hammy is your soulmate. Do you know how hard it is for someone to watch their soulmate run away like this? It rips your heart out. Believe me, I went through it a lot with Stinger... You don't want to hurt anyone but you run away from us. Run away from Hammy. She is devastated right now and just wants you to come back. I want you to come back too. I don't care how hard you fight us; we aren't leaving you."

"She... doesn't feel the same. Better this way..." Kiba shook his head and tried to pull the syringe out of her hand. "Just let me go..."

"You never gave her a chance to tell you if she felt the same or not. I can see how she looks at you. She does love you," Andy sighed. "And you know I care about you too. You're my best friend. I don't want to lose anyone else that I care about. I don't want to lose you."

Kiba's voice was getting fainter. "I don't deserve to be called your best…" His eyes were closing as he tilted forward.

She caught him carefully, before finally looking at the syringe and the two empty vials on the ground. She cursed and pulled out something from her bag. Sucking the liquid out of a different vial she then stuck the new medicine into him. "You don't get to tell me who deserves to be my best friend or not. It's you, whether you want it to be or not."

She leaned back on her knees before gently shifting him down to the ground. She nodded at Stinger and Kotaro, "The sedatives are putting him to sleep... But I gave him some medicine to hopefully counteract it. Let's get him back to the infirmary so I can keep an eye on his vitals."

Stinger nodded and gently picked him up. He carried him to Sasori voyager and climbed in, then lifted off.

Andy looked at Kotaro, "Honestly he helped us out a bit with the sedative... I thought it'd be a bit more of a fight. I just hope the medicine counteracts it well enough." She started walking back toward their voyagers.

Stinger carefully carried Kiba into the infirmary. He was counting the slow beats of Kiba's heart, dreading the moment they might stop. He laid the limp form on a bed as Raptor appeared.

Raptor scanned over Kiba, "Will Andy be back soon?"

As if on cue, Andy entered the room. "Raptor, please restrain him again. Just in case." She pulled up a chair and sat down. She took a moment to call Shishi before she started trying to get Kiba's heartbeat back to a normal rate. After a few minutes she decided to give him a bit more medicine and then went back to the same position she had been in. Eventually she glanced at Stinger. "I think he's going to be fine, but let's see how he acts when he does wake up. Maybe you should be the one to talk to him since somehow I got you to stop running, you might know the magic words or something." She tried to focus her eyes, "but you at least understand kind of how he is feeling. If Hammy and I haven't gotten through, maybe you will." She felt her side before looking up at Raptor, "How many days since I was hurt?"

Raptor thought a moment. "Three. Why?"

"So even with Shishi helping, with how much energy I've been pushing into Kiba, it's probably only been about a day or two of actual healing..." She pulled her hand away, "I think I popped my stitches..."

Raptor sighed. "Get on a bed. I'll restitch it."

Andy stood, feeling overwhelmed with dizziness.

Stinger grabbed her arm, helping her to a bed.

Andy blinked up at him once she was settled on it, "Sorry."

"No apologies, beautiful. Just rest. I'll set Kiba straight. If he doesn't listen to reason, I may have to kick his ass like he once did to me."

Raptor came back with the supplies. "Do you want to be sedated?"

"I feel like I might pass out anyway. Maybe just some normal pain meds..." She laid her head back on the pillow.

Raptor nodded, filling a syringe and injecting it before beginning the stitches. When she was finished, she covered Andy with a blanket.

Kiba's eyes flickered open and he groaned. Was the universe laughing at him? He couldn't even manage to die right. He tried to close them again, but Stinger's voice stopped him.

"Hey." Stinger chuckled slightly as Shishi moved from Kiba's legs up to his face and head-butted his cheek.

"Let me guess. She's mad at me too?" Kiba grimaced as pain shot through his head.

"I think she's just showing affection."

Kiba sighed. "She's probably the only one who has any for me at the moment." He tried to run a hand through his hair, but realized he was restrained. "Dammit."

"Believe me, I hate the restraints too, but they're also a sign of affection sometimes..." Stinger glanced over at Andy's sleeping form, "Andy might be furious, but more than that, she's worried. Last I saw her, Hammy was crying and asking us to bring you back." He looked back at Kiba, "At least with Andy, she gets mad because of how much she cares, so the madder you make her it shows how much more she cares." Stinger chuckled, "Sounds crazy, but it's true. She's only mad because she's fought so hard to keep you safe and then you basically tried to throw that away."

Kiba grew angry. "I never asked her to care about me! I was fine being alone. I figured I would repay you guys for what you did before and put a kink in Jark Matter's plans. But then I got caught and she got kidnapped…" He growled as he yanked on the restraints. "I wasn't looking for a team or a family."

"I know," Stinger nodded. "I wasn't either. I wanted to kill my brother. I wanted revenge. That was my entire focus until somehow, it wasn't. Even after Champ and Kotaro wormed their way in, I still just wanted to take out Scorpio. I even used Antares to try to do it, knowing it would kill me." Stinger shook his head, "And somehow after all of that, the team still wanted me. I never understood it. And then I met Andy. I pushed her away so many times, knowing she deserved better. Even after we were married I tried pushing her away. I screwed up massively and went off to end things once and for all. I never thought anyone would follow me, but there she was, trying to stop me. All I wanted to do was prevent her from getting hurt, stop her pain, but what did she do? She told me she'd follow me anywhere, including to death."

Stinger sighed, "I'm just saying, I know how you feel. And if nothing else, Andy is going to be insistent on saving you even if she has to follow you to another universe. As for Hammy, she's a bit different from Andy, she probably won't chase you everywhere but she'll be devastated she couldn't get you to stay and she'll just keep feeling that forever."

Kiba squeezed his eyes shut, fighting tears. "I was a monster and liked it. Then when I found out the truth, I ran. I told myself I was just helping people and didn't need to stay after I solved whatever problem I found. Truth was I didn't trust myself. I was so afraid of turning back into the monster, I ran from everyone that tried to help me. My dads tried, Andy tried. I just can't seem to stop. I can't do anything right. I can't even manage to kill myself."

Stinger sighed, "All of us trust you, even if you don't trust yourself." He smiled softly, "I know it's hard to stop running, especially when you've spent so long pushing everyone away, but it is so worth it. You have us to help you through it too. Not every day will be perfect, but it's worth it. Your past is your past, we got you free so you can have a future, don't just waste it."

Kiba was having trouble keeping his eyes open, but nodded. "Not sure if I should stay. My dads…" His eyes closed against his will as his exhaustion overtook him.

When Andy woke she found Hammy sitting next to her, "Ham?"

Hammy looked up at the voice, "Hey."

Andy blinked slowly, "Are you ok?"

Hammy shrugged, "I should ask you that."

Andy smirked before pushing herself up into a sitting position. She looked over at Kiba who was asleep in the other bed, "Has he woken up yet?"

"Stinger says he talked to him a bit but he fell back unconscious soon after."

Andy nodded. They talked for a couple minutes about Andy's wound, not noticing Kiba starting to regain consciousness. Hammy finally sighed, "I didn't mean to push him away. I shouldn't have yelled at him."

Andy frowned, "Hammy, none of this is on you. He just has things to work through..." She shook her head, "From my experience with Stinger, all I can do is tell you to keep being there for him."

Hammy chuckled sadly, "It's the universe paying me back. I shove my screwed up friend onto you and now you're doing the same."

Andy laughed a second before pain shot through her. When she could talk again she smiled, "I don't know about that, but the universe did give us both troublesome soulmates, didn't it?"

"I don't know how you keep dealing with this stuff. First Stinger, then Kiba. You're so strong."

Andy shook her head, "I learned it all from you. I never could be the wonderful outgoing person you are, no matter how I tried to copy you. Part of me hated living in your shadow, but honestly, I just wanted to be like you."

"You're better. I'd rather be like you," Hammy sighed.

"You're a brighter star than Avery or I could be. That's why the kyutama for our constellation picked you. It saw your brightness and strength and knew you'd be needed."

"I don't know..."

"What would your weird singer friend say? I'm sure he has some kind of wise words to help..." She smirked, "Sorry, you know I was never obsessed with him like you were."

"He's not weird!" Hammy defended.

"Ham, I met him. He's a little weird, ok?" Andy smiled.

The sisters were quiet for a moment before Hammy spoke again, "I just never imagined we'd go to space and fight all the time. We were supposed to find cute ninja boys and have families."

Andy sighed, "Things just don't always happen like we imagine. Even with all of the problems we've gone through, I'd much rather have met Stinger and had all these crazy adventures than have lived a normal life."

"Do you think if Kiba settles down, would he want kids?"

Andy shrugged, "I'm betting he's never had a chance to consider it. Though, I mean, as his medic, I know he has the... uh... equipment...? But as a clone, I don't know if he can actually reproduce."

Hammy nodded in understanding.

"Maybe our bloodline is just supposed to end with us?" Andy suggested. "You could always adopt though?"

Hammy frowned, "Are you ever going to adopt?"

Andy looked up at the ceiling, "I don't know. I hadn't even been ready to plan for kids when I found out I was going to have one..."

"Sorry... We haven't really gotten to talk about it much. Every time I see you, you run off on another adventure."

Andy shook her head, "I've dealt with losing him." She smirked, "I know at least at the stage he was at, he seemed like a normal human. Can you imagine though, you and I if I had actually stayed home, and if the baby came out with a scorpion tail? I feel like a toddler running around with a poisonous stinger would not have ended well." She grinned as she watched Hammy giggle.

"How did they even manage to raise kids like that?"

Andy shrugged, "I assume it's easier to stop a kid if you have your own tail to pick them up with..." She laughed, pushing through the pain it was causing her.

Stinger entered and noticed the sisters. He then glanced to the other bed, "Did you two notice our problem child is awake? Or were you too busy giggling?"

Hammy and Andy froze and looked over at the other bed. Hammy turned bright red in embarrassment as Andy sighed, "How much of our conversation did you hear, Kiba?"

"I plead the fifth. Though I'd love to see Stinger's baby pictures." He slowly raised his head and looked at them. "I'm sorry for everything I've put you guys through. Still not sure why you're fighting so hard for me, but I appreciate it."

"We are fighting for you, because we care about you," Andy sighed.

"We just want to see you happy," Hammy added.

Kiba smiled. "I'm going to try to live up to the person you think I can be." He raised an eyebrow. "And please stop talking about my _equipment_. I feel like a prize horse."

The girls both turned red and glanced at each other. Andy started laughing before pain rushed through her side.

Hammy just muttered out an embarrassed, "Sorry," without making eye contact with him.

Stinger shot him an annoyed look. "Baby pictures? Really?"

Kiba laughed. "They were talking about babies with tails… Will somebody please let me out of these?"

Hammy chuckled before going to get the key. She smiled softly at Kiba as she undid the restraints, "You aren't leaving again, are you?"

"Couldn't if I wanted to. Honestly though I don't want to." He sat up slowly and kissed her hard.

When they parted, Hammy was breathing hard and Kiba had a wide grin. He looked at Andy. "I'll stay. But if my dads need help I'm going. If you can't handle that, we're going to have a problem."

He laid his head on Hammy's shoulder and closed his eyes, keeping the smile.

"If they need help, I'm pretty sure we'll all go help too," Hammy relaxed a bit.

Andy sleepily smiled up at Stinger and chuckled, "Ok but seriously, how do your people deal with babies who have tails and stingers?"

Stinger's lips quirked up. "Very carefully. We actually have tail covers that prevent accidental stings when we're babies."

Andy glanced at her sister, smirking, "Yeah, it definitely wouldn't have ended well for us." She looked at Stinger, "Baby pictures of you would probably be cute though."

Stinger blushed deep red and quickly made his exit.

Andy chuckled, "Kiba, how are you feeling?"

"Not as bad as I thought I would. Weak and a little tired but other than that, pretty good." He didn't move from Hammy's shoulder.

"So... Want to have that Disney marathon? Maybe we can talk someone into making s'mores for us?" She smirked.

He raised his head, eyes twinkling. "You said the magic word… I want to see these Disney movies." He stood and swayed slightly. "But isn't the standard for movies popcorn?"

Hammy held his arm, "We can have both."

"I honestly don't know if the magic word with you is Disney or s'mores," Andy chuckled. "Let's go to the rec room?" She reached for her comm, "Kotaro, get Stinger, we are going to watch movies now." She pushed herself up off the bed, wincing. She grabbed some pain medicine before trying to start walking out of the room.

"You probably shouldn't actually be up," Hammy reminded her sister.

Andy rolled her eyes, "I'm going to be sitting on a couch. Just need to get there first."

"If you pop your stitches again, you'll be the one in bed restrained."

Kiba chuckled. "Finally someone else gets them."

Andy leaned on the hallway wall for a moment, "Everyone has seemed to stop restraining me finally. It used to be a common occurrence because I'd keep getting up to heal Stinger. But maybe they got tired of me making clones and doing it anyway."

"You literally were almost as bad as him but you refused to stop," Hammy argued. "We had to keep sedating you."

Andy shook her head, "Maybe Raptor just realized I'm a better medic and she needs me helping you guys," she smirked, still ignoring the pain in her side.

Kiba grinned, leaning on Hammy. "And Stinger called_ me_ a problem child?"

"Between the three of you I'm not sure who is worse," Hammy admitted.

Andy finally pushed herself into the rec room, taking up one of the couches. "Maybe you're worse than all of us, you're just hiding it." She winked at Hammy who just chuckled.

Hammy made sure Kiba was comfortable before sitting next to him and holding his hand, "So... Are you still up for going on a date? We could plan something for when you're fully healed up?"

He gave her a bright smile. "I'd love to." He moved his gaze to the couch. "Though after what I tried to do, I'm surprised you're even talking to me."

"I'm just worried about you," Hammy gave him a soft smile.

"I don't really know much about relationships. All my life has been fighting or running. Never learned friendship, fun or love." Kiba sighed, picking at the couch cushion.

"No two relationships are exactly the same. It really just depends on the people in it," she nudged his arm slightly, "but you have all of us here to teach you. I'm going to help you figure it out, ok?"

He raised his eyes and smiled, nodding at her. "I can handle that. I think." He yawned as he sat up. "Hope I stay awake."

She smiled as Kotaro and Stinger entered.

Kotaro looked excited and passed everyone bowls of popcorn. Andy took a bite before adjusting to let Stinger sit by her. "I'm surprised you aren't fighting the Disney movies."

He grinned. "We all need to relax. And I might actually get some sleep this way. Our bed is lonely without you."

She chuckled, "Shishi not company enough?" She glanced around, "Where did the fur ball even go now?"

Kiba pointed to his lap. "Keeping me company. I think she likes me. She keeps head-butting me."

"Good. She can also probably tell you aren't feeling one hundred percent," Andy smiled. "She might also just want attention since I've been busy."

Kiba hummed as he petted her. "You might not get her back."

"She might fight me a bit if I tried to have her attack any of the team, but don't forget I could turn her on any of you in an instant," Andy joked as she saw the screen light up.

Kiba mock shuddered. "I thought you liked me?" He laughed as the music began to play.

Andy smiled and leaned against Stinger, cuddling into him. She took a relaxed breath, "This is nice. The movie hasn't fully started and I'm feeling better. Maybe we should watch movies every day?"

Stinger wrapped his tail around her. "I could get used to this." He kissed her hair and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "No fighting. Just relaxing with my girl."

"Shocker isn't after Kiba anymore. We took out Kojan. Can we retire yet?" Andy spoke quietly.

"I'll put in the paperwork." Stinger sighed. "Hopefully we can stand down."

Kiba watched the screen intently, not realizing everyone was watching him.

Andy laughed, "Kiba, you're more into the movie than Kotaro is. You _are _a little kid."

"Have you ever seen any kind of movie?" Hammy glanced at him in wonder.

"A few my dads showed me. Nothing like this though." He grinned, not taking his eyes from the screen. He began humming 'Let it go' absently.

"Well, we have a lot more Disney movies you can watch," Kotaro smiled.

"Hope you're ready, Hammy, cuz he's going to be planted on that couch for a month," Andy said.

"Well, I didn't tell the school when I'd be back so they aren't really expecting me. We can watch movies for a year if he wants."

He gave her a quick soft smile, then returned to watching. "How many Disney are there?"

Stinger chuckled. "Fifty-seven at last count."

Kiba looked at him, eyes bright. "Are they all as good as this one?"

"Most of them!" Kotaro answered.

"See? And who knows what other fun things you have no clue about yet," Andy spoke. "I'm glad you have a chance to enjoy them."

Hammy smiled at Kiba but stayed quiet.

Kiba chuckled ruefully, but didn't answer. He was still engrossed in the movie, but his eyes were drooping.

Andy cuddled back against Stinger, resting her head on him. She watched the movie for a few minutes before the medicine she had taken started making her sleepy. She tried to keep her eyes open but she was losing the battle. Hammy looked over when she heard a noise, noticing Andy was asleep and her popcorn bowl had slid onto the floor. She smirked and looked back at Kiba who looked like he was about to drop too, "Why don't we take you back so you can rest when this movie is over? We have plenty of time to watch more when you're awake."

He pouted a little, but nodded.

Soon the credits were rolling. She looked over as his head lay on her shoulder. "Come on, I'll help you get to bed. It'll be much comfier there than the couch."

He grinned at her drowsily. "I like Disney..."

She kissed his cheek before standing and helping him up, "I'm glad. And thanks to Kotaro we have a ton of them for you to watch."

His eyes sparkled. "I'm happy." His grin was goofy, like a child on Christmas morning.

"Me too." Hammy looked over at the other couch, seeing the other couple fast asleep. "Night Kotaro." She gave a small wave to the teen who was turning off the movie system. "Ok, bed time." She started walking him toward the infirmary.

Kiba was humming under his breath as he slowly walked. Then he started singing the theme song, his eyes closed.

Hammy chuckled as she opened the door. She helped him into bed, "Goodnight." She bent down and kissed his forehead.

He gave her a sleepy smile and burrowed into the blanket. He was fully asleep seconds later.

Stinger slowly blinked his eyes open. Suddenly realizing it was quiet, he gently shook Andy.

"Infirmary or our room?"

Andy gave a heavy breath as she cuddled further against him.

"Our room it is." Stinger laughed, picking Andy up and carrying her down the hall. He set her down long enough to open the door, then picked her back up. Closing the door with his foot, he took her to the bed and tucked her in. He then climbed in next to her and closed his eyes.


	20. Meeting OOO

Naga stood watch as Balance hacked into one of the computers.

As Balance scanned through information he kept whispering things, "They have an invisible alarm system so we have to be careful to not trip it." He scanned further, "That's only in the room with the treasure, everywhere else is safe. You know, except for indavers."

"Looks like they have a cell room? And they've taken someone prisoner. We should probably make sure they aren't the owner of the treasure."

"Hurry up, indavers are coming," Naga warned before slipping behind a wall waiting for them to pass.

"Okyu! Let's get some treasure!"

Naga nodded and followed the direction Balance went. After glancing into a few empty rooms, Balance gave an excited squeal when he saw a room filled with silver coins. He grabbed a few, filling up a bag.

"We can't take them all right now, maybe later," Naga tried to get Balance back on track.

Balance stared at one of them, "I've never seen money like this before..."

"Where is the treasure?"

Balance recalled the direction, and started walking again. "I'll shine the light on them, you avoid the alarms." Naga nodded carefully moving through the room avoiding the lines Balance was lighting up with the device he modified to make their heists easier.

Soon enough he came out with the item in hand. "Cell room, then make our escape?"

Balance nodded going across the hall when indavers were out of sight. His eyes landed on the figure in the cell, chained up and unconscious.

Naga looked in before shooting at the lock, "He doesn't look injured."

"Why is he here though?"

"Doesn't matter. We'll get in trouble if we leave him. Let's just hope we can get him out safely."

Balance nodded and used his wires to unlock the chains. He then picked the prisoner up, "Okyu!"

They managed to get to their voyagers safely, and started heading back to the Orion.

The comms on the bridge lit up, "Mission successful. Though we found something more important than the treasure. You might want to meet us in the voyager bay."

Andy glanced at Stinger, "What do you think they found?"

Stinger shrugged. "With them who knows. Better get down there."

When Balance and Naga arrived, Andy watched Balance pull a body from the voyager. She rushed over, "What happened?"

"He's alive, don't worry."

Andy shook her head, "Get him to the infirmary."

After a few minutes checking him over, Andy looked at Stinger, "He's fine, no real injuries, just heavily drugged. It should wear off soon." She glanced back at the sleeping form, "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you Kiba?"

"I'll stay here until he wakes," Andy added. "Though maybe call Hammy and see if she knew where he ran off to..."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "He's an idiot." He kissed Andy's cheek. "One hundred pongi he disappeared without telling Hammy anything." He headed for the door.

"He better have not run off on her or I'm going to have to kick his ass."

Stinger laughed as he left.

Not too long after Andy noticed Kiba's breathing pick up pace, "Kiba? Wake up, Kiba."

He groaned, eyes squeezing tight before opening slowly. "Andy? How did I get here?"

He rubbed his temple as he attempted to rise.

"We got intel that Jark Matter had found a Rider driver. So our resident thieves were sent out to get it, and they just happened to find you locked up," she informed. "Care to tell how you got there?"

He sighed. "I heard the same intel report. Decided to check it out. Tripped an alarm and got myself caught like a newbie." Annoyance filled his voice. "Not sure how long ago that was."

Andy nodded in understanding but took a deep breath, "Just please tell me you informed my sister you were going on a mission or something instead of just disappearing?"

Kiba chuckled. "I told her I had to check out the report. She understood why. Told me to be careful."

Andy smirked, "She always says to be careful even if she knows we are going to do something dangerous anyway." After scanning him over again she asked, "How do you feel?"

"Like I challenged you to a drinking contest with some of that horrid stuff Tsurugi calls alcohol. Cobwebs are starting to clear though."

She nodded before chuckling, "Too bad you don't like alcohol, it'd be fun to actually have a drinking contest. You'd be an interesting drunk."

Kiba laughed. "Ask Lucky about that. We kinda went on a bender last time I visited. And for the record, I like alcohol. But the stuff Tsurugi drinks should be classified as solvent. It's not fit for consumption."

"It is a little strong," Andy giggled. "So, how is Hammy? Are you liking our planet?"

"Hammy is frazzled because a few of her students apparently hit every branch in the stupid tree on the way to school. Another reason I thought the heist would be safer. And I love your planet, although Niko still side eyes me every time we go into town."

"We don't often have people move there from outside our constellation, so he's probably just a little paranoid. Also, he's still probably a little grumpy at anyone on our team because I left the planet to join them," she laughed. "Hammy said he was engaged though, did they get married yet?"

Kiba grinned. "Two months ago. She's already pregnant."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "I hope his kid is more like his sister than him. Niko was... crazy? That's probably the best word to describe him. Speaking of, how is Naomi?"

"Disappointed. Seems yours truly ended up being the recipient of a crush. She was a little upset that I was with Hammy."

"Aww, poor Naomi. At least she didn't crush on you for years so she can get over it easier."

"True. It was weird as hell though, having two women swooning over me. Still not sure I understand Hammy's reasons."

"Love doesn't have to make sense," Andy smiled. "But you are a great guy and I'm glad you two are working out."

"Me too." He blinked for a second, then looked at her. "Did they find the driver?"

"Yeah. It's safe on the ship."

He nodded. "Mind if I stick around? You guys might need help."

"If you want to, you're always welcome here. I don't know how long Balance and Naga are staying but it's just Stinger and I as crew right now."

He gave her a small grin. "Okay. New question. Mind if I crash here for a few? Head still feels wrapped in cotton if you know what I mean."

"Alright. Get some rest, when you get up I'll cook us all dinner," she stood and headed toward the door, lowering the lights a bit.

"Sounds good." He curled up on the bed, closing his eyes.

Andy headed to the bridge and looked at her three teammates, "He woke up but he needs more rest. He'll be fine though. Did you guys get any new intel?"

"It doesn't take these." Stinger held up one of the silver coins. "Kiba might know more about it than we do."

He twirled the coin in his fingers. "Bigger question is how did Jark Matter get their hands on it?"

"Could the rider it belongs to have come to our universe? Or does it even belong to a rider?"

"It's possible. And from all the information we have, yes it belongs to a rider. I sent a few messages out. Depending on when they get seen, we may have answers soon."

Andy sighed, "Jark Matter hasn't planned any attacks in months. Do you think they were going to plan something or just lucked into the driver?"

Stinger frowned. "I don't know. But one thing's for sure we can't let them take it back. Who knows what kind of havoc they would cause."

A few hours later, Kiba made an appearance on the bridge. "I miss anything?"

Andy looked up, "Nope, just trying to gather info. What can you tell us about this?" She held up the driver.

His face paled slightly, but he forced a smile. "The Os driver. Wonder where they found it?" He snapped his fingers. "Bet they couldn't get it to work."

Andy noticed his expression, and decided to just answer, "You could though, couldn't you?"

He looked at her for a minute, then nodded. "I'll be right back." He left the bridge.

Andy frowned before glancing at Stinger, "I have a feeling this mission is going to be difficult for him."

Stinger nodded quietly.

A few minutes later, Kiba was back. He reached for the driver, placing it around his waist. He then inserted three different colored coins and swiped across them with a round metal object. "Henshin."

**TAKA-TORA-BATTA!**

**TATOBA!**

He was suddenly in multicolored armor. "Nice ain't it?" His voice was muffled by the helmet.

Andy threw a coin at him, "So what are these if the colored ones make it work?"

"Cell medals. You can use them in this." He produced a large sword. "They power one of the finishers. They were also... used for Os' sidekick." He de henshined and took the driver off quickly. He tossed it to Andy, his jaw twitching. "I'll be in my room." He quickly left the bridge.

Andy shook her head and looked at Stinger, "Let him have time to himself or should one of us go talk to him?"

Stinger looked at the driver. "If we leave him alone, he might do something stupid. He talks to you, so you're elected."

She rolled her eyes, "I should just have a permanent clone that babysits him all the time and keeps him from doing dumb stuff, shouldn't I?"

Stinger laughed. "Knowing him, he'd talk you into doing something stupid too."

She raised an eyebrow, "I don't agree to do dumb things because he talks me into them, I agree to do dumb things because someone has to go save his ass."

"Unh huh. Keep telling yourself that." Stinger gave her an amused smile. "Go talk to him."

Andy took a deep breath before walking down to his room. She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Who is it?" Kiba's voice was ragged.

"Andy. Can I come in?"

"I guess." There was the sound of keys being pressed. "It's open."

Andy opened the door slowly, "Hey."

Kiba gave her a weak smile. "Sorry for running off like that. That driver kinda brought back some bad memories."

"Are you ok?"

He sighed heavily. "Thought I was."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She gave him a small smile.

"One of the last Riders I..." He closed his eyes, then reopened them. "The last Rider I killed was the Os user in my universe. His sidekick showed up and I killed him too. He wasn't a Rider though…"

Andy put her hand on his arm gently, "It's going to be ok. I'm sorry you have to deal with this."

He shook his head. "Everything seems to come back to my past. Can't escape it."

"You could just go live with Hammy permanently and leave the intel reports to us," Andy sighed.

"And what happens if you need backup? I tried teaching at the school. I can't do it. I have to move, to be free. I know I'm not one of you, but being here... I have freedom to come and go. No questions, no demands." He looked at her. "I can't be tied down to one place."

Andy nodded, "I get that. Though, I'm tied to the Orion. But I think if I had to go back home and just stay on that one planet, I'd go crazy."

Kiba chuckled. "Sure you don't have some Daiki DNA in you too?"

Andy laughed, "It's crazy how much things have changed. Never thought I'd be a medic. Never thought I'd go to space. Now I can't imagine doing anything else." She smiled, "I'm sick of battles so it's nice to have everything slowing down a bit, but I also couldn't just leave the fighting to everyone else."

He grinned. "Me in a nutshell. Think it's literally in my DNA. My dads fight a lot. It doesn't seem to matter if it's the bad guys or each other."

He paused, frowning. "Could there be an Os user here in this universe? How did Jark Matter get the belt?"

"I mean, there's probably an infinite amount of universes. There could be Os users from any of them. And we know it's possible to travel between universes so even if there's not an original Os user from this one they could have ended up here for some reason."

"Where are they then? Are they dead? Or worse, captured? There was nobody in the other cells were there?"

"Balance says he only saw one cell room listed and they were all empty except for yours," she answered. "If they are still in this universe, I'm sure we'll end up running into them, especially if they are looking for their driver back."

"I hope so. Maybe getting this back to them would clear my conscience a little."

"Everything is going to work out. Somehow," she smiled reassuringly. "I'm assuming you're probably getting hungry? I can make us some food."

"That sounds good." He stretched, then sighed. "Question. How much sedative did they give me? Because I still feel kinda out of it. Course it could be from using the driver. It's a power sucker."

Andy shrugged, "Honestly, your reactions to medicine depend on exactly what kind they gave you. The sedatives they use might be a different one than I use. I can tell what kind of medicine you are given based on how your body reacts but I can't tell you a definitive answer without a blood test." She smirked, "Also, you don't know how long you were there. You probably do need some food."

He grinned at her mischievously. "Maybe I need sugar? A little chocolate and marshmallow?"

Andy rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Maybe as dessert after we get real food in you."

He laughed. "Let's eat." He headed for the door.

Andy headed to the kitchen and started cooking. She called Stinger and Naga to let them know if they wanted to eat as well. She slid a plate down the table to Kiba before getting hers ready and sitting across from him.

Stinger walked in and loaded a plate up. He ruffled Kiba's hair as he sat down next to Andy. "Glad to see you calmed down. Not crazy about the circumstances, but it's nice to see you."

Andy glanced over and smirked, "He did tell Hammy he was going to check out some intel."

Stinger grimaced. "Damn. Thought it was easy money making that bet."

Kiba stopped eating. "What bet?"

"He thought you would have just disappeared on Hammy without a word," Andy answered before looking back at Stinger, "Does it matter anyway, we're married so you can have my money anyway." She chuckled.

"Hey! I'm not that bad...usually." Kiba laughed. "Hope it was substantial money."

Andy smiled before sticking her tongue out at Stinger.

Stinger rolled his eyes and started to eat.

Kiba finished first, taking his plate to the sink. "You were right. I'm feeling better now."

"I'm always right, aren't I?" Andy smirked.

Kiba laughed. "At least with me you are." He grew serious. "What's the plan here? Are we looking for the Os user?"

Andy shrugged and glanced at Stinger, "Did you guys come up with anything?"

Stinger nodded. "There's a Jark Matter base nearby. The chatter on the radio frequency is that they have two prisoners. They wanted to transfer them to the base you were at. Some high ranking officer said that they would be bringing the driver to them. That's why I sent Naga and Balance out to get it before it was moved."

Kiba frowned. "Now that they don't have the driver, they might kill the user." His eyes darkened. "Wait- you said two prisoners?"

Stinger nodded. "Two prisoners."

Kiba swore vehemently, slamming his hand down on the table.

"It's the rider and his friend, right?" Andy wondered.

"Yeah. I **have** to rescue them." He turned haunted eyes to Andy. "Can't- won't let them die again."

Andy nodded, "You know I'll help you." She turned to Stinger, "Do you have a plan?"

"We hit hard and fast. Andy, you talk to Balance and Naga. They have the blueprints for the base. See if they're up to helping us or if they have someplace else to be." His gaze hardened as he looked at Kiba. "You better not take off alone. I don't want to go looking for you. We do this together or I'll have her restrain you. Got it?"

Kiba nodded slowly. "Understood."

Andy nodded and within ten minutes she was back on the bridge with the thieves. "They're up for helping. Balance can get us past any alarms, so unless we run into a ton of indavers or that officer you mentioned, it shouldn't be too hard to get them out."

Stinger nodded. "We go in thirty."

Kiba nodded, heading out the door. Clenching his fists to keep from shaking, he headed for his room.

Andy frowned before she looked at Stinger, "Do you need help with anything? If not, I'm going to try to get him to calm down..."

Stinger shook his head. "I'm good. Should I just let you restrain him? If this is too hard on him, maybe he shouldn't go."

She sighed, "I have something that might help him. You know I'd be angry if I was kept off a mission, and he'd be just as angry as I would. He probably shouldn't go but I'm not going to stop him."

Stinger frowned. "See if you can help. If he's not ready in thirty…"

Andy nodded, "Ok. I'll make sure he's ready." She went and grabbed something from the infirmary before knocking on Kiba's door again. "Kiba?"

"It's open." Kiba's voice was rough.

She opened it slowly, "Hey. Are you ok?"

"No. I feel stupid though." He was curled on the bed, face tear streaked. "Sorry for taking off. Didn't want to lose it in front of everyone."

She sighed as she sat next to him, "You don't have to worry about crying or being upset around us. It's not like anyone here with think less of you." She rubbed her hand on his arm, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"The only thing I can think of would make me miss the mission and I have to do this. I have to lay at least one of these demons to rest." He put his face in his pillow as his body shook. He didn't make any noise, but Andy could tell he was trying not to hyperventilate.

Andy nudged him lightly, "Take this." She held her hand out revealing a small pill.

He lifted his head. "What's this?" He picked it up gingerly.

"Hopefully, it'll help you feel better," she answered. "Don't worry, it shouldn't knock you out."

He gave her a doubting look, but swallowed the pill dry. "It _would_ be just like you to be sneaky though." He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "I really wish I didn't freak out so much."

"I know. The meds will help with the worry." She smirked, "I know I can be sneaky sometimes, but have I ever actually lied to you?"

He gave her a half smile. "No. That's why I took it." He took a deep breath. "It's just if something happens to these two…"

Andy smiled, "I know, and we are going to rescue them. But if something does happen to them, it won't be your fault."

"Maybe not, but nightmares will twist things you know." He flopped onto the bed on his back. "I sometimes think about disappearing. Going to a planet that's empty and just waiting for the end…"

She nodded, "I know. I've thought that too. But you know I'd find you and try to help you out anyway. And you know I'll try to help with your nightmares if needed, like I always have."

"I know. What did I do to deserve you?" He chuckled without humor. "I think I scare Hammy."

"Hammy... She's the lightest of all of us. Even when she is feeling down, it's never as deep as we feel it...Like for one, I don't think she'd ever consider killing herself." Andy sighed, "I know she wants to protect me, but honestly, I feel like I'm protecting her more. She's seen a few traumatic things, but nothing like the rest of us. But I'd rather her keep being that bright star than getting tarnished." She frowned, "I know she likes you, but because she doesn't understand the trauma, I know she is just lost in trying to help you. She wants to help you. She wants to help me. But she doesn't know how."

"I know. I even started sleeping up at the Outlook so she wouldn't be woken up." He gave her a small smile. "I think whatever you gave me is helping. I don't feel so off anymore."

"I'm glad," she smiled. "I'm sorry I don't know how to get her to understand. Just remember she really cares about you." She glanced at the time, "We should get going."

He nodded, climbing off the bed. "Let's go make Jark Matter have a bad day." He grinned at her.

She nodded and stood up, "It's one of the things we are best at, right?"

"Absolutely." He picked up his phone. "We should probably bring the other driver. Whoever's there might need it."

"Sounds good. Let's go," they grabbed the last few things they needed before meeting in the voyager bay. "Everyone ready?" She looked around.

Everyone nodded.

Kiba waved his hand, creating a portal. "Meet you there? Anyone want to come along?"

"I'll ride with Stinger, but you better not start fighting without us," Andy ordered.

"I'll try. Jark Matter may have other ideas." He disappeared.

Andy looked at her teammates, "Let's go then." She climbed into the Sasori voyager and waited for Stinger.

Stinger climbed in, and they lifted off.

"Do you think they're still ok?" Andy questioned.

"If they haven't gotten word of our little theft, probably. If they have, then Kiba's right. They'll decide they are worthless and kill them."

"I hope they're fine, because I don't know how Kiba will react if they aren't."

Kiba crept through the base, invisibility cloaking him from view. When he reached the cells, he waited until the guard had left, then decloaked. Grabbing the keys, he grinned. 'Jark Matter is too trusting. Leaving the keys on the desk unattended...' He thought as he headed for the only one occupied.

"Who the hell are you?" A tall blond man asked angrily. "If you're here to hurt Eiji again…"

"Ankh, shhh." A dark haired man admonished, laying in the blond's lap.

They both had an assortment of cuts and bruises. The one called Ankh held one side gingerly. Eiji was breathing shallowly and Kiba cursed. "Can you walk?"

Ankh shook his head. "I doubt the baka can stand."

Kiba was trying to think when he heard the guard coming back "Dammit!"

Andy and Stinger climbed out of the voyager and waited for Balance and Naga.

"Should we just burst in the front door?" Andy asked.

Balance nodded but she looked to Stinger for an order.

"There's only one entrance. We'll create a distraction, you go invisible. That way you can find Kiba and see if the others are injured."

She nodded and focused for a second, disappearing from their sight. "Just don't die, alright?"

Stinger nodded. "Same goes for you."

Gunfire erupted suddenly from inside.

Stinger face palmed. "Dammit Kiba!"

Andy took a deep breath before rushing inside. She tried to remember the direction to the cell room. She turned into a room, "Kiba?"

He looked up from the downed guard. "About time." He jerked a head toward the cells. "Both of them are injured. Eiji's are serious I think." He tossed the keys to her, after she reappeared, as he walked toward the door. "The others?"

"They were going to cause a distraction," Andy answered. She unlocked the cell and gave them a quick smile, "I'm Andy, I'm here to help."

The one laying down gave her a weak smile. "I'm Eiji. That's Ankh." The blond gave her a wary look. Eiji continued, "We appreciate the rescue, but who are you? You're not Riders."

"I don't know what universe you are from, but in this one Jark Matter had taken over and it's our job to fight them. If Jark Matter has you, it's also our job to rescue you." She knelt by Eiji and held her hands up, which were now glowing, and scanned over him.

"You're Emu's friends right? The Kyurangers." Eiji took a pained breath.

Andy looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "Yeah we're the Kyurangers. I do remember Lucky mentioning Emu." She worked on moving his rib bones back into the correct placement so it would hurt a bit less for Eiji to breathe. She then tried to help a bit with the bruising.

"Can you get him walking? There are way too many guards heading this way." Kiba leaned against the door as he monitored the situation.

Andy sighed and pulled her hands away from Eiji. She created two clones. "I'll help him walk, he should be a bit better now that I've healed his ribs up a bit." Her and one clone helped Eiji up and the other clone held a hand out to Ankh.

"I'm fine." Ankh tried to bat her hands away, but grimaced as he moved too fast.

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? I can help you."

He sighed and put his hand down. His eyes never left Eiji.

Andy noticed and commented, "Don't worry, he's going to be fine." The real Andy helped hold Eiji up, "You ok for now?"

Eiji gave a sharp nod as Kiba quickly closed the door. "No time." He waved his hand. "I'll tell Stinger I sent you back." The portal appeared and he pushed Eiji through. "Get through now!"

He unconsciously touched his shoulder, grimacing. "Andy, I'll grab Ankh and follow."

Andy nodded, "You better." The clone next to Ankh disappeared before the real Andy went through the portal.

The door was kicked in. Kiba began shooting, pausing when one of the guards aimed a tranquilizer gun at the blond. The Rider threw himself in front of the blond seconds before he felt a dart hit his back.

The pain took his breath away. He forced himself to move the portal over the two of them. As they appeared on the bridge, Kiba began to convulse.

Andy's clone kept holding Eiji up as the real Andy rushed to Kiba's side. She scanned over him before making another clone who ran to the infirmary. Andy focused, trying to keep Kiba's vitals steady. When the clone returned, she injected a medicine into Kiba's arm. She focused on him a bit longer, monitoring how the medicine affected him. "Stay with me, Kiba."

Kiba struggled to breathe for a minute, then slowly relaxed. He didn't open his eyes.

Ankh knelt beside them. "What was in that dart?"

"I can do a full analysis of it later," Andy answered, "but it's something I don't recognize. I think he's going to be fine though."

Ankh looked down at Kiba. "Baka better be. I don't like owing anyone anything." At her look, he sighed. "It was meant for me. He pushed me out of the way."

Andy and her clone bent down and picked Kiba up. The clone who was still standing with Eiji commented, "Let's all get to the infirmary."

Stinger's voice suddenly burst from the comm. "Somebody better answer me…"

Andy paused a moment in the hallway, gently setting Kiba back down, "Stinger? Kiba, Ankh, Eiji and I are all on the ship. Kiba just about died, like usual. How are you guys?"

"Better now that I know where you are. We've dealt with all the guards. We'll be back soon. I'm going to kill Kiba myself."

Andy shook her head and picked Kiba back up, "Sorry about that. Anyway, infirmary." She walked through a door and set Kiba on a bed. The clone with Eiji helped him onto another bed. She pointed to a third bed and looked an Ankh, "You can take that one, if you want."

Andy focused on making sure Kiba's vitals stayed normal, the other clone that was with him disappeared. The clone with Eiji worked on healing up his ribs some more.

Ankh scoffed, staying by Eiji's side. He kept stealing glances towards Kiba though.

After a little bit, Andy pulled her hands away, "It's a lot better than it had been, though you still have some healing to do. I'll bandage you up. Do you want pain medicine?"

Eiji began to shake his head, but a glare from Ankh turned it into a nod. Ankh gave a satisfied smirk.

Andy raised an eyebrow but wasn't going to ask. She grabbed some medicine and the wrap. After fixing up the bandage she handed him a pill and a glass of water. She then turned to Ankh, "I can help your wounds too."

Ankh grimaced but sat on one of the empty beds.

She held her hands up and started scanning him over. She paused, "I've never seen someone made like this... What are you?"

Ankh glared. "Nice bedside manner there, Doc. I'm half Greeed. And I'm the only one you'll ever see."

"Sorry... It's just interesting." She focused back on trying to heal his wounds.

Ankh's lips curled up, but he didn't say anything.

After a few minutes she looked up, hearing walking down the hall. When Stinger appeared she asked, "Anyone hurt?"

He shook his head. "What the hell happened?"

"Kiba took a dart. I haven't started analyzing it yet, but it acted almost like a severe allergic reaction in him. He also has a wound to the shoulder, but it doesn't seem too major. I've already healed it up a little bit, but I've been trying to make sure he's staying steady."

"What about them?" He nodded toward Eiji and Ankh.

"They'll be fine." The clone turned back to Ankh, "You still have to be a bit careful, but I did fix up a lot of the damage." She went and retrieved the dart and started up testing it, the real Andy still sitting by Kiba.

Stinger sighed and gave her a kiss before leaving.

Ankh reached for Eiji's hand.

After a little bit the clone approached Ankh, "It looks like what was on the dart was formulated to poison you. But since Kiba's fully human, it probably wouldn't have done much except he's apparently allergic to one of the ingredients."

Ankh growled. "Why did he push me out of the way? We don't know each other!"

Andy sighed, "For one, he's just a nice person and tries to help others. But other than that, I suggest you ask him yourself when he wakes up."

Ankh gave a little sneer. He released Eiji's hand and stalked over to where Kiba lay. "Hurry up and wake, baka."

Andy's clone looked at Eiji for a moment, "Is he always like this?" The real Andy who was still by Kiba just chuckled.

"That's his approximation of nice. He used to be meaner." Eiji's voice was sleepy.

Ankh sent a glare toward him, but his eyes were soft.

"Are you okay?" Kiba's voice was weak, his eyes barely open.

Ankh looked down at him. "Fine, you baka. What were you thinking?"

Kiba gave a small smile. "Good... couldn't let you die again." His eyes closed as he lost consciousness once again.

Andy's clone disappeared before the real Andy shook her head.

Ankh stared in puzzlement. "Again?" He raised his eyes to Andy. "What is he talking about?"

She took a deep breath, "You know how there are different universes, right? The universe he's from... A lot of the riders died. You included."

Ankh paled a little. He went back to Eiji's side and sat down.

Andy sat quietly, keeping an eye on all three riders. She gave a chuckle though when Shishi entered and approached Ankh curiously.

Ankh's eyes widened and he backed up till he hit the wall. He began to breathe fast.

"She's harmless, unless I tell her to attack," Andy assured. "She can heal a bit like I can and can sense things, so she is probably a little interested in you being Greeed."

He glanced quickly at Andy. "Think it might be more than that. Think she senses dinner."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "She could grow to the size to be able to swallow you whole, but she's a highly trained ninja cat who will only attack on my orders." She snapped her fingers and Shishi backed away from Ankh.

He sent the cat a shaky smile, then closed his eyes. In seconds he had gone from thin and blond to large and red. He looked at Andy. "It's too small a room to show you my wings."

Andy's eyes widened before she broke into a grin, "You have wings!? That's so cool."

Ankh rolled his eyes as he returned to his human form. "You sound like Eiji. And it would be silly for the Bird Greeed to be without wings." He sat down with a huff of laughter.

"I've just never met anyone who had wings," Andy admitted. "As medic here, I get to see all kinds of cool things. Our teammate Naga has a lot of snake aspects. And Stinger has a tail. It's just a lot more fun than my home planet."

Ankh smirked before letting out a yawn.

Andy gave a soft smile before moving to dim the lights. "If you need anything, let Shishi know. She can tell me." She went to leave the room but stuck her head back in, "Shishi is the cat, by the way."

Ankh chuckled as he lay his head on Eiji's hand.

Kiba muttered something unintelligible as his eyes began flickering under his eyelids.

Shishi jumped onto Kiba and nudged his face gently before settling down on his chest.

Andy headed to the bridge. She wrapped her arms around Stinger who was talking to Balance. She just stood there listening for a moment.

"Keep an ear out for any news."

Balance saluted. "Okyu!" He gave a wave to Andy as he left the bridge.

Stinger turned to her. "How's our resident injury magnet?"

"Still fine when I left, but asleep. Eiji and Ankh seemed pretty tired so I left to let them all rest. Shishi is in charge right now," Andy chuckled.

"That should be interesting." Stinger sighed. "What do you think of those two?"

"I like them. Ankh seems a little... grumpy? I think that's just his personality though. But I can tell he really cares about Eiji."

"Do you think we can get them back where they belong?"

"I assume as long as we can figure out where they belong, Kiba can portal them there. When they are all awake we can talk about it and figure out how they got here in the first place," Andy informed.

Stinger sat down. "What happened to him anyway? You said he took some kind of dart?"

"I think he's allergic to one of the ingredients. It was a poison formulated to take out Ankh though. So Jark Matter has to know that Ankh isn't entirely human..." Andy realized.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean?"

"It was weird when I was scanning over him and realized he was a lot different than anyone or anything I've healed before, but I managed to heal him anyway. I asked and he said he's part Greeed, but that I wouldn't run into anyone else like him. So maybe there aren't any Greeeds left? He looks human now but he showed me, he's like... a bird thing? It's cool anyway, but I can't explain it well." She shook her head, "Anyway, so Jark Matter has to have known he wasn't human, unless they formulated something after catching him."

Stinger's eyes narrowed. "I wonder if he was the real target? I was thinking Eiji was who Jark Matter was after, but I may have misjudged."

"Well, they are safe right now at least," Andy sighed.

"I sent Balance and Naga out to gather intel."

Andy nodded, "So I guess now we just wait."

Kiba opened his eyes to see Shishi curled up close to his face. He slowly lifted a hand to pet her.

She nudged her head into his hand and purred.

Andy glanced at Stinger, "Kiba's awake. I better go check on him." She gave him a quick kiss before heading off to the infirmary.

She smiled when she approached Kiba's bed quietly. Eiji and Ankh looked like they were fast asleep so she kept her voice at a whisper, "Morning."

"Morning... What the hell happened to me?" He began to sit up slowly, holding his head.

"You had an allergic reaction and almost died."

"I thought it was a tranquilizer?" Kiba absently pets Shishi.

"It was formulated to poison a Greeed," she answered.

Kiba pales. "How would Jark Matter know?"

"That's what Stinger and I were discussing. We hoped you might know something or if they would. They're still asleep though," Andy answered. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out and they'll get home safely."

Kiba shook his head. "I wish I knew. Glad I kept him from dying though."

"You told him you kept him from dying again," she admitted. "So of course he questioned it. All I said is that from your universe some riders died as well as Ankh. I didn't tell them about DeStruct."

"Hopefully they will go home without learning about that."

"Like I keep telling you, it was Shocker's fault, not yours," she smiled. "But we don't have to tell them if you don't want. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better." He admitted. "But I don't think I'm dying." His face was pale, and he appeared to be sweating heavily.

"Well, it's good you're not dying," Andy smirked. She looked at Shishi who was now on Kiba's lap. "You just need some time to get everything out of your system. If things start getting bad again I can give you some more medicine."

Kiba started to get off the bed. "I have to go back to the base. Have to find out how they knew..." His legs are shaky and he leans on the bed.

"Balance and Naga are out looking for intel. You aren't in any condition to even leave your bed, let alone the ship. So get back into bed please."

He tries to grin at her. "I can help. I'll be fine." He pushes off the bed and heads for the door.

"Kiba," Andy's voice was soft. "Please just agree and get back into bed. If you'd prefer though, we can do this the hard way."

He looks over his shoulder. "I never take the easy way, you know that." He continues toward the door, leaning on the wall.

"I know, but it does get tiring. It'd be nice if you'd actually just do what I say in the first place," Andy admitted. Shishi moved in front of Kiba and grew in size, blocking his exit. "I know you want to help, but you can't help that well if you aren't in good enough shape."

Kiba chuckled. "This is the first time you've used her." He reaches out and pets her head.

"Like I said, it gets tiring. I'm trying new methods to make it a bit more interesting," she smirked at him.

He closes his eyes, then reopens them. "You know I'm the only with information on the Riders. You can't keep me here. I can portal out whenever I want."

"Ok, you have knowledge on the riders, so what? We need that info here. Balance and Naga will get any intel they have. Why are you so insistent on doing all of this shit yourself?" She sighed. "I'm just trying to help you, you know."

"I know. I'm just stubborn I guess." His strength began to wane and he grabbed onto Shishi to keep from falling.

"Please, just lay down. We aren't in immediate danger. They're here safe. We have people looking for intel. If you still want to go when you've healed up a bit, I'll go with you. But until then, please just rest."

He nodded slowly. "A little help? Don't think I can get back to the bed."

Andy nodded and grabbed his arm as Shishi supported the other side of him. After getting him to the bed, Shishi shrank and jumped back up onto him purring. "Please don't run off," Andy said softly.

He snorted. "Can't promise anything..." He looked at her. "I need to protect them. I have a second chance to help them instead of..."

"I know, but we can protect them together, alright? You're part of our team, remember? Which means we're all here to help you and you don't have to run off on your own."

His eyes closed slowly. "Want to protect...everyone."

As soon as he was asleep she sighed before grabbing the restraints and tying him to the bed. She glanced at the other two who were still asleep and then headed to the bridge. She glanced at Stinger, "You remember that one time I snapped and said screw it, do what you want? And then I went home for a couple months because you wanted to transfer me? I'm about ready to hit that snapping point with Kiba and just let him go do whatever he wants. I just try to help him but he keeps pushing to do dumb things and trying to run off even though he can barely stand. He's now restrained, by the way." She pulled Stinger in for a hug, "Please help me not to explode and do something I'll regret."

Stinger chuckled and held her close. "He's a handful alright. Just breathe."

In the infirmary, Ankh opened one eye. As soon as he saw they were alone, he sat up. Being careful not to wake Eiji, he rose and made his way over to Kiba's bed. "What is it you're hiding?" He watched Kiba's sleeping form for a moment, then returned to his seat. But he kept watching Kiba, determined to get answers when next he woke.

Andy sighed, resting her head against Stinger, "Sorry. Maybe I just need to take one of those meds I gave him to quit worrying. It would just be so much easier to plan and to stick to it without people running off and doing their own thing."

Stinger smiled. "He's doing better. Before he wouldn't have even given notice before running off. He actually did stick with the plan this time, up to the part with all the guards trying to kill Ankh."

"I know. I should be happy he's getting a bit better... but I wish he'd just listen to me. I know I won't be right every time, but medically, I know what he can and can't handle, and so far all of the plans I make go well enough, so why does he keep fighting it?" She shook her head, "I know what he's been through, so I understand he wants to help people to make up for things, but I wish he'd just accept we are going to help him."

"He's in the same place I was right before Champ was almost destroyed. Desperately trying to fix things that couldn't be fixed. For me, it was my brother. For him, it's trying to atone for what he did to the Os and Ankh in his universe. He sees this as his hill to die on so to speak." Stinger sighed, running one hand through her hair. "He just needs us to stick by him."

Andy nodded, "When I was talking to him earlier, we brought up Hammy. Hammy is so clueless sometimes... I'm just worried between him not wanting to settle and her being so unsure of how to help him, that things aren't going to work out between them." She shook her head, "I know, talking about their relationship at a time like this might be random, but it's just another aspect of him I'm worried about." She finally looked up at him and smiled, "Thank you for listening. I know you told me I can't bottle things up, but the one time I did talk, Kiba blamed himself and ran off... I guess I just have to only tell you my complaints."

Stinger gave her a bright smile. "I'm always here to listen. And I'm worried about him too. If I had known how messed up he was I probably wouldn't have asked him to stay." He chuckled briefly. "I don't even know how, but he got under my skin like Champ did. I have to restrain myself from checking on him when he's not here."

"Well, now that I know he's not going to just stay at home with Hammy, I might have to start keeping an eye on where he goes..." She sighed. "I care about him a lot, and I know him probably better than anyone else, but maybe that's why I just want to slap some sense into him."

Stinger forced himself not to laugh. "He is an adult you know. You can't follow him everywhere, especially with the portal ability he has."

"I know he's an adult...Probably. And I'd consider treating him like one if he'd act like one," she smirked. "And as long as he stays in our universe I can track him easily."

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "Did you microchip him?"

Andy chuckled, "Remember when I changed a couple things on that chip I had to put back into him...? I _may _have added the ability to track it..."

Stinger began to laugh. He let her go so he could catch his breath. "He's going to be _pissed_."

"How else do you think I found him when he tried to kill himself?" She wondered. "As long as I don't have to track him often, I'm hoping he won't find out... But if he keeps acting his real age, I'm going to have to keep babysitting him."

Stinger looked at her in confusion. "Real age? Something you forgot to tell me?"

"Mentally, he's _supposed_ to be about the same age as you. Physically, his body has only existed around thirteen or fourteen years."

Stinger's eyes widened. "That explains a lot. He's a damn_ teenager _with a background most adults wouldn't be able to handle..."

"I know," Andy sighed. "I was just hoping the part of him that was supposed to be an adult would kick in and be an adult."

Stinger looked at her. "Hypothetically, if Kotaro right now had Kiba's history how would you treat him?"

"I'd probably adopt him, then ground him from leaving. Though it's a little hard to stop him without keeping him restrained or sedated..." She chuckled.

Stinger grinned. "I was talking about how would you help mentally? Would getting angry help or hinder?"

Andy nodded, "I know... I shouldn't get angry at him, though he makes it really difficult sometimes. Maybe we do need to hire an actual therapist," she laughed.

Stinger chuckled. "No budget." He drew her in for a kiss. "Just try to not throttle him okay. At least not until our two guests are home safe."

An alarm sounded on one of the consoles. Stinger looked over. "It's Kiba. Looks like he's trying to run."

Andy rubbed a hand over her face before standing, "I'll go see what he's up to..." She walked down the hall and looked into the infirmary.

Kiba was half out of the restraints, breathing hard as Ankh stalked towards him. The Greeed's voice was raised loud enough to be heard in the hall.

"Tell me what you're hiding or I'm going to have to see you as someone Eiji has to be protected from!"

Eiji was trying to defuse the situation. "Ankh! Back off. Whatever he's hiding isn't important."

Ankh glared at the rider. "If it puts you in danger, it is important." He got into Kiba's face. "Talk. Now. Or else." One hand transformed and a fireball materialized.

"Stop! He's not going to talk if you keep scaring him," Andy spoke up before nodding to Shishi who stood between Ankh and Kiba before growing large. "Let's all just take a moment to calm down."

Ankh moved back to Eiji's bed, eyes locked on the cat.

Kiba furiously tried to force the other restraints open with shaking hands. His breath was fast and he looked close to passing out.

Andy approached him slowly, "Kiba? Take a deep breath. I'll take the restraints off, ok? I just didn't want you running off. I didn't expect they'd bother you..." She talked softly, "Deep breaths. Everything will be ok." She grabbed the key and stood by the bed waiting for him to stop moving.

He stared at her like he was a deer staring into headlights. But he started to take deep breaths as instructed. Both wrists were slightly scraped from where he had yanked them free. He closed his eyes and slowly relaxed.

She held her hands out to his wrists to help with the scrapes. "I'm sorry I didn't stay in here."

"Not your fault." His voice was soft and he dropped his head. "I should have known I couldn't fix things this easy."

She put an arm on his shoulder and spoke quietly, trying to keep him calm, "It's ok. Now it seems Ankh isn't going to back down until he knows what's up. Do you want me to tell him or do you want to?"

"How can I tell him that I killed a version of both of them?" He trembled and she realized he was crying. "Maybe the fireball was a good idea."

Andy sighed, "Scoot over," she moved him so they were both sitting on the bed next to each other. She wrapped an arm around him before looking at Ankh and Eiji. "I'll tell them. Just let me take care of everything, ok?"

He raised his head slowly. His bangs were in his face, but he didn't seem to notice. "Are you going to let him do what he should after?"

"Kiba, you don't deserve to get hurt, and I'm going to protect you. Ok?" She looked at Shishi a second who was now sitting, but still large and staring at Ankh.

Kiba curled into himself, arms over his stomach like a child. "That's where you're wrong. When I messed up, I got hurt as a lesson. Why should this be any different?"

"Shocker really shouldn't be raising children, you know. I'm going to do everything in my power to protect you, whether you think you should be hurt or not," Andy assured as she ran a hand through his hair.

"Why is he talking about Shocker?" Ankh's voice was sharp, though he stayed next to Eiji.

Andy kept her arm around Kiba but looked over toward Eiji, "Ok, so you have Shocker in your universe? Do you have a version of Tsukasa and Daiki as well?"

Eiji cracked a smile. "The bad photographer and his thief boyfriend? Yeah we have them."

"Well... In the universe Kiba is from, Shocker took DNA from Tsukasa and Daiki and made a clone with it. They then raised the clone into Kamen Rider DeStruct, and made him take their powers, which killed them. He also killed that universes version of you two..." She paused for a moment to check on Kiba.

Kiba had squeezed himself into the space between the pillow and Andy. He had his face buried in the pillow, but was quiet.

She rubbed her hand on his arm to reassure him before she continued. "The clone finally managed to get away from Shocker and realized what he had done, and has tried to do good since then. However, he still blames himself for what he did, even though Shocker was manipulating him..." She looked back at Eiji, "Kiba is the clone..."

Eiji and Ankh exchanged shocked looks, then Eiji spoke. "Kiba, whatever you did to our counterparts, it's in the past. And it's not us. You saved us. You almost died because you took that dart for Ankh. There's nothing to forgive you for."

Ankh looked almost shell shocked. "I didn't know… I'm sorry." He looked at Andy. "Is he okay?"

Andy rubbed Kiba's arm again, "He will be, I think... I didn't want to tell you guys unless he wanted you to know, but I didn't expect you to attack him for information." She sighed, "See, Kiba? Everything is going to be alright."

Kiba shook his head. "Just let him do it. I want it to end." He obviously hadn't heard anything. "It's nicer than what I deserve. Should do the same thing I did to them…"

"Kiba, they don't want to hurt you. Ankh even said he was sorry," she spoke softly. "You are going to be ok. No one is mad."

He turned to look at her, revealing unfocused eyes. "Will it hurt?" His voice was childlike as he waited for her answer.

Andy pulled him in for a hug, "Kiba, you are going to live. No one is going to hurt you."

He clung to her. "Is the General mad? I know I messed up, but I swear I'll do better. Don't let him whip me again…"

Andy winced but took a deep breath, "Kiba, you're safe on the Orion. No one is going to hurt you. No one is mad at you." She rubbed his hair trying to comfort him. She sent a thought to Shishi so she could go get Stinger. She wasn't sure if he could actually help Kiba at all, but she hoped it wouldn't hurt things. "Everything is fine."

Kiba giggled. "I like you. You're nice."

Ankh stared at the exchange in confusion. "What's wrong with him?"

Andy sighed, "To put it simply, I think you broke him." She looked back at Kiba with a smile, "Thank you. You're nice too."

Kiba beamed. "Where did the kitty go?"

"The kitty will be right back. And you can pet her and play with her all you want, alright?" Andy grinned.

He bounced on the bed happily for a minute, then looked at his wrists. He frowned slightly.

"Hey, everything is going to be alright," Andy assured. "Do you want me to bandage those up?"

He nodded, looking up as the door opened and Shishi came in followed by Stinger.

"Andy, what's going on?"

She shook her head, "Stay there for a minute." She reached over and grabbed the bandage off the table before calling Shishi, who was now small again, over to the bed. "See? I told you she'd come back. You can pet her all you want, just let me bandage up your wrists."

Kiba grinned and nodded.

She smiled as she gently wrapped the bandages around each wrist and secured them. Shishi then jumped up and climbed onto Kiba's lap.

Kiba giggled again as he gently petted her. He had the grin of a five-year-old as he curled up with the orange cat.

Stinger watched the scene quietly, his eyes wide.

"Kiba?" Andy spoke softly, "Would you be alright if I went out into the hall for a moment or do you want me to stay here with you?"

Kiba's face became scared. "Don't leave please? The general…" He clung to Shishi nervously.

"Alright, I'll stay here," she assured. "I won't let anyone hurt you." She watched for a moment and found a time that Kiba had his eyes closed to make a clone of herself. The clone rushed out of the door while the real Andy kept her hand on Kiba protectively.

Andy stood in the hall waiting for Stinger and to see if Eiji or Ankh would follow as well.

Stinger and Ankh slowly walked out of the infirmary.

Stinger looked at her. "What the hell is wrong with him?"

"He was under a lot of stress which caused a type of breakdown. He thinks he's back with Shocker and some General is going to hurt him." Her face showed worry, "I don't know if I should sedate him and see if he is better when he wakes, if I should try to get into his mind and see if anything else is going on in there, or if I should just ride this out and see if he goes back to normal..."

Ankh spoke quietly. "How old do you think he is? And who the hell whips a child?" His voice held an undercurrent of anger.

"Well, his body was technically eight when he escaped, but I don't know how he was raised exactly... His mind is supposed to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine now, but I don't know if they started him at that age or what..." She shook her head, "He's acting like he's maybe around five right now."

Stinger ran a hand through his hair. "Do what you think is best. Balance just commed and he and Naga uncovered something. They're due a few hours from now."

"Well, I had been doing well treating him like a teen how you suggested... but now I have no idea what to do. I've never seen someone like this. I know it's possible but I have no experience. Though not many people have seen trauma like he has, so he might not take to normal treatments anyway. Whatever normal treatments are for this kind of thing..." She shook her head, "He's flashed back to traumatic times in his nightmares before, and sometimes thinks he's in the moment, but he's never been fully awake like this or like a child..."

Kiba yawned and rubbed his eyes slowly. He laid down on the bed after attaching the restraints to his ankles. He was attempting to put one on over his wrist when Andy noticed.

"Hey, don't worry about those tonight," she spoke softly.

Kiba shook his head vigorously. "You know the rules don't you? I have to sleep with them for my safety."

The clone in the hall was showing the emotions that the real Andy wanted to. The real Andy just kept a steady face with a soft smile, "Hey Kiba? Do you know who I am?"

He shook his head. "You're nice though. Not like the last nurse." He frowned at the latch on the wrist restraint. "These are different than the others."

"I'm sorry. They're new ones," she smiled. "Don't worry about them. I know they are for your safety, but I'll be here to keep you safe. Unless you really want me to put them on you."

He shrugged. "I hate them but I'm just a kid. Are you going to skip the medicine too?"

She frowned, "Do you want medicine?"

He shrugged again. "If the General comes in, he'll be mad. He might shoot you like the other person who was too nice to me."

She nodded and stood up, "I'll get you some medicine then. Did the last nurse give you a pill or an injection?"

"She gave me shots. But she did it too rough. Left bruises. The General was unhappy." He sighed. "I don't want you shot. It was scary when he shot the weapons tutor. Loud."

Andy looked through the cabinet trying to find the best medicine to give him. She filled up a syringe and went back to him, "I'll be really gentle, ok?" She smiled. "Three, two, one," she stuck the needle in his arm and injected it.

The clone in the hallway was taking deep breaths, trying to not cry, "I knew Shocker hadn't treated him well, but if this all really happened, then no wonder he's screwed up..." She wiped away a couple tears as she looked at Stinger, "He asked about medicine so I had to find something... I found an antipsychotic which I'm hoping helps knock him back to his usual self..."

"That's not all is it?" Stinger reached for her gently.

"He was wanting to be restrained, I guess they did that nightly... Apparently they also shot one of the nurses and one of the tutors? He seems worried that I'll be shot too for helping him and being too nice to him."

Ankh swore in a language she couldn't identify.

Stinger tightened his hug.

Kiba looked sleepily at Andy. "You'll keep the General from whipping me again right? I know I should have practiced harder at my weapons and that it was my fault Tutor was killed, but I don't know why he whipped me afterwards… guess that was a lesson I had to learn. But it hurt so bad…" He fought both tears and the pull of the medicine. "Don't get shot though ok?" He finally closed his eyes and slept.

Andy pulled up a chair next to Kiba's bed, giving a glance to Eiji who she forgot had been in the room. She looked back at Kiba and noticed Shishi adjusting to cuddle up to him better.

The clone in the hallway wiped tears away, "He's finally asleep. I'll keep an eye on him still. I'll keep this clone a while though, to go to the meeting when Balance and Naga show up. Do you want me to do anything between now and then?"

Stinger shook his head. "Just take care of him."

Ankh sighed. "I'm going to check on Eiji." He quietly reentered the infirmary.

Stinger looked at her. "Are you okay? What else did Kiba reveal?"

"They whipped him. But he thinks it was just him needing to learn a lesson. He said it hurt though and it took everything in me to not pull him in for another hug." She sighed, "I'd seen his nightmares but they were always things that happened as DeStruct or even events after that. I didn't really know anything about past those points in time."

Stinger's jaw twitched in time to his swishing tail. "If I only knew who this General was…"

"I don't know who he was, but Kiba is terrified of him. I've been trying to reassure him that everything is fine but he keeps bringing up the General."

Stinger took a deep breath. "I'm going back to the bridge. I'll let you know when they arrive."

He walked down the hall and disappeared around a corner.

Kiba began to whimper, tossing his head from side to side. Then he started to cry. "I'll be good…"

Andy's clone headed off to do research to see if she could find anything to help Kiba.

The real Andy grabbed Kiba's hand and gave it a squeeze, "Everything is fine. Just relax."

He wouldn't calm, his voice getting louder until it was almost a scream. "I'm sorry! Not the whip… please!"

Andy sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on his mind, trying to find Kiba.

She opened her eyes to see a wooden bloodstained whipping post. She watched as a small boy was chained to it. It took ten minutes for it to be over, the boy disappearing suddenly to be replaced with the Kiba she knew. He never cried out, but his hands were weakly grasping at the post by the time it was over.

Andy approached slowly, "Kiba?"

He struggled to meet her eyes. "Now you know…" He panted slowly as the blood ran down his back. "I escaped after this time happened. I can't help coming back though. I always hoped that the one doing it would kill me."

She made her way over to him, wiping a strand of hair from his face, "I wish I could have been there to protect you."

He smiled faintly. "That means a lot to me." He sighed. "Am I causing trouble again?"

She shook her head and gave him a sad smile, "Everyone is just worried about you." She set her hand gently on his shoulder. "Even if it upsets me to see your past, I'd rather know about it than not. Nothing you did upset me, it's what Shocker did to you that I hate."

He nodded slowly. "I'm going to try to wake up. Hopefully I can."

"Ok." She waited to see what would happen, just a little worried about a loop nightmare again.

He closed his eyes and disappeared.

Andy waited a moment before opening her eyes in her real body. She glanced at Kiba seeing if he was waking.

His eyes blinked open slowly. "Andy?"

"I'm right here," she realized she was still holding his hand so she gave it another squeeze.

"Thank the gods. Wait a minute, is it nighttime? It wasn't when you were keeping Ankh from flash frying me…"

She looked at the time, "It's early but getting to be nighttime. It's been a few hours since then."

"A few hours? What the hell happened?"

"Well... you were sleeping..." Andy spoke slowly.

His eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the suspicion I'm not going to like the next words out of your mouth?"

He sat up slowly, trying not to wake Shishi. "I'm sorry about freaking out, but Ankh threatening to fry my ass is a little intimidating."

"It's ok you freaked out, it's understandable." Andy answered. "But... you freaking out kind of caused you to have a psychotic episode..." She frowned, "It seemed you thought you were back with Shocker, but you were still pretty young."

He paled a little and stared at the blanket for a minute. "From what I remember, I was born and raised just like anyone else. Until I hit puberty. Then they started forcing injections on me. Not sure what they were. So if I was acting young, then I was…" He sighed. "Let me guess. I was spooked by a General and acting as if I was ten?"

"You seemed younger honestly," Andy sighed. "It's just hard to tell with you though, your mind is set older than your body's technically which makes things confusing to analyze."

Kiba chuckled humorlessly. "They wanted something they could control from a young age." He looked at her. "Did I say anything specific? Could narrow it down for me."

"Well first you weren't believing that Ankh didn't want to hurt you, so I kept trying to calm you down. But then you were like... a five-year-old. And you thought you'd be whipped because you didn't train hard enough. And also the weapons tutor and nurse had been shot?" She gave a soft smile, "You really liked Shishi though. And told me I was nice."

Kiba had paled even more, but gave her a weak smile. "You had my age right." He gave Shishi an affectionate pat. "Well it's true on both counts. Shishi is great and you are nice, even when I'm being a pain in the ass."

He sighed and bent his head. "I was feeling rebellious and refused to train. The General decided I needed a lesson and shot the tutor in front of me. Said it was my fault, then whipped me until I passed out. The whippings continued any time I mouthed off or failed a mission."

Andy put a hand on his arm, "I wish I could have saved you from them."

He gave her a soft sad smile, then took a deep breath.

The comm beeped.

"Are Balance and Naga back?" Andy answered.

"Yeah. And they aren't happy." Stinger's voice replied. "Is Kiba-"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "_Kiba _is right here and I'm headed your way." He grinned at Andy. "Bet you Balance is unhappy at the lack of treasure."

He looked over at the pair of sleeping Riders. "Let them sleep or wake them?"

"Let them sleep for now. I told Ankh if they need anything to let Shishi know so she can tell me. She can just go sit over there," Andy pet the cat a second before ordering to her, "Give Ankh space though, I think you scare him."

After watching Shishi move off Kiba, she sighed, "Are you sure you're ok to get up?"

"Yeah. Might need a cup of that stuff Stinger calls coffee though."

She smirked, "Have you ever actually tried coffee?"

"Normal coffee yes. The stuff Stinger drinks? That's got so much caffeine you could overdose."

"I can make you some normal coffee, but you probably shouldn't take in that much caffeine with everything else in your system." She smiled before standing and moving the chair back. She held her hand out to help him up, "Come on, they're waiting for us."

He took her hand and stood shakily. He waited a moment, then nodded. "I'm good. Let's see what new problem awaits."

She walked him down to the bridge before remembering her clone was still researching things. A few minutes later, the clone appeared with coffee and a sandwich and put them in front of Kiba before disappearing.

"That certainly comes in handy doesn't it?" Kiba laughed. He devoured the sandwich and was drinking the coffee when the thieves came in. "You two look like someone just installed state of the art security on your favorite spot. What's the bad news?"

After sitting down, Naga started, "Bad news is, Jark Matter got ahold of a portal system. It seems Shocker gave it to them."

Balance tried to sound happy, "Good news is, there's only the one so we only have one to take out."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "So that's how Ankh and Eiji got here? And the Os driver?"

"Seems likely," Naga nodded.

Kiba was silent, his hands tight around his cup. His jaw twitched as he tried to breathe. Slowly he spoke. "So I blow the portal. Then I send them home. Sounds like a plan." He began to rise from the chair, not meeting anyone's eyes.

Andy put a hand on his arm preventing him from moving further. "You're not going alone. You haven't even looked at the map of the base yet. Slow down."

He gave her a small smile. "You're right. Memorize the base first." He sat down again, focusing. "This where we think the system is?" He pointed at a large room on the map.

"Yes." Naga nodded.

Kiba nodded thoughtfully. "Shouldn't be too difficult to blow. Explosives around the power supply and to be extra sure add more to the self-destruct panel. I can do it easy, especially with my invisibility."

"I'm going with you," Andy added.

Kiba shot her a glare. "What part of_ I _did you not comprehend?"

"Well, I have invisibility too. And plans don't always go the way we want them to, it doesn't hurt to have backup."

He exhaled sharply. "Fine."

Stinger frowned but only said "Be ready in twenty."

Kiba stalked off the bridge with a curt nod.

Andy shook her head and looked at Stinger, "Do you think I messed up by insisting I go with?"

Stinger shook his head. "I was going to order it if you didn't say anything. I have a nagging feeling he wasn't intending to come back. With everything that's happened in the past few days, this news probably pushed him to the edge."

Kiba sent another punch into the hanging bag. "Dammit!" The base was an easy way to atone for everything he'd done. Destroy it and the portal system, save Eiji and Ankh from Jark Matter for good. Shocker was gone from this universe, only two things remained. The portal and himself. Taking out both in one move would make sure everyone was safe.

Andy gave Stinger a kiss before leaving the bridge. She walked down the hallway, keeping an eye out for Kiba. When she finally did find him, she just stood quietly in the doorway and watched him for a few minutes.

"Why?" Kiba exhaled sharply, but didn't turn. "Why do you insist on being my shadow?"

"Because I care about you and just want to help," she spoke softly.

"Only two things remain to be destroyed to finally end Shocker's influence in this universe. I can take out both at once, but you insist on coming along."

He finally turned to face her. "Before you ask, I already sent them home. So they are safe."

"Kiba... We all care about you. None of us want you hurt or dead." She sighed, "I just wish you'd accept that. I will keep fighting to keep you safe and alive as long as I'm alive to do so."

He sank to his knees. "Why? I shouldn't exist! I'm a twisted version of two heroes who died because of me… I'm a weapon. I need to be destroyed so nothing can ever use me again. I'm too damaged to be normal, to give Hammy what she needs."

She moved to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, "Shocker wanted you to be a weapon, that doesn't mean you have to be one. You have the choice to choose your future." She ran a hand through his hair, "If things are supposed to work out between you and Hammy, you two will find a way to work things out. Only she knows what she needs and if she decides that's you, why fight it?" Andy sighed, "Who cares if you shouldn't exist? You do exist and that's what matters. Stinger and I shouldn't even be alive anymore, but we are, so we try to make the most of it. I want to help you make the most of your life too."

"I'm so tired. Every time it seems I get a fresh start, my past reappears. It's like a hydra, cut off one head and seven more appear. I just want it to end. Even if it means dying."

"I get it. I really do. But you have to live for the good parts." She shook her head, "Your past is part of you, you'll never be able to fully escape it. But that's why you need to accept it happened and move on. I know it's hard. I know it sounds almost impossible. But it is possible. And we're here to help you through it."

He took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully. "You're a great therapist you know that?" He laughed shakily.

She chuckled sadly, "I highly doubt that. But I am here for you, no matter what. I just hate that I can't take all of your pain away." She wiped a couple tears from her eyes, "I always hate seeing you hurting. I hate seeing you wanting to die. Sometimes I just worry that I've brought you more pain by bringing you back."

He shook his head. "I'm the one who's sorry. You have enough issues being married to scorpion boy. You don't need mine." He looked at her. "We're probably late."

She chuckled, "Then Stinger can yell at me." She smiled, "I know I have plenty of issues myself and with Stinger. But I'd rather take on your issues too than let you suffer alone."

He gave her a half smile, then stood. "Let's wipe this base off the map. You going to take your voyager or are you going to go in with me?"

"I'll go with you. Can't let you start the fun without me," Andy smirked.

"Alright. I've got the explosives. You have your bag?"

Andy glanced down and nodded, "Ready."

He waved his hand creating the portal. "Let's go." He extended his other hand.

She grabbed onto him, "Let's kick Jark Matter butt."

He grinned and walked through, disappearing.

They emerged in an empty hallway. Kiba released the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. "Our luck appears to be holding. The self-destruct is that way." He handed her several small explosives while pointing down the hall.

"So where do you want me to put these?"

"Wherever it causes the most damage. I'll put explosives around the portal system. I'll check the computers for any other prisoners as well."

He gave her a smile. "We'll meet up back here. These are timed so set them for twenty minutes?"

"Meet here in fifteen then?"

"Deal." He vanished after touching his phone.

Getting to the system wasn't a problem. Neither was checking the computer. He breathed a sigh of relief as he discovered no prisoners. He began to set the charges and froze when the door opened.

"Is it ready?" A man's voice asked.

"Fully operational." Another voice answered.

Kiba cursed internally, hoping it was just a casual check. The thought was dashed as the first voice spoke again. "Target Tokyo. Wide dispersal."

Kiba hefted his gun and stood, preparing to shoot both men.

A puff of air was all the warning he had before a tranquilizer dart was buried in his neck. His invisibility disappeared as he began to fall.

The first voice laughed. "We were prepared for you. Enjoy your nap."

Kiba's eyes closed and he lay still.

Fifteen minutes later, Andy arrived at their original location, "Kiba?" After no response she used her comm to call Stinger, "Kiba didn't meet at the time we agreed on. I'm going to look for him. If they caught him and didn't disable the charges we set, this place is going up in five."

Stinger cursed. "Find him. If need be, disable them."

Kiba regained consciousness slowly. Groggily he examined his location. Cell block. Not surprising. He tried to move, quickly discovering he was chained at the wrists against the wall.

His eyes shot toward the door as it opened.

"Good. You're awake."

Kiba remained silent.

The man entered, holding a tray. "You won't stay silent for long." He laid the tray down, uncovering the contents.

The Rider couldn't hide the hard swallow as he saw several torture implements.

"We know you won't talk. And we don't have the technology to bend you to our will. So this will last until your heart stops. Simple as that. Shall we begin?"

Kiba took a deep breath as the man reached for something on the tray.

Andy looked into every room she ran past, keeping an eye on the time. Three minutes. She tried to move past a group of indavers, like she had been doing, but one shined something at her. She had been invisible but whatever this device was let them see her.

She winced as she took a shot to the arm as she was still trying to figure out how they spotted her. She became fully invisible again and started shooting, taking them down quickly.

She looked in a few more rooms before finally spotting Kiba. She glanced at the time again. Two minutes. She raised her blaster and fired at the man standing by Kiba. He finally turned to look at her, the shot not having done much damage.

The man smirked. "You might as well show yourself. Body shield." He waved a hand at Kiba's limp form. "You here for him?"

Andy growled, "If I am?"

The man gave a slow vicious smile. "He's not far from death. But I won't let you rob me. So I guess I'll have to skip right to it." He lifted a large dagger, placing it over Kiba's abdomen above his navel. "Move and I do it slow."

She took a deep breath, focusing her energy into making two clones who were already invisible. She felt a bit dizzy but tried to stand firm, "Don't."

The one clone went into the hall and whispered into her comm, "Stinger? Send me the Fuuchou kyutama." She took a deep breath, "I hope this works but if not, I'm so sorry." She shook her head.

A bright light appeared before her.

The other clone started moving slowly toward Kiba and the man.

The man kept one eye on Andy as he tapped Kiba's face roughly.

Kiba's eyes flew open, beginning to panic as he glimpsed Andy near the door.

The man forced Kiba to meet his eyes. "Sorry to say our time together is over. But I have a final gift for you." In one smooth motion, the dagger was buried to the hilt in Kiba's abdomen.

Kiba let out a whimper as the man stepped away with a sadistic smile. His body began shaking from the shock and he could feel his consciousness slipping away.

The clone with the kyutama handed it to Andy slowly, so the man wouldn't notice.

The two clones then moved together and pushed the man back away from Kiba.

Andy rushed forward and shot the chains on the wall. She caught Kiba who fell forward at her, trying to be careful of the dagger. She then put the kyutama in her seiza blaster.

She heard a couple shots, seeing from her clones that the man had pulled out a blaster. She quickly fired the seiza blaster as she felt a shot hit her back.

She slowly looked around, finding herself on the bridge of the Orion. After pushing Kiba back so the knife didn't get hit, she collapsed on her side. She took a moment and stared through the eyes of her one clone that was still alive. The charges had started going off, the base bursting into explosions. She shuddered as her clone was caught up in it, disappearing.

Andy closed her eyes a moment trying to find the energy to push herself up and help Kiba. She finally got to her knees, hands shaking as they scanned over him.

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she hoped someone could hear her, "Can you guys help me?"

Stinger appeared by her side, the thieves nearby. "What do you need?"

"Naga, if you know anything about transfusions, get a bag ready. Balance, can you carry him to the infirmary?" She looked at Stinger through blurry eyes, "Help me get to the infirmary and then start stitching up his wounds. I'm sure there'll be more but this is what I need right now."

Naga nodded and headed to the infirmary. Balance moved around and picked up Kiba carefully.

Stinger helped her to stand, freezing when Kiba suddenly whispered Andy's name.

"It's ok, Kiba. Everything will be fine." She tried to sound hopeful. She looked at Stinger once Kiba was out of the room, "How bad does my back actually look?"

"Not as bad as it probably feels. Come on." He helped her walk to the infirmary slowly.

Balance met them outside. "He asked about the base. Told him it was gone. He passed out right after."

Andy nodded and moved into the room toward Kiba. She sat on a chair before grabbing the things Naga had prepped. She started up the IV. She looked at Stinger, "The blade is his worst wound. Stitch it first. It needs to be pulled straight out but I can't do it. Please remove it carefully."

She took a second to gather her thoughts, "Shishi, lay on his legs, he's not hurt there. You two grab the bandages we'll need for him." She raised her hands and started trying to heal some of the damage.

Stinger carefully wrapped his hand around the dagger and pulled it out. Blood started to pool on the bed as Balance put pressure on the injury. When it had slowed, Stinger began stitching.

"There's a couple cuts on his chest that need stitches. Everything else can just be bandaged." Andy pulled her hands away for a moment, steadying herself. "All of his injuries are abdomen or higher though. His arms have a few cuts too."

Naga nodded, beginning to bandage the shallow cuts. "If that person wanted him dead why didn't he just do it?"

"Either he's crazy or wanted information." Andy glanced up, "The man is dead now though."

She put her hands back up, glowing, trying to lessen the damage.

Stinger had moved on to the cuts on the chest, finally cutting the last strings on the neat stitches. "Will he make it?"

"His heart beat is starting to steady out at a normal rhythm. And with the transfusion he will be fine in terms of blood loss. I think he'll make it but he's going to be hurting a while because I can't do as much healing as I normally can." Andy answered with her eyes closed, still focusing on him.

Stinger sighed. "I'll make my report, then I'll be back to help you."

Andy nodded but stayed quiet. When Stinger came back, Balance spoke up, "She passed out so I moved her to a bed."

A couple weeks later, Andy stood on the bridge. "You better call sometimes so I know you're not dead. And be careful. Call me if you need anything."

Kiba rolled his eyes but smiled and nodded. He raised his hand up, making a portal appear in front of him.

"Oh, and say hi to Hammy if you see her," Andy added.

Kiba chuckled, "I'll be seeing her soon, don't worry." He stepped through the portal, disappearing.

Andy glanced at Stinger, "It'd be easier to not worry if he didn't almost die every time I saw him."

Stinger wrapped his arms around her and smiled, "He'll be fine. At least while he's with Hammy she can keep him in line."

Andy chuckled, "I doubt it."

"Well, either way, we don't have any missions planned, so just relax," he grinned before kissing her.

She smiled up at him and nodded, "Relaxing would be nice."


	21. Treasure and A New Baby

Andy stared at Shishi who kept head-butting her with more strength than usual. "What's up?"

She finally sighed and scanned the cat over just to check on her. She paused, "What trouble have you gotten yourself into little one?"

She looked at a memory Shishi was thinking before commenting, "Well, I'm glad you're happy I guess..." Andy gave her another head scratch before getting up and heading out of her room. "Hey Balance and Naga? Meet me on the bridge."

Andy gave a soft smile to Stinger who was staring at his tablet. When the thieves entered the room, Andy asked, "So where did you get the cat?"

"What cat?" Balance tried to sound innocent.

"I know you have a cat, don't try to lie about it."

"Balance found him on a planet a few weeks ago. He's been in our room ever since though," Naga informed.

"Except he couldn't have been in your room the whole time," Andy assessed.

"He might have snuck out once but I found him pretty soon after," Balance assured. "Is it a problem? You guys have a cat so..."

Andy shook her head, "I don't care if you have a pet, I do care that my highly trained ninja cat is now going to be out of battles for a few months because she's expecting kittens," Andy glared.

Stinger raised his head and looked at them, but stayed silent.

"Oh." Balance answered.

"What's your cat's name?"

Naga gave a soft chuckle, "Treasure."

"Of course," Andy laughed. "Well, if you two plan to stay on the Orion much longer, Treasure is getting neutered."

Balance winced, "Aww, poor baby."

"Also, do you plan on taking him on your heists with you?"

"He can stay in our voyagers," Naga nodded.

"Alright. Seriously though, if you get another pet, let me know because now I'm already going to have a few more mouths to feed," Andy sighed before grinning, "They'll be super cute though."

Finally, she looked over at Stinger, "Anything new?"

He shook his head, "Nope, still quiet. I'd rather it be quiet though than constant battles."

Andy nodded in agreement. "I'll go make us lunch. Why don't you bring your cat out and we can meet him?"

Balance suddenly sounded excited, "Okyu!"

Over the next few days, Shishi kept nudging against Andy.

"I know you're excited to have babies, but I'm already giving you attention, what do you want?"

She frowned when trying to read Shishi's thoughts, "Alright, I'll check it out."

She headed to the infirmary, spending hours doing tests and analyzing results. She was trying to figure things out when she got a call from Stinger, "We got a message of a Jark Matter attack on a nearby planet. Be ready to go in thirty minutes."

Andy gave one final look at the file before closing it and preparing her bag. She was in the voyager bay when Stinger and the thieves arrived.

"It's a small planet with little defense. Right now we have to just go care for any survivors and take out the threat."

She climbed in and lifted off, arriving ten minutes later. Spotting a tent marked medical, she tried to land as close as possible to it. She jumped out, attempting to get there without fighting.

The indavers had other ideas.

She was shooting, but knew she was outnumbered. The thieves and Stinger were nowhere to be seen and she was starting to worry.

A barrage of gunfire suddenly caused the indavers surrounding her to drop to the ground and she looked up to see a gold and white armor along with a blue and black one approaching.

"Are you sure you don't just follow us, looking for trouble?" She chuckled.

"Moi? Never." The gold armor dissolved to reveal Kiba.

Andy grinned, "Well, I'm glad to see you haven't died in the last few months."

"Only because I haven't killed him yet." The blue armor dissolved to reveal Daiki Kaito, who gave Andy a bright smile. "Long time no see."

"What brings you two here?"

"We were bored. Heard Jark Matter was causing trouble, so I decided to check it out. Dad's hiding from Tsukasa again."

Andy sighed, "I have to get to the medical tent. Stick around though, we should catch up."

Both men grinned. "We'll escort you."

Andy rolled her eyes but chuckled. "You definitely should come to the ship. I think Shishi misses you."

Kiba blushed as Daiki looked puzzled. "A girlfriend you didn't tell me about?"

Andy laughed, "Unless something happened recently, he's still dating my sister. Shishi is a cat. And you have to meet Balance and Naga's new Treasure too."

Daiki laughed. "I'm definitely visiting now."

Kiba smiled for a moment, then pointed. "We better get you to that tent."

A group of indavers were heading right for them. They ducked blaster fire all the way to the tent, then Andy was pushed inside.

"We'll hold them off. Don't worry." Kiba sent her a relaxed smile as Daiki henshined. Then they were gone.

Andy stared at the cots in the tent, bodies being moved away as the medics lost them. She finally asked one medic, "Where do you need help?"

She was pointed toward a bed in the corner, a woman breathing slowly was barely conscious.

Andy stepped over there and smiled at her, "Hey, don't worry. Everything is going to be ok."

The lady shook her head slowly, "I'm not going to make it. I know I won't. But my baby can." She motioned her hand to her stomach.

Andy frowned and scanned her over, noticing the baby, just a few days away from birth, was still doing fine. "Alright, I can save her. Do you have family to take her? Her father?"

The woman shook her head again, "No one. But she needs a chance to live."

Andy nodded trying to not cry, "I'll make sure she gets taken care of. Do you have a name for her?"

"Azra," she gave a soft smile, "it was my mother's name."

Andy smiled, "Don't worry. I'll make sure Azra is safe."

Within an hour, Azra was born and the woman was gone. Andy focused on cleaning the baby up and wrapped her in a clean blanket.

She looked up at Stinger who entered the tent. He raised an eyebrow.

"She was just born. Her mother was dying..." Andy informed. "She's an orphan."

Stinger gently touched the baby's cheek. "You thinking what I think you're thinking?" He gave Andy a soft smile.

She sighed, "I told her mother I'd take care of her. I don't know if a baby is a good idea right now though." She looked at the medics still working in the tent before looking back at him, "Why don't we take her to the ship for now so she's safe and then talk about it?"

He nodded. "Sounds good. Balance and Naga have already headed back."

They turned as the tent flap opened. "Hey Andy?" Kiba popped his head in. "You got a second?"

He saw Stinger and grinned. "Hey."

Andy sighed before smiling at Stinger, "Hold her?"

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Take care of injury magnet."

Andy chuckled, "Do you mean Kiba or his dad?"

Stinger's eyes widened. "_He's_ here?"

"Daiki, yeah." She nodded before heading out of the tent. She looked for Kiba, "What's up?"

"Dad _might_ have gotten in the way of an indaver with a blaster." Kiba fought to keep from laughing.

Andy rolled her eyes, "Ok, I'll take care of him." She approached, looking through her bag grabbing supplies. She knelt down by Daiki and scanned over him. "I'm sure it hurts but it's not a terrible wound." Andy analyzed as she started healing it up.

"Feel like an idiot. Thought it was down." Daiki growled.

"It's alright," she looked over at Kiba, "I didn't get a chance to ask Stinger, did everything else go smoothly?"

"For us, yeah. The indavers had a rather bad day though." Kiba chuckled.

Andy finished up bandaging Daiki, "It might be sore but you'll be fine." She looked at Kiba, "I've somehow been landed with caring for a baby... Can you portal us to the Orion because I don't want to risk a newborn in a voyager..."

Kiba raised an eyebrow, exchanging looks with Daiki before nodding. "You might want to let Stinger know."

"Stinger's in the medical tent holding the baby."

"Doesn't someone need to bring the voyagers back?" Kiba waved a hand as he helped Daiki to his feet. He pushed the older thief into the haze.

Andy nodded, "Just take Stinger and the baby. I'll remote pilot his voyager back."

"Okay." The haze moved briefly over the tent before returning to Kiba. "Meet you there." He jumped into the portal and disappeared.

Andy flew back to the ship slowly. Finally, she landed both her and Stinger's voyagers before climbing out. She gave a soft smile to Stinger who was still holding the baby.

"I was starting to worry. Having second thoughts?"

"About saving her life? No. About promising to take care of her, definitely." Andy sighed, "I'm going to set up a crib in the infirmary really quick then we can talk in our room?"

Stinger chuckled. "Okay. Everyone is resting so we won't be disturbed."

After making sure Azra was safe and asleep, Andy watched Shishi jump into the crib and cuddle up to her.

Stinger wrapped his arms around her. "You know, you didn't promise to raise her. We could find a family for her."

She sighed, "I know... I want her but I'm worried." She pulled away but held onto his hand and started walking to their room. After closing the door, she sat on the bed. "I don't know what to do. We still run off into battle. Jark Matter isn't gone. What if we put her in danger?"

Stinger gave her a soft smile. "I forgot to tell you. Shou called before you were awake. He gave us permission to stand down. Barring invasions or unforeseen circumstances, we are officially semi-retired."

She smiled sadly, "You know there'll be unforeseen circumstances. There always are." She laid back, "There's something else though that I'm worried about... but promise you won't tell anyone else?"

Stinger climbed onto the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Shishi kept acting weird, which is how I found she was pregnant. She kept acting weird though. Animals can sense things before people do, so she was trying to tell me something." Andy closed her eyes, "I haven't even really noticed symptoms yet but there's something wrong with me. Everything I've read about diseases with similar results, there's not much I can do. It could go really slow and it barely affect me, or it can accelerate and affect me quickly." She took a deep breath, "Basically it'll affect my memory and movements, similar to how I was after that brain hemorrhage, but it could get way worse than that. What if we keep Azra but then I get bad and can't care for her?"

Stinger cupped her cheek. "We could let Hammy take care of her. And you don't know for sure there's a real problem yet. We can go to headquarters and get you checked out. You may be stressing over nothing."

Andy took a deep breath, "Maybe. I don't know if Hammy would want a baby if it would interfere with her teaching. Plus, I don't know if she's still waiting on Kiba to figure things out. I really should call her more often, shouldn't I?"

Stinger chuckled and kissed her nose. "Yes you should." He stretched. "Have you thought about what you're going to feed her when she wakes up?"

Andy cursed, "Is there another planet nearby? I should probably go get some baby supplies..." She looked at him, "We didn't plan on a baby before, but then we were going to have one and lost him... This could be our chance for one, but are we even meant to have a baby?"

Stinger grinned. "I've learned never to underestimate the universe. I'll set a course for the nearest planet."

He left the room, heading for the bridge.

Kiba cursed as he poured antiseptic on the cut as Daiki rolled his eyes. "She was right there. She could have taken care of that."

"Did you see how freaked she was? Why should I add to that when I am perfectly capable of taking care of it myself?"

Daiki sighed and got off the bed, moving to Kiba's side. He examined the injury closer. "Hate to tell you this but that is going to need stitches."

Kiba groaned. "Can't you do it?"

Daiki shook his head. "Nope. Not enabling your hiding from her. I'm staying on her good side while I'm here."

Kiba glared. "Traitor." He pressed a bandage against his side as Daiki chuckled. "Should I go get her after I take you to the infirmary? Or do you want to tell her?"

Kiba sighed. "If Shishi's there I won't have to tell her anything. Help me up."

They made their way to the infirmary and quietly entered.

Shishi raised her head and stared at them impassively.

Daiki laughed. "Yep. Andy is definitely going to kick your ass."

Andy had already left the room, heading to the infirmary when she got a thought from Shishi. She shook her head and entered the infirmary, checking on the baby before moving over to Kiba. She raised her hands to scan over him, "Did you get a good look at Shishi yet? She's starting to get a little fat."

Kiba glanced over. "I was a little too worried she wanted me for lunch to notice. Is she really having kittens with Balance's cat?"

Andy nodded, "Yeah. She's not allowed to go giant for a while, because I'm worried about how it will affect the kittens. So you don't need to worry about her eating you."

"You know whatever species she is probably hunts big so I doubt you have anything to worry about. But I'm relieved she won't eat me on your orders." He winced as he shifted position.

Andy started stitching him up, "I don't know what planet or species Treasure is though, so that could change things a bit too." She quietly finished up before putting a bandage on it and working on healing it up a bit, "I was just talking to Stinger about how I should call Hammy more... Have you talked to her at all lately?"

He nodded slowly. "We've agreed to kind of a long distance relationship. She's missing having someone to take care of though. Says the house is too big alone."

Andy glanced over at the baby and sighed, "Maybe Stinger was right."

"About what?" Daiki's voice broke the silence.

Andy looked down, "We were talking about if we should keep this baby or not... I don't know what he's thinking, if he wants her or is just letting me decide? One option he mentioned was letting Hammy care for her. If she's lonely, a baby would help maybe."

Kiba considered her words. "Maybe. You know Stinger though. If he doesn't want to do something, he's pretty vocal about it. So if he's quiet, it's usually a sign he's decided on something but is letting you make up your mind."

She sighed, "I'll talk to him again. At least when I had gotten pregnant, I had time to prepare. This is just a newborn baby randomly placed in my care because her mother died and she has no family..."

"Think of it another way. You didn't have to deal with pregnancy." Daiki cracked.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Smooth, Dad. Real smooth. If you keep this up, I'm going to tell Tsukasa where you are."

Daiki went pale. "You wouldn't."

Kiba just raised an eyebrow.

Daiki swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay, okay. I'll behave."

Andy chuckled at their interaction. "To some extent, I'm glad I never have to deal with pregnancy. Part of me will probably always be a bit sad though about the baby we lost. But maybe the universe is trying to help us out and give us another chance..."

Kiba stood slowly and looked at Daiki. "At least, she isn't going to be showing up on your doorstep trying to kill you." He gave Andy a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for not yelling at me."

She smiled, "You know I just care about trying to help you. Hiding an injury for a bit is low on the list of stupid things you've done."

Kiba turned red and shook his head as Daiki looked at him. "Ouch. There anything you want to fill me in on?"

Daiki turned to Andy. "Maybe you'll tell me?"

Andy laughed, "It'd take me hours." She smirked, "How long do you plan on staying?"

Daiki glared at the other man who was no doubt wishing he could escape. "Starting to think I should be a permanent babysitter to baka here." He rubbed his neck. "Just waiting till Tsukasa calms down honestly."

"Oh yeah, I've considered babysitting him too," Andy chuckled. "Sorry Kiba."

Kiba looked at the ceiling. "Is this pick on Kiba day?"

"You know it's out of love," Andy smiled.

Kiba snorted as he headed for the door. "You coming?" He looked at Daiki.

Daiki shrugged. "Someone has to watch you."

"Are you guys staying longer or heading out?" Andy stood from the seat she had taken.

Kiba shrugged. "Originally was planning on leaving in the morning. Now... I don't know. My spidey sense is tingling, but have no idea why."

Daiki raised an eyebrow. "Been reading comic books again, have you?"

Kiba playfully smacked his shoulder. "Given the fact you gave them to me…"

Andy looked at the baby again before turning to Kiba, "Let's see if Stinger has any new reports. Maybe there's another attack?"

Kiba nodded and left, Daiki on his heels.

Andy headed to the bridge, giving Stinger a small smile. "How long until we get to the next planet?"

"Two hours. Why?" He gave her a look. "Something wrong?"

"Well, newborn babies don't sleep that long so I'm going to have to find something to give her," Andy answered. "Also, Kiba has a bad feeling but has no idea why..."

Stinger frowned. "I've learned to trust his feelings. He has no idea at all?"

"Unless he's hiding something from me, no."

"Well he's done that before, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Nothing's come up on the comm system."

"Our thieves didn't hear anything or get any intel on the mission, did they?"

Stinger shook his head. "Not that they told me." He looked out the view screen. "Now I'm worried."

"Exactly what I said earlier, right? There's always unforeseen circumstances." She wrapped her arms around him. "We'll figure it out and take care of it... We always do."

He sighed. "Kiba mention Hammy at all?"

"Apparently they're doing a long distance relationship. Also, she's been lonely and thinks the house is too quiet." Andy sighed, "I'd love to take care of Azra, but I wonder if she'd be safer on my planet and would make Hammy happier."

"Contact her. See what she says. Hopefully Kiba's feelings are just feelings and nothing comes of them."

"Love," she rested her head against him, "If the decision was totally up to you, knowing everything we know, would you keep Azra or give her up?"

Stinger kissed her. "I'd keep her. But we both know at least right now, it's not an option. If I can convince Shou to fully stand us down, then Azra will stay with us."

Andy nodded, wiping a stray tear away, "I'll go call Hammy."

Stinger cupped her cheek. "Azra is ours. Think of Hammy as the nanny."

Andy smiled softly, "This morning I never would have imagined something like this. Every day is an adventure... I never know what to expect. I just hope we can care for her as well as her real mom would have."

Stinger kissed her again. "Of course we will. Now scoot. I'm going to monitor things, see if anything matching Kiba's bad feeling shows up."

Andy nodded and headed to their room. She pulled up something on her tablet and heard ringing as the video feed tried to find Hammy.

"Hello?" Hammy's face appeared onscreen.

"Hammy?" Andy answered. As the video cleared up she smiled.

"Andy! How are things going?"

"They've been ok. Today has been pretty crazy... That's why I'm calling actually. But first, how are you?"

"Well, school's out right now so I've just been updating my training." Her voice became wistful. "Have you heard from Kiba?"

"Actually, we had a mission today and he randomly showed up. He's with Daiki right now. They're here on the ship for the time being."

She brightened. "He's alright though? I had a bad dream about him last night."

Andy froze for a second before smiling, "He's fine, just a small injury. What happened in your dream?"

"Somebody was threatening him. Never saw the person. Come to think of it, Daiki was there too…" Her face was grim. "I don't think he was alive though."

Andy sighed. "Don't worry. We'll try to protect him like always." She gave a soft smile, "Speaking of protecting... Is there any chance you'd like to watch a baby for us for a little while?"

"Baby? Andy, what's going on?"

"The planet we were on today, a lot of people were hurt. One woman was pregnant... She didn't make it but the baby did. The baby has no family, so we were thinking about taking her in. The problem is, I'm worried she'll get hurt if she stays here. I don't want her to be in danger."

Hammy smiled. "Of course I'll take care of her. Raise her to be a ninja." She looked at something off screen. "When do I meet her?"

"I don't know how far we are. I can call back once I know." She sighed, "I just got her and now I'm sad thinking about leaving her..."

Hammy giggled. "Spoken like a true parent. I'll be waiting." She cut the call, disappearing from video.

Andy checked Azra over wondering why she hadn't woken yet, but realized Shishi was just keeping her calm and comfortable. She smiled and headed back to the bridge.

"Anything yet?" She looked around making sure it was just Stinger, "Hammy said something that worries me... but she will take care of Azra."

Stinger shook his head. "Nothing. Starting to think Kiba's jumping at shadows."

"No... there's something going on," Andy informed him of Hammy's dream. "Should we tell them so they can be more prepared if something does happen? Or just keep an eye on them?"

"Telling the dream might cause Kiba to run right into the danger he needs to avoid. I vote for watching and if something happens, take care of it."

Andy nodded, "Ok. We need to stop at this planet for baby things. After that, how far are we from home?"

Stinger consulted the map. "About a day."

"Ok. Baby supplies, then home. Unless something happens. I'll go update Hammy and then warn Kiba where we are going." She kissed his cheek before smiling.

He gave her a crooked smile in return.

Andy called Hammy back then knocked on Kiba's door, waiting for a response.

Kiba answered the door, yawning. "What's up?"

She could hear Daiki's sleepy voice telling her to go away.

She smirked, "Sorry. Just wanted you to know, we're stopping at a planet for some baby stuff, then we are heading home. Hammy is going to watch Azra for a while. Still nothing dangerous to report though, so you can go back to sleep."

Kiba nodded. "Thanks for telling us." He closed the door.

Andy rolled her eyes before going to the infirmary. She gently picked up Azra who blinked her eyes open for a moment before falling back to sleep. Andy sat there just staring at her until Stinger came in.

"How's she doing?"

"Good. She'll need food soon but she's been sleeping." Andy smiled at her, "She's so tiny."

"Babies usually are. We're about to establish orbit. Do you want me to go down or shall I take over watching her sleep?"

Andy looked thoughtful for a moment, "Though I trust you could figure it out, I want to make sure we get the right formula and to see what's in it..." She smirked, "So I guess I'll go."

He chuckled and gently took Azra into his arms. "Be careful okay?"

Andy looked at the two of them, smiling, "You're going to be a good dad." She kissed him, "I love you."

He grinned. "I love you too. Glad someone has faith."

"I'll be back soon," Andy left the infirmary and headed to her voyager. She watched the planet coming closer before finally landing. After walking a couple minutes, she spotted the town. She scanned the aisles of the shops, finally leaving with multiple bags full of stuff.

When she arrived back to the ship, she carried it to her room and started organizing it before taking a few things to the infirmary. "How's she doing?"

Stinger smiled. "Not a peep." He cocked his head. "I wonder if all babies on her planet are like that?"

Andy scrunched her eyebrows in thought, "We probably should research the people of her planet... But I've scanned over her a few times and she seems fine." She raised up a bottle, handing it to him, "She needs to eat though, even if she doesn't want to wake up."

He nodded, gently touching Azra's lips with the nipple. She latched on and began drinking the formula rapidly. "Whoa! Slow down there."

"She's not eaten since she was born. That was hours ago. I think most babies eat soon after birth..."

"Think so too." He put the empty bottle aside and gently patted her back. A loud burp erupted and he chuckled.

"So, I know she'll be with Hammy a while, so I decided to pick up a lot of supplies she might end up needing. I got diapers in a bunch of sizes, lots of clothes, a couple little toys, and formula." She smiled, "I found you a new scarf too."

Stinger laughed. "How much did you spend? Just for accounting's sake."

Andy shrugged, "There's receipts... I didn't really think about it, I just wanted to get her things..."

Stinger bit back a laugh. "I could say something, but I value my life too much." He handed Azra back, heading for the door. "Going to set course for Hammy. Should I warp it?"

"I'll leave that up to you," she smiled.

He sent her a grin and disappeared.

Kiba sat watching Daiki sleep. He was not looking forward to Andy telling him what had happened since he'd been in this universe. Daiki would probably kick his ass once he learned of the suicide attempt and all the Shocker related injuries he'd suffered. He sighed and leaned his head back. Within moments, he was asleep.

Hammy met them when they landed. "Daka!"

"Hey," Andy smiled. "How are you?"

"Happy to see you. Is this the baby?" She cooed at Azra.

"Yeah. Meet Azra. She was named after her grandmother. Honestly, I'm just realizing I don't even know what her mother's name was..." Andy frowned.

"Such a pretty name. And don't dwell on it." Hammy gave her a hug, then cradled Azra. "Come in the house. No one came down with you?"

"I don't know what they are doing. Stinger is just keeping an eye on things. Balance and Naga were talking about some heist they want to do. And last I checked Kiba and Daiki were still sleeping. I thought at least Kiba would come down..." She shook her head, "Sorry."

Hammy laughed. "Kiba's probably just hiding again. I was the one that suggested the distance because he seemed unhappy staying here."

Andy smiled, "Yeah, I get it a bit. I can't imagine staying in one place. Well, except the ship of course." She glanced at Azra. "Though... maybe it wouldn't be too terrible if it meant staying with her."

Hammy smiled at her. "You could stay. I mean you're not busy all the time."

"We were put on partial standby... but there might still be things happening. Jark Matter isn't gone yet. Kiba is always getting into trouble... I don't think I can just stay that easily..." she sighed. "But I do miss you and I don't want to leave her."

Hammy gently hugged her. "You'll always have a place here. And she's yours. I'm just going to be Aunt Hammy. And you know I'll keep her safe."

"I know." Andy nodded. "I know. At least you know I'll be calling you more." She chuckled.

Hammy rolled her eyes.

Andy's com beeped.

"Stinger? What's up?" Andy answered.

"We're receiving a distress call from Altair Four. They're reporting an Jark Matter invasion."

Andy sighed, "I'll be right there..." She looked at Hammy, "See? I can't ever just stay or take a break because something will always happen."

Hammy gave her a sympathetic smile. "Go kick some ass, then come back."

Andy nodded and gave Hammy another hug. She then looked at Azra, smiling, "Bye baby. I'll be back to you soon. Hammy's going to take great care of you though." She headed to the door.

Kiba met her in the voyager bay. "Good visit?"

"Too short," Andy admitted.

He grinned apologetically. "Well it just means Jark Matter's going to get their butt kicked extra hard right?"

She smirked before nodding.

"Stinger says we're only about six hours away." He looked at her. "I didn't leave you alone on purpose. Had one of those nights."

"It's fine. Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Had some of Stinger's coffee. Though once this is done I'll probably crash. Everyone's on the bridge."

"Ok, let's go see what the plan is."

Stinger looked up as they entered. "Ok short and sweet. There are three Jark Matter ships in orbit and a morimarz on the planet. The prime minister reports that Jark is threatening to destroy the planet if they don't agree to being taken over."

"So how do we want to strike?" Andy glanced at a map.

"Balance, Naga and I will attack the morimarz. I was thinking the three of you could sneak into the minister's residence and get them to safety under Jark's nose."

Andy nodded. "Anything else we need to know?"

Stinger frowned. "They haven't landed any troops yet. Keep your eyes open. They're changing tactics and I don't like it."

Andy's eyes narrowed as she wondered if Hammy's dream and Kiba's bad feeling were leading to this planet.

Kiba and Daiki exchanged glances but didn't say anything.

Andy noticed, "What are you thinking?"

Daiki twirled his driver. "Why would they change their tactics now? Seems too easy."

Andy nodded, "In some aspects they are getting smarter, like at that one base they had something that could reveal me when invisible." She sighed, "But even then they weren't always the smartest to begin with..." She thought back, "Most of the time they don't care much about the indavers, so even if they wanted to blow the entire planet, they'd have some kind of troops. This has to be a trap of some sort."

Stinger sighed. "Should we wait then?"

"Is there a time limit for them to give themselves up?"

Stinger looked grim. "One hour."

Andy looked at Kiba a second, "You did say we were six hours away, right? So if there's troops on the ground, or worse, it's blown up, we can assume they are actually taking it over. If there's still no troops, we know it's a trap."

Stinger nods. "Then we evaluate the situation when we arrive. If it is real, we can go in and clean house. If it's not, we can figure out what to do."

Andy nodded.

Balance and Naga answered, "Okyu."

Kiba hesitated before speaking. "We could go ahead and scout it. Contact you depending on what the situation is. Both of us invisible of course."

Andy glanced at Stinger before grinning at Kiba, "You should already know what I'm going to say."

"If it's a trap, we could warn you before you show up! Who knows if they are waiting to shoot the Orion down?"

Daiki glared at Kiba. "I should hit you. You are way too willing to throw yourself to the lions."

Andy stood and made a clone, "And I can warn them faster if I go with you. You should know by now that I'm not just letting you go on your own." She glanced at Daiki before looking back to Kiba, "Even if he's going, I can help if either of you are injured. So I'm going."

Daiki looked like he wanted to strangle them both. "Fine. Let's go if we're actually doing this."

Stinger sighed in exasperation. "Don't do anything stupid."

Daiki huffed. "This idea is already stupid, so too late." He summoned the portal and went through, followed by Kiba and Andy.

Andy's clone sighed and sat down, "I try to prevent Kiba from doing stupid things, but obviously it never works."

Stinger chuckled. "Wouldn't be Kiba then, would it?"

She sighed, "At least Azra is safe now."

Daiki crouched low as he came out of the portal. He didn't hear anything, but better safe than sorry. As he felt his companions appear next to him, he whispered "Stay low until we know what's happening."

Kiba glanced around. "Well, it looks quiet. Just can't decide if that's good or bad."

Andy took a moment and made sure she was invisible just in case, "Probably bad."

Kiba grimaced. "I was hoping I was wrong." He touched his phone and triggered his own invisibility.

Daiki smiled wryly and hid behind a building. **ATTACK RIDE: INVISIBLE**

He grimaced. "Wish that wasn't so loud. Let's look around."

Andy moved forward, not finding anyone around. She frowned, feeling deja vu, didn't they have a mission in a ghost town once? She tried to remember what happened then as she kept moving ahead.

Kiba's voice suddenly whispered in her ear. "Are you feeling deja vu too?"

"I feel like we had a similar mission... What happened then? It wasn't good, was it?"

Kiba frowned. "I'd say so. We ended up as playthings for Kojan after he shot Hammy down. You don't remember?"

She ignored his question, "I do remember that planet wasn't supposed to be empty... This one isn't either."

"Yeah. Next time I volunteer to do something like this, you have my permission to hit me… with your voyager."

She chuckled before thinking, "I could make a clone that's visible. See if it gets attacked. Have it act as bait?"

Kiba stopped walking. "And Daiki says I'm reckless." He paused, scanning the empty streets. "Actually that's not a bad idea."

"Where did Daiki go?" She wondered.

"Up ahead… shit! Never mind about the clone. They know we're here."

Andy took a breath, "How?"

"They blindsided him. Saw right through his cloak." Kiba was about to speak again when a loudspeaker crackled to life.

"We know you're cloaked. Surrender or he gets a new hole in his head."

Andy took a deep breath, "Guess we have no choice."

The clone looked up at Stinger, "Definitely a trap... And they've found us."

Stinger swore and hit the warp button.

Kiba grunted as the fist slammed into his sternum again. Coughing, he resisted the urge to pass out, laying his head against the wall he was bound to.

"Still not talking? Why don't we just hurt them then…"

"NO! Look, I was born with this ability. It's not something you can just give to someone."

He shook his head as Daiki was about to speak. _'Don't say anything. They don't know about you.'_

Andy fought against the ties holding her to the wall, trying to get free.

The malistrate pondered Kiba's words, then shrugged. "There are ways to control you then. We'll see which one works best." He nodded at an indaver, who approached with a large bag. The malistrate began removing different colored vials and placing them on the table in front of Kiba.

Andy's clone looked at Stinger, "They want his portal ability..."

The real Andy took a moment to focus and two clones were created. They both shot at the malistrate, hoping to save Kiba.

The malistrate moved to Andy, backhanding her sharply. "Do that again and I kill the other one painfully. Do you understand?"

She glared at him but muttered, "Yes."

Daiki growled, earning him a hit which knocked him out. As he sagged, the malistrate returned to Kiba who was furiously trying to get loose.

Andy's clone spoke to Stinger again, "They won't kill Kiba because they need him. But they are going to try to control him. If I act up again, they'll kill Daiki. I don't know what to do..."

Stinger sighed. "Can you describe where you are. We're five minutes from the planet."

"The building didn't stand out from any of the others. Inside, it's pretty much empty in this room at least." She sighed, "I could maybe point you in the right direction though?" She looked at the map and zoomed in trying to figure out the buildings. "It's around here," she circled. "Like I said, they won't hurt Kiba much more. But I don't know what they'll do with us if you guys start attacking."

Stinger grimaced. "We can't just stand by. Balance and Naga will sneak in, I'll stay here."

Andy nodded, "Whatever you think is best. Let me know if I can help with anything."

Kiba stared in terror as the malistrate approached with a syringe filled with bright red liquid. He tried to fight as it was injected, but screamed as it hit his bloodstream. Within seconds, his legs gave out and he sagged, only semi-conscious.

"You belong to us now. Do you understand?"

He growled a Scorpius system insult at the malistrate.

The man shook his head, returning to the table. "Let's try this one." He picked up another syringe, this time fluorescent green and reapproached.

Andy sent a thought to Kiba. 'Pretend to be controlled. We'll be rescued soon.' She showed him the memory of Stinger's current plan.

Kiba gave her an understanding look as the malistrate injected the serum. His pupils dilated in seconds and the malistrate repeated his question.

Kiba nodded robotically and the malistrate laughed. "Good."

The indavers released Kiba from the wall and he stood still. The malistrate handed him a blaster.

"Prove it. Kill them both."

Andy's clone cursed, "You better hurry, because this isn't going to end well."

Andy took a deep breath and focused on Kiba, 'You still with us?' She took a second and sent him a mental image of a diagram, 'It'll hurt, but we won't actually die if you shoot us here,' she made a little circle on the diagram. 'But it would look fatal and would trick him.'

Kiba struggled to answer._ 'I'm still here for now. This stuff is actually effective. Not sure I won't lose to it.'_

'I believe in you. You can fight it. I know you can.'

Her clone grabbed a tablet and started making notes, before speaking to Stinger, "If something happens and I'm not conscious, read through this. It could help..."

Stinger growled. "Don't like the sound of that."

Kiba fought to keep the blaster pointed at the mental circle Andy had shown. He quickly fired at her, then moved to Daiki and did the same. Then he lowered the blaster.

Andy felt pain radiate through her. Her clone looked at Stinger and slid the tablet to him before disappearing. She blacked out seconds later.

"Good. You'll be a great asset to us," the malistrate laughed looking at the motionless bodies. "Let's go, we have work to do."

Kiba fought to raise the blaster again. He forced it steady and repeatedly fired into the malistrate.

The man turned, bleeding from the mouth, another blaster in his hand. He fired once before falling to the ground dead.

Kiba rushed to Andy's side, feeling for a pulse. Finding one, he checked Daiki and let out a relieved sigh.

He turned at the sound of a door opening, aiming the blaster. He lowered it as Naga appeared.

"They're hurt…." Kiba tried to figure out why his legs suddenly didn't want to hold him. Balance caught him as he fell. Kiba caught a flash of red on his shirt before the world faded.

Andy woke, trying to fight through the fog in her brain. She was trying to think of what happened when she suddenly remembered. She sat up quickly, groaning in pain as it moved her wound. She looked around and found she was in the infirmary.

"Beautiful, calm down. You're safe." Stinger gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

She took a deep breath before laying back down, "Are they ok? Did the notes help?"

"Daiki is sore but alive. Kiba..." Stinger looked down at the bed.

"Stinger...? Is he still here? Is he alive?"

Stinger looked across the room. "He killed the malistrate. But the malistrate got a lucky shot off.

He's alive, but there was a lot of damage to his heart. We lost him twice before Balance got him back here. If Balance didn't have his conducting wires..."

He looked back at her. "Whatever they gave him didn't help. One of his brain waves has vanished, the other one is erratic. He's on life support, but it doesn't look good."

She pushed herself up, trying to move off the bed, "What have you guys given him?"

"Not much. His pulse is extremely weak. It's amazing he lasted this long."

Andy stood shakily. "How was his blood loss? Did you do a transfusion?"

Daiki answered her from his seat by Kiba. "Three. He wouldn't stop bleeding. It finally stopped a few hours ago." He gripped the limp hand tightly.

A few different thoughts rushed through her head. She moved across the room to sit by him. She scanned over him taking in the damage. She sighed and wondered if Kiba was dreaming, if he could dream with one of his brain waves out. She focused on his mind a moment, searching for anything.

She found herself on a train. Kiba stood by the doors, eyes closed.

"Kiba? Hey, are you here with me?"

His eyes opened and he gave her a smile. "You're alive."

"Yeah. I am," she smiled. "How are you? In here anyway..."

"Waiting for my stop. I'm glad I didn't miss."

"Your stop?" She asked softly.

"It's coming up. I know what happened. The malistrate got me."

"Yeah he did. I'm trying to help you though."

"Not sure that's possible. My head feels funny. Whatever that drug was, I almost lost to it."

"You know I'm going to do everything I can to try to save you anyway, right?" She smiled sadly. "Yeah, your brain is a little screwed up right now..."

"Along with everything else." He gave a sad laugh. "I was looking forward to corrupting my niece too…" He looked up as the train began to slow.

"You're going to have a chance to corrupt her," Andy smirked. "And of course you are going to get to play with Shishi's kittens."

His eyes began glistening. "You don't always get to choose though." The train stopped and the doors opened. He gripped the handrail tightly. "I don't want to go."

"Then don't," she moved toward him and held her hand out.

He gave her a look that reminded her of his five-year-old self. "Help me…"

She moved toward him and held onto his arm. "Don't worry, I'm going to try to keep you safe."

Andy focused a moment and made a clone, who stared down at Kiba's body. She focused on him and tried to heal some damage and keep his heart beating.

Kiba squeezed his eyes shut. "Hurts..."

"I'm sorry," she spoke softly and wrapped him into a hug.

He let go of the handrail, sinking to the floor with a gasp. "What's happening?"

"I'm trying to heal you," she knelt down.

"It doesn't normally hurt like this. Something's wrong. The serums…"

Andy nodded, "Ok. Let me see what I can do." The clone moved away and got a blood sample to try to analyze what was in the serums they gave him.

Andy adjusted into a sitting position and hugged Kiba.

He held on to her arm as he tried to calm his breathing. "Maybe it would be easier to just let go..."

"Kiba, please don't let go. Stay here with me, ok? I'm doing my best to help you."

"I know..." His voice was weakening.

She rubbed her hand through his hair and started humming, trying to comfort him.

The clone stared at a screen, trying to formulate an antidote. Not long after, she moved away, a vial in hand. She filled up a syringe and injected it into Kiba's arm. She then raised her hands and started analyzing any changes in his vitals.

Kiba lay quiet in her arms, his breaths slow and short. His hand was still gripping her arm, but barely.

The clone focused, trying to steady his heartbeat again. Shishi jumped up and laid on Kiba's legs.

Suddenly his hand twitched. The heartbeat sensor picked up speed. His breathing began to stabilize.

The clone moved to start healing the wound from the shot he had taken.

In Kiba's mind, Andy kept humming softly and rubbing his hair gently, not only to keep him calm but herself as well.

"Your voice is pretty." He slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her.

She grinned and said, "thanks," before going back to singing quietly.

"I think whatever you're doing out there is working. I'm starting to feel myself again."

She took a deep breath. "We really should have another permanent medic on the ship. You'd have been better earlier if I was awake. Though, even Raptor can't do half the stuff I can," she smirked.

"Tooting your own horn pretty loud there." Kiba laughed. "How do I get back? Kinda afraid to sleep right now. But I have a feeling waking up is going to be scarier."

"I assume whatever you normally do. I'm still healing you, but I know you'll probably hurt when you wake. And don't be afraid to sleep, I'll help if you have nightmares and I'm not going to let you die."

"I shot you. I shot Dad. I was fighting the whole time not to be taken over. If I had lost…" He shook his head. "That was too close. First they wanted DeStruct, now it's the portal. Why won't they leave me alone?"

"You shot us because I told you to. I trust you with my life, ok?" She sighed, "I don't know why they won't leave you alone, but I'm going to keep trying to protect you."

"Everyone's life would be easier if I was gone." He pulled away from her, curling against a wall.

"Do you know how hurt we would be to lose you? Hammy would be devastated. I would be too. I know Stinger and the rest of the team would be sad. From what I know of Daiki and Tsukasa, they'd miss you too. Daiki is currently sitting next to you waiting for you to wake up."

He sighed. "It's so hard to keep going sometimes." He glanced at her. "You don't know how to quit do you?"

"I know it's hard. I'm sorry if you don't like me saving you all the time, but I'm going to do it anyway," she smiled. "Because I hope one day you finally get the break you deserve and that it'll make it all worth it."

He grinned sleepily. "Think I'm sleeping whether I want to or not. Promise you'll be here if I need help?"

She nodded, "I think I might need a nap, but the second you start having a nightmare or your vitals freak out, I'll be right back by your side."

He nodded, his eyes closing as his body vanished.

Andy opened her eyes and let her clone vanish. "He should be fine. He's worried about having shot us, but I had told him to do it in the first place and it bought him time to take out the malistrate..." She leaned back in the chair looking between Daiki and Stinger.

Daiki chuckled. "He never thinks about himself. How he came to be so selfless when we're two of the biggest egotists in the universe boggles my mind." He gave Kiba's hand a squeeze and let go, moving to the nearest bed and laying down with a hiss.

Andy blinked at Stinger sleepily, "Did you guys give Daiki any pain meds?"

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Refused to take any until Kiba was out of the woods. He hasn't slept either."

"When did he wake up? I know he was unconscious before getting shot."

Stinger looked at the clock. "Roughly six hours ago. He fought getting stitched up too."

"That's why you just need to fill a syringe and stab them with it," she smirked, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"I heard that. That's bad bedside manner you know." Daiki kept his eyes closed.

"You're not the first person to tell me I have bad bedside manner. But I'd rather a patient be mad at me than them be hurting."

Daiki didn't answer, only yelped as Stinger injected him. "Not fair… you distracted me."

Andy took a deep breath, "Can you help me get to bed? I don't think I can walk..."

Stinger returned to her side and picked her up. He laid her on the bed, covering her with a blanket and kissing her. "Rest, beautiful."

Andy woke, blinking her eyes open. She still hurt, but it was a bit better than when she had gone to sleep. She sat up and looked around, noticing Daiki sitting by Kiba's bed. Kiba was still fast asleep. She pushed herself up and moved over to a chair on the other side of the bed before she scanned over Kiba checking him over again. She smiled at Daiki, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got shot. But I'll be okay. How is he? What exactly did you do yesterday?"

"Well, I formulated something to counteract the serums and worked on healing his wounds," She sighed. "I can go into dreams, or see people's memories. So I went and talked to him trying to keep his mind with it. His dream state seems directly connected to his physical health, so I kind of have to treat both at the same time."

"Tell me the truth. How close were we, I, to losing him?" Daiki ran his hand through Kiba's hair with a worried look.

Andy sighed, "Has he told you anything that's happened to him on our adventures?"

Daiki shook his head. "He said there had been some things going on and he needed to clear his head. He yelled at me for annoying Tsukasa and we just decided to explore."

Andy took a deep breath, "I don't even know where to start. He's been through a lot, between all of the injuries he's taken on our missions and him trying to deal with his past."

Daiki looked at her. "His past? He doesn't talk about that even to us. How do you know about it?"

"I know him better than anyone else. I've been in his nightmares; I've seen a lot in his mind. Because of that, he opens up to me more than anyone else too, so he's told me some stuff to help fill in the blanks of memories I've seen."

Daiki grimaced. "When he first showed up at the Studio, he was injured. After he started healing, his nightmares were frightening. But there was no way to help him. He finally told us some things, but I know there are more things he won't talk about." He looked up at her. "Glad someone can help."

"I'm sure there's more even I don't know about yet..." Andy sighed and looked down at Kiba, "But I care about him and just try to help him any way I can."

"Don't we all? When he told us he'd been not only in another world, but another universe we were surprised. Then he told us who'd he been with and we nearly fell off our chairs. To think, he managed to find you guys out of everyone else…"

"I'm glad we found him. He's become part of our team, and he's one of my best friends," Andy smiled at him softly before chuckling, "Even if he can be a pain in the ass sometimes."

Daiki laughed. "He does endear himself doesn't he? He's literally Tsukasa."

"He's a lot like you too. Especially when it comes to getting injured a lot," she smirked.

Daiki colored a bit and gave a sheepish grin. "Like how often does he actually get hurt?"

Andy looked thoughtful for a moment, "I can't actually remember a mission we've been on where he hasn't gotten some form of injury..."

Daiki face palmed. "I don't even have that bad a record."

Andy laughed, "Yeah, he likes to make my job difficult. But I'd do anything to try to keep him alive." She gave a sad sigh remembering the last time she had to bring Kiba back to life.

Daiki watched her. "You have the same look Natsumelon has when Tsukasa isn't looking… He's died before hasn't he? And you brought him back?"

She frowned, "It doesn't seem to be the rarest thing around here, unfortunately. Stinger's died twice. I've died once. Kiba died twice as well. I just hope it doesn't happen again."

"I think he should come back with me. Just for a while, let him recover and think about things."

Andy nodded, "I know he doesn't like to stay in one place too long, and with you here, I figured he'd be leaving soon anyway. He has a lot of problems to work through, but I'm not sure he's actively trying to work them out."

Daiki nodded. "Would it be safe to take him now?"

"He needs to heal up, but everything is steady. He should be fine. Though if you ever have trouble with him or he's hurt and no one around can fix him, just bring him back here and I'll gladly help."

Daiki gave her a grin. "I know. And no doubt he'll be back sooner than either of us think he should be." He stood and waved a hand. He grasped Kiba's arm as the haze passed over them and they were gone.


	22. An Escape and A Night of Karaoke

Andy entered her old room, which had been turned into a nursery. She went to look into the crib to check on Azra but froze noticing the baby wasn't there.

She looked at Shishi who was nursing her kittens in the crib and she counted the kittens. One. Two. Three. Four. Five? There isn't supposed to be five. Andy looked through them and picked up the one that was black, which she knew Shishi hadn't birthed. She held her up a moment and tried to get a better look at her but soon Andy was holding Azra. Andy's eyes grew wide as she stared at the baby who just smiled and laughed.

"Azra?" She held the baby close to her and looked back at Shishi. "What just happened?" She read a memory from the cat and watched Azra shrink down into a kitten and curl up with Shishi. Andy raised an eyebrow as Shishi showed her at least a few more times Azra had changed part of her, one time just having paws like the cats. In another, the baby was staring at a stuffed animal before turning into a matching toy.

"Baby...What are you?" Andy adjusted her hold on Azra before walking out into the hallway. She found Hammy in the kitchen, "Have you seen Azra do anything weird?"

Hammy looked up and shook her head. "No. Why?"

Andy took a deep breath, "I thought maybe I was going insane but Shishi saw it too. Apparently our little cutie here can shapeshift..."

Hammy's eyes went wide. "Ohhh. How am I supposed to keep track of her now?"

"Well, I assume as long as she's small enough and doesn't turn into something that can fly, she'll still be in her crib..." Andy shook her head, "I have no idea." She looked back at Azra and smiled, her voice going a little high pitched, "Yes, I picked a problematic baby didn't I? But you are so cute and I love you anyway."

Hammy giggled as she finished washing the dishes.

Andy was about to speak again when she heard her comm beep. She passed Azra to Hammy carefully. "Andy here. What's up?"

"Andy, we have a bit of trouble..." Balance answered.

Andy paused a second, "Is Stinger ok?"

"He's alive, if that's what you mean."

Andy rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, "I'll be there as soon as I can."

She turned to Hammy, "I shouldn't have let them go on a heist alone, should I?"

Hammy sighed. "I was under the impression it was only Kiba that got into trouble anymore."

Andy sighed, "Don't forget Stinger is a trouble magnet too. He's just been lucky lately." She smiled at Azra, "I'll be back when I can. Please be a good girl and don't turn into something too weird. I don't want you causing trouble for Aunt Hammy." She then looked at her sister, "Sorry I have to run off again."

Hammy chuckled. "Go get him. We'll be fine."

Andy smiled and nodded before heading out of the house. After getting to her voyager and flying to the Orion she saw Balance and Naga in the voyager bay.

"What's going on?"

"We came across a dead body," Balance started.

"The prime minister of the planet," Naga added.

"Well, apparently they think Stinger is the one that killed him. So he's currently in jail awaiting the death penalty."

Andy's heart sank. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "Let's go to the bridge and you can give me all the details."

After an hour of staring at maps and building breakdowns, she groaned, "We could just break him out but I don't want the planet being madder at the Kyurangers than they already probably are." She stood up, "I'm going to make a few calls, then I'll be back."

She first called Champ, who happened to be nearby. She knew that having more backup would help. She then pondered if she should call Shou or Tsurugi. She spun around in Stinger's office chair in frustration, "What would you do? You'd want to break us out without caring the consequences but as Commander you'd also be having the same thought I am..."

She finally made her decision and pulled up the video feed, waiting to see if their president would answer.

"President Ohtori here."

She gave a short smile, "Hey. We have a slight problem and I need your advice."

He narrowed his eyes. "What kind of problem? Where's Stinger?"

"That's our problem. He went on a heist with Balance and Naga, but has now managed to be accused of a murder he didn't commit. The planet is already probably mad at the Kyurangers by extension, so I don't know if we should just go break him out and risk them being madder or if we should try to find a better solution first." She sighed, "Balance and Naga have already looked into things a bit, and they have no idea who actually killed the Prime Minister, so I don't know how we can prove Stinger didn't do it."

"Where did they do the heist?" Tsurugi was taking notes.

"Tanda."

Tsurugi swore under his breath. Then he looked at her. "Tanda is a closed planet and not in the Federation. We have no diplomatic ties. I can make some calls but you should get a plan ready."

She nodded, "So breaking him out it is."

Tsurugi exhaled sharply. "If you want to keep Stinger alive." He cut the feed.

Andy took a moment to collect her thoughts before heading to the bridge, "Champ will be here in the next hour. We need a plan; we are breaking Stinger out."

"I can sneak into the jail and work on getting him out if you guys distract the guards," Andy stared at a map. "As long as Stinger is uninjured I just need to get the cell open and we can run. Champ could watch the voyagers and make sure they are on if we need a fast escape. You know if the people see the voyagers landing they'll come after them." She thought for a moment, "Our main priority is getting Stinger out, so do what you have to, but even if they aren't part of the Federation, they are still innocent people, so try not to kill them if possible."

Once Champ arrived, Andy updated him on the plan, "Anything you think we should change?"

The bull thought for a minute then shook his head. "It's a good plan." He snorted. "Leave it to aibou to get into trouble when I'm not here."

"It feels like you haven't been here in a year. Have you two talked at all?" She wondered.

"Of course. He told me about the adventure you went on with Kiba and Kaito. Wish I had been here."

"Did he tell you we have a baby now?"

Champ laughed. "I'm looking forward to meeting her."

"Well once we get Stinger back you can. As long as Hammy can keep track of her now," Andy shook her head.

"She's a handful I'm guessing."

"She's really well behaved... but apparently she can shapeshift so I have no idea how we are going to handle this," Andy admitted. "We better get this plan started though, before they decide to execute Stinger."

Champ nodded. "Let's get aibou back so I can yell at him."

Andy smiled and climbed into her voyager. After landing in a safe looking area, Andy looked at Naga, "I should be able to sneak in fine, but I need the distraction to sneak him out. I'll send you a thought when the time is right, or if things change."

He nodded. Balance and Naga followed her to a closer spot where they could hide before Andy became invisible. The jail was small, just a couple rooms and a hallway full of cells. She entered silently and snuck past the guards, looking into the cells. Most were empty, one had an old dirty looking man sitting in the corner, and then finally she spotted Stinger. She could see he was breathing still but he looked hurt. She whispered hoping he was awake, "Stinger?"

His eyes opened slowly. "Andy? What the hell?"

"Can you walk?" She spoke again, still invisible.

He shook his head. "Guards had a bit of fun."

She cursed and sent Naga her memory of what Stinger just said. She then thought for a moment and sent him another plan, Balance and Naga would move back through toward the cell and get Stinger out while Andy made a couple clones and distracted the guards. She focused on Naga another second and gave a small smirk when he thought of Balance saying, "Okyu."

Andy took a deep breath, "We're going to get you out of here, love. Don't worry."

She didn't wait for a response, she just moved closer to the guard room, became visible, and created three clones. She stood there watching, one clone moving outside in case anyone else was alerted and the other two moved to try to keep the guard room door shut. If they couldn't get out, they couldn't stop them, and it would prevent Andy from having to hurt them.

Andy watched as Balance and Naga entered and headed back to the cell Stinger was in. She heard a shot, knowing they broke the lock to get in. She froze though when she heard gunshots behind her. She turned and saw her two clones falling back from the door before disappearing. She noticed multiple holes in the door before watching it swing open and seeing four men all pointing their guns at her.

Balance heard the commotion and lifted Stinger, "Out the back door it is."

Naga nodded, "I'll go help Andy."

Andy quickly morphed, her armor taking most of the shots. She shot one in the arm making him drop his gun. She saw Naga approach and he made eye contact with two of the men, making them freeze in their tracks. The last man kept shooting at Andy. She shot his arm too, like the first, making his weapon fall.

Her clone outside kept watch, luckily no one had heard the noises yet.

Andy grabbed a couple ropes she saw just inside the guard room and quickly tied up the two Naga had frozen, removing their weapons. She moved to tie up one of the ones she had shot, who had passed out from the pain.

Andy spun when she heard a couple shots coming from beside her, but she saw the man fall back over after Naga shot him again.

Andy nodded, "Let's go." They headed out to meet the others by the voyagers. She looked at Stinger, "Are you ok?"

"I'm not dying." He frowned. "You shouldn't have done this. It will be harder to clear my name now."

"I consulted Tsurugi, don't worry. And from everything I've read, people don't leave the planet much, they might not even come after you," she finally unmorphed. "Let's get back to the ship."

Stinger nodded and promptly passed out.

Andy sighed and shook her head. Champ, who had been helping Stinger stand, scooped him up and took him to his voyager.

Andy climbed into hers and set course to the Orion. She adjusted in her seat trying to get comfortable. Her arm pulled away from her side as her eyes widened noticing it was red. She cursed before muttering, "Maybe I'm just as bad as Kiba at being an injury magnet..." She scanned herself over cursing again when she noticed a small bullet lodged in her side. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, noticing the Orion nearing. She climbed out of her voyager and made her way to the infirmary where Champ was standing there next to Stinger in a bed. She scanned over her husband, noticing broken ribs, lots of bruising, a broken ankle, and wound on his head.

She moved to the cabinet, pulling out two vials and two syringes. The first she stuck in her side near her wound, trying to numb the area. The next she gave to Stinger, just some pain medicine to help if he woke up.

She moved over and sat down on a bed before making two clones. The one started working on healing Stinger up, the other grabbed some supplies and started working on Andy.

Andy glanced at Champ, "He's going to be fine, just needs to heal up a bit."

Her clones froze as Andy winced at the pain of trying to remove the bullet. Apparently the medicine hadn't fully kicked in yet. She took a deep breath before the clones started moving again.

Stinger blinked his eyes open. He waited until the infirmary had quit moving and tried to sit up. "Andy? Are you okay?" He laid down again when his head began to throb.

The clone by him moved from his ribs to his head, hoping to make it feel better. She spoke softly, "I'm fine, don't worry."

He gave her a pained smile. "I always worry about you." He chuckled, then grimaced. "This was not the way I wanted to see you."

She smiled, "I know. I'm happy you're alive though even if you are a little beat up. Maybe you could come back home and see Azra. Shishi had her kittens a few days ago too."

"Full house huh? How is the munchkin?" His eyes were half open, watching her intently.

She chuckled, "She's good. You need to see her new trick. About scared me to death. And Shishi lets the kittens cuddle Azra too so it's all super adorable."

Stinger grinned. "New trick? Must be a good one to scare you." He closed his eyes, surrendering to the medication.

Andy noticed Champ was sitting near the door, "If the other two didn't, can you call and update Tsurugi and tell him we got Stinger out?" She blinked sleepily, the clone next to her vanishing. The other still healing Stinger.

Champ laughed. "I'll do it. You need to sleep."

Andy nodded and watched Champ leave the room. Her clone stayed by Stinger trying to fix him up until Andy finally passed out making the clone vanish.

When Andy woke she moved slowly, making her way into a sitting position. She grabbed her tablet which was nearby, hoping to look up more about Azra's people. She stared at the tablet blankly for a while, trying to remember the name of the planet. She grew frustrated, hoping the forgetfulness was just because of the medicine still in her system.

"Beautiful? What's wrong?" Stinger's voice made her jump. He grinned apologetically, sitting up with a wince.

"I want to look up what to expect for raising Azra... What is her planet's name again?" She sighed.

"Shotoku, if I'm remembering correctly. My head is still kinda fuzzy." He climbed off the bed unsteadily and walked to her side.

"How's your ankle feeling? You probably shouldn't be walking yet," Andy reminded before typing in the planet name in her tablet.

"Tender, but I think it's okay. I'll be careful." He sat down on the bed next to her with a soft smile. "I wanted to say thanks for breaking me out, even though it probably wasn't the smartest thing. I was not looking forward to having my head removed."

"Well, if it helps Tsurugi knew we were going to break you out, so it's not like we were entirely dumb about it," she smirked.

Stinger chuckled briefly, then winced. "So what is it that Azra does that scares you?"

"I went in to check on her but she wasn't there... Actually she was, she just looked like a kitten. Apparently she can shapeshift," Andy answered as she scanned through some information. "Looks like that's normal for her people though."

Stinger's eyes widened. "Shapeshift? Oh boy, we're going to have fun trying to deal with that. At least she can't clone herself."

Andy smirked, "I can teach her how to though." She read through more and her eyebrows furrowed, "Um... I don't know if this is good or bad? Apparently her people reach mature adulthood by age six. That's three times faster than most human planets. She'd basically be an eighteen-year-old in six years."

Stinger frowned. "It's going to be hard to keep her in clothes. And from dating. Especially if you teach her your clone trick. We'll never be able to ground her."

Andy chuckled but kept reading, "It looks like they start marrying as young as ten, but they can live a couple hundred years so most don't settle down that quickly."

"Couple hundred years? I know kids are supposed to outlive parents, but damn." Stinger exhaled softly. "If she decided to become a Kyuranger, she'd outlive Shou. Only person she wouldn't outlive is Tsurugi."

"She'd also have Balance, and if Champ and Raptor live that long..."

Stinger smiled at the thought of Azra and Champ being aibous. "They'll take great care of her, though if she turns out like me, Champ may blow a circuit from frustration."

He laid his head on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just got a small bullet wound so I'm a little sore. Also realizing I was unprepared enough for a normal baby but she's going to be a challenge. Just hoping I can handle it."

He laughed. "You deal with Kiba and I all the time, not to mention Daiki on occasion. Pretty sure Azra doesn't stand a chance."

Andy sighed, "I hope she likes me. I mean, right now she's still young and just needs food and attention but when she's older I hope she thinks I'm an okay mom."

"You're going to be the best mom in the universe. Don't worry, everyone hates their parents in their teen years, at least according to Kotaro."

Andy chuckled, "She's going to love you if she doesn't already." She kissed his forehead.

He closed his eyes with a smile. "How long til we get home?"

Andy shrugged, "I was kind of busy taking care of you and performing surgery on myself. Then sleeping. The most orders I gave to Champ was to call Tsurugi and update him. I don't know where we even are right now," she admitted.

Champ walked in. "We're about two hours from Hammy. Took the initiative and set course after you passed out."

Andy smiled, "Thanks. What did Tsurugi say?"

"Everything is fine. Tanda apparently found the murderer right after the jailbreak. The Prime Minister's assistant. So aibou is off the hook."

Stinger gave a sigh of relief. "I was actually worried no one was going to get to me in time."

He sat up, opening his eyes. "Did you know they show the condemned how they're going to die?"

Andy frowned, "I'm sorry, love. At least you're safe now."

He grinned. "Thanks to all of you, I still have my head. Though I wish I could have returned the favor to those guards."

"Well, I did shoot a couple of them. But I was trying to not kill them if I didn't have to," Andy admitted.

"Good enough, I guess." He yawned.

Andy smiled, "You need more rest."

He pouted at her, then chuckled. "Alright." He slid off her bed and slowly walked to his. He climbed up, then took a deep breath and winced. "You're right like usual."

Andy smirked, "I'm going to rest too." She glanced at Champ, "Wake us when we get there."

Champ nodded, then left.

Stinger lay down carefully, closing his eyes.

A few weeks later, Andy woke up in her room at home and rolled over, noticing Stinger wasn't there. She pushed herself up and went to check on Azra. After finding Azra wasn't in her crib, she made her way to the kitchen.

She saw Stinger feeding Azra and Hammy standing by the stove cooking. Hammy turned around and smiled, "Happy birthday, Daka."

Andy chuckled, "It's my birthday already?"

Hammy laughed, "Yeah. And Balance and Naga are insistent on taking you to a karaoke bar on a nearby planet."

Andy raised an eyebrow and glanced at Stinger, "Did you know about that? You better come with."

Stinger turns red. "Sing? In front of people?" He swallowed hard and turned to Azra. "Not sure I can do that…"

Andy smiled, "Just pretend you're singing in front of us." She looked at Hammy, "So you aren't coming? You'd love Karaoke."

"I'll be happy here watching Azra. I can sing her more Hoshi Minato songs," Hammy smirked.

"I swear that's all she's going to know with how much you play them," Andy laughed as she sat down.

Stinger muffled a laugh with a cough, but yelped when Hammy smacked the back of his head. "Ow!"

Not long after, Balance called Andy and told her the plans. After breakfast, they headed off to the Orion. A couple hours later, they entered the orbit of the planet Balance had picked out.

"We were here before once, it's super fun."

"Balance likes to do karaoke any chance he can," Naga informed.

Andy laughed, "Well, I'm sure it won't be too bad." She smiled at Stinger who looked a bit nervous. "You don't _have _to sing if you don't want to."

Stinger's lips quirked. "Since when do I run from a challenge?"

Andy smiled, "Maybe we can find a song to duet?"

He kissed her cheek. "I'd like that."

Andy glanced through the menu after arriving and ordered something blue and alcoholic, "I've never heard of any of these drinks. Or most of this food," she laughed.

"What I had here last was good," Naga nodded. "Balance also ordered me something alcoholic. I don't remember much after that."

Stinger shook his head. "You don't know what anything is but you still ordered it? I hope I don't have to carry you back to the Orion." He turned to Balance. "Was that by any chance what you spiked the Christmas punch with?"

"No, that was something I picked up somewhere far from here."

Naga nodded, "We end up on a lot of planets, I have to eat eventually even if I don't know what it is."

Andy chuckled and her eyes grew wide when she noticed how big her drink was. She took a sip and smirked, "I definitely won't be worried about singing after half of this."

Stinger face palmed. "I guess I am carrying you back."

They started watching some people singing, most of them were surprisingly good. A few sang in languages Andy didn't know. She looked over at Stinger giggling, "Hey guess what?"

"What?" He was sipping a dark red drink Balance had ordered him.

She snickered, "I'm twenty-five now. You're finally married to an adult."

Naga raised an eyebrow in confusion but didn't say anything.

Stinger choked and started to cough. "That's not funny."

She kept giggling finally answering, "Yeah it is."

Stinger rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "You should probably go up while you can still form a coherent sentence."

Andy just kept laughing. Balance finally looked at Stinger, "I know she is normally a bit giggly while drunk but why is she laughing so much?"

"On my planet, you were not considered an adult until age twenty-five. So she's teased me all this time about being married to a child, even though she's more adult than most of us."

"If you were on your planet would you have even been able to marry her?" Naga wondered.

Stinger shook his head. "No marriage until both parties are twenty-five or older."

Andy finally calmed down but was still grinning, "I'm glad we aren't there because I love you. Like a bunch," she chuckled again, trying to fight off more giggles.

Stinger leaned over and kissed her with a smile. "Me too. You're drunk."

"Shh no I'm not." She smiled before her eyes opened wide, "If you are the last person from your planet, does that automatically make you like... a king or something?" She giggled.

"Technically I'd be Head Chief. Are you going to sing or do I have to carry you out of here?"

She smiled and reached for his hand, "Come sing with me!"

He sighed. "One song."

"Yay!" She pulled him out of his seat and stared at the song listings. She realized she didn't know any of them so she just picked a random one. She smiled when the upbeat tempo started. She kept her eyes on Stinger when she wasn't looking at the screen. When it finally ended she stumbled toward him, "Thanks for that."

He caught her with a chuckle. "That was fun. But I think we need to go so you can sleep it off. I bet you're going to be hungover tomorrow."

"Aww," she gave a small frown. "Are we sleeping on the ship?" She moved toward the table and smiled at her two friends.

Stinger nodded. "Tonight we are. Tomorrow we should be back home."

She nodded and finished up her drink before following him out. She looked at Balance and Naga, "Thank you guys for bringing us here."

"I'm glad you had fun," Balance laughed.

Once they were back to the ship and in their room, Andy curled up against Stinger, "Thank you again for coming with me."

Stinger smiled softly, wrapping his tail around her. "Happy birthday, beautiful."

She sighed, "Hey love?"

"Hmm?"

"Remember earlier when we were talking about your planet? If there were still people left, would you have rather have married someone from there?"

"No. None of the girls were remotely interesting." Stinger held her close. "I want you for as long as you'll have me. I love **you**."

She nodded, "I love you. The three of us are an odd mix for a family, aren't we?"

He laughed. "Not as weird as our extended family…Azra has so many aunts and uncles, you'd think one of our parents had twenty kids."

Andy smiled, "I hope they all like her when they do get to meet her."

"They'll love her as much as we do. We should make sure Kiba doesn't take her world hopping."

"If Kiba is going to take her anywhere, I'm definitely making sure they have a babysitter. Hell, with how quickly Azra ages, she'll probably be able to babysit him before he gets himself together."

Stinger cracked up. "You're probably right about that."

She kissed him, "Good night, love."

"Night beautiful."

When Andy woke she felt Stinger's hand gently shaking her awake. She frowned at the light closing her eyes tighter, "What, love?"

"We're back in orbit of your planet," he answered softly.

She grumbled, "We don't have anything planned, can't I just keep sleeping?" Her head was pounding as she covered her face up with the blanket.

"Don't you want to see Azra?" He grinned. "Told you the hangover was going to be bad."

"I want to see Azra. But I don't know if I can handle the sunlight," she admitted.

"I'll bring her up here then." Stinger kissed her cheek and left.


	23. A Group Get Together

Andy smiled down at Azra, "Hi baby. You're probably hungry aren't you?"

She prepped a bottle and brought it out, "Let's get you fed, huh?"

Azra looked up and smiled, babbling out, "Mama."

Andy froze, "What did you say baby?"

"Mama," Azra giggled.

Andy turned to Stinger grinning, "Did you hear her!?"

Stinger laughed and kissed them both. "I heard. Told you your fears were unfounded."

Andy smiled softly, "I just worried she wouldn't bond to me, you know?" She held Azra close and fed her.

Andy looked up from her seat in the kitchen when a portal appeared. She soon saw Kiba walk through. "Hey. Does Hammy know you're coming? She didn't mention anything to me."

"No. Thought I'd surprise her." He started looking through the cabinets.

Andy stared at him for a second before asking, "Do you need something?"

"Looking for Hammy's heartburn remedy." He exhaled with a grimace. "I'm never taking food hints from Balance ever again."

Andy chuckled before heading to the medicine cabinet in the other room. She handed a bottle over to him, "Here."

"Thanks." He opened it and took a swallow of the contents. "Blech." He made a face.

"When I said I liked spicy food, I did _not _want a nuclear weapon in my stomach."

"Oh you should come next time we make food from Stinger's planet," she smirked. She smiled when she saw Shishi and the kittens enter the kitchen.

Kiba narrowed his eyes. "Stinger told me about that meal. If it's too spicy for him, I'll probably die."

The kittens approached Kiba and started sniffing his boots. Shishi nudged his leg with her head in greeting.

His eyes twinkled as he knelt to pet her. "Hello Shishi." He gently touched one of the kittens with a smile. "Your babies are adorable."

"They're finally old enough to be separated from her. Balance and Naga are getting one so Treasure has a buddy. I think one is going to stay here with Hammy. We haven't decided on the other two yet."

He sighed as he picked one up. It was gold with white paws and it snuggled up to him and closed its eyes.

"It looks like she likes you," Andy smiled. "If you could train her, you could maybe take her with you."

"I don't even know if she'd survive through a portal. And I have no idea how to train anything." He petted the kitten softly. "She looks like my armor."

"Well, maybe she can stay here with Hammy so you can still keep her but don't have to worry as much." Andy shrugged. "Unless Daiki and Tsukasa want a cat?"

Kiba chuckled. "Maybe Natsumi does."

"Well, she's yours if you decide you want her," she smiled. She then glanced up and saw Stinger and Azra enter. Azra was taking small steps and approached the kittens smiling.

Stinger grinned wryly. "Well well. If it isn't the black sheep of the family."

Kiba chuckled. "Hi." He looked at Azra. "Have I been gone _that_ long?"

Andy smirked, "It has been a while, but no. She grows three times faster than most human species do."

Kiba fought a smile. "You sure know how to pick them don't you?" He waved at Azra. "Hi sweetheart."

Azra smiled and waved, "Hi."

"Azra, why don't you pretend to be a kitty?"

Azra giggled and nodded before morphing into a black kitten. She then batted at one of the other kittens playfully.

"Good girl," Andy smiled. "Come here sweetie." Azra ran to her in kitten form before turning back into her human form. Andy picked her up and set her on her knee.

Kiba's eyes were wide. "Holy...what the hell?"

"Like you said, I can really pick them. She can shapeshift."

Kiba approached them and held out his arms, looking at Andy for permission.

Andy gently lifted Azra up so he could hold her, "This is your uncle Kiba."

Azra smiled before giggling out, "Kiba."

Kiba chuckled and hugged her. "You're adorable." He gave Andy a mischievous grin. "Can I babysit?"

"Only if Hammy is babysitting you," Andy smirked.

"Hey! I don't need a babysitter..."

"You might..." Andy chuckled.

Hammy walked through the door and grinned, "Hey."

Kiba walked over and kissed her. "Hey yourself."

She smiled, "When did you get here?"

"A little while ago. Finally met this cutie here. Now have a kitten. And thankfully a calm stomach again." He tickled Azra's side. "Meanie won't let me babysit."

Hammy chuckled, "Sounds like you've been busy for just getting here a little bit ago."

"I said you could babysit, if Hammy babysits you," Andy clarified.

"I don't need a babysitter. I take care of myself fine." He stuck his tongue out at her.

Andy rolled her eyes, "I can cook dinner so you two can catch up." She stood and started getting ingredients.

Hammy took the seat Andy had just left, "So what have you been up to lately?"

He sat down, placing Azra on the floor with the kittens. "World hopping. A few heists with Dad.

Got a "intervention" with everyone in the Studio. Took food advice from Balance and instantly regretted it. Then here."

He looked at Andy. "And didn't get hurt once. Aside from the heartburn."

Andy chuckled, "I'm proud of you."

Hammy smiled, "Sounds like you've been having fun."

"Some. I missed you guys."

"We've missed you too," Hammy assured. "I've been back at the school. Students are terrible as always but I love them anyway."

"Did they all hit the stupid tree or is it the stupid forest now?"

Hammy laughed, "It might be a stupid forest. The sad thing is, it's a lot of kids from our classmates. I thought they'd be a bit smarter because their parents weren't _that _dumb or misbehaved."

Kiba laughed. "Poor baby. Well maybe they'll get better."

"Hopefully," she smiled before she heard a clattering noise. She looked over and noticed a pan was on the ground.

Andy winced, "Sorry, it slipped."

Azra giggled and picked it up, "Here, Mama."

"Thank you baby," Andy smiled taking it. She turned and went to wash the pan off, shaking her head.

"You okay?" Stinger gave her a hug from behind.

Andy sighed, "Yeah." She dried off the pan and set it on the stove. She gave him a soft smile, "Want to cut some veggies for me?"

Stinger sighed. "Sure." He got them out and started chopping.

When he was done and had pushed them into the pan she was stirring, she grabbed his hand lightly with the one she wasn't stirring with, "Thank you."

He frowned when he noticed her hand was shaking. She just gave him a look and pulled her hand away, putting it in her pocket. "Dinner will be done soon, these just need to cook a bit."

Stinger bit his cheek and nodded. "I'll take care of Azra." He turned and scooped her up with a smile. "How's my girl?"

Azra grinned at him, "Happy!"

He laughed. "I'm glad. Let's get you changed." He left the room with her.

Kiba chuckled. "Never thought he'd be such a softie."

Hammy smiled, "He literally sewed a bunch of plushies that looked like our team. He's a total softie."

Kiba looked at her in disbelief. "No way. Where are they? I want to see them."

"I think either Champ or Kotaro has them right now. They're probably somewhere on the Orion," she answered.

Kiba grinned. "I know what I'm doing when I get back there then."

Hammy rolled her eyes but laughed.

Andy turned around smiling, "Dinner time."

Andy laughed as she watched Azra run ahead, two of the four kittens chasing after her. "We really need to name the one we are keeping. Hammy also needs to name hers. Did Kiba ever pick a name for his?"

Stinger nodded. "He named her Asuka."

"Balance and Naga named theirs Kaitou," she smirked. "He's getting along well with Treasure at least." She bent down a second and pet Shishi.

Stinger chuckled. "Wonder what Daiki would think of that?"

Andy laughed. She watched Azra turn into a cat and roll around with the others. After a moment she laid the blanket out and sat down, pulling out their food. "Come here, Sweetie."

Azra turned back to normal and ran over.

Andy pulled out the smaller cut food she had prepared for Azra and put it on a plate for her, "Sit down please, it's time for lunch."

Andy grabbed out the rest of the food and passed it over to Stinger.

He took it with a grin. "Remember our last picnic?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "We got kidnapped, didn't we?"

"Yeah. And they forced you to heal. It really sucked."

"Oh yeah. That wasn't very fun, was it?" She chuckled. "At least we've not had any missions lately. Or kidnappings."

"Thank the gods. But it makes me nervous." Stinger began to eat.

After eating about half her plate of food, Azra got up and started playing with the kittens again. Andy rolled her eyes, "At least she ate something. I hope she got enough."

Azra ran up to Stinger, "Hey daddy?"

"What, sweetie?"

"You have a tail and cats have a tail. Are you a cat?" She looked at him in wonder.

He looked at Andy, then burst into laughter. When he had calmed down, he looked at Azra. "No, honey. There's a lot of animals with tails."

"Oh," she looked confused. "What animal are you?"

Stinger smiled. "I'm a scorpion."

Azra grinned as she made a tail appear that matched Stingers, "I want to be a scorpion too!"

Stinger started laughing again.

Andy smiled, "You're the cutest little scorpion!"

Azra giggled as she waved her tail around.

"What are we going to do with her?" Stinger rolled his eyes. "Wait till she meets Garu."

Andy laughed, "Or Shou."

—

"Raptor and Spada are coming to visit," Hammy smiled. "I don't know if they told you yet."

Andy shook her head.

"I figure we can go back to the ship for a bit because I don't think we have that much room here."

Andy smiled, "Maybe we should see who else can come visit? Have a team get together?" She glanced at Stinger who was eating breakfast, "What do you think?"

"Well it is quiet right now. I can call Lucky and Garu."

"Champ is on the Orion right now with the thieves isn't he?" Andy thought. "Wonder what Kotaro is up to. We haven't seen him in ages." She tried to count, "That just leaves Shou and Tsurugi too right? But they probably can't get away."

"Shou might be able to come. He doesn't do much anyway."

Hammy chuckled, "The group hasn't been all together in over two years. Time really flies by, doesn't it?"

Stinger whistled. "It has been that long? I feel old now."

"Yeah, you're what now? Thirty? Thirty-one?" Andy smirked, "You are kind of old."

Stinger threw a napkin at her. "You're not that young yourself you know."

Andy stuck her tongue out as Hammy laughed.

"Time feels like it's flown by the last couple years. Though, I'm sure Azra's not helping it. She's only like... a year and a half? But she's really like a five-year-old." Andy glanced into the other room, "And the kittens aren't even kittens anymore, they're as big as Shishi."

Hammy sighed, "It might also be going faster because we're actually having fun."

Stinger chuckled. "Yeah. I'm glad things are quiet for a change."

"Well, let's call everyone. We can head up to the Orion today if you want?" Andy suggested.

Hammy nodded, "Classes are out for a little while, so that's fine with me."

Andy smiled, "Hey Azra?"

The toddler made her way over to the table.

"We're going to our other home. Pick out two toys you want to take."

"We get to go to the Oreo?"

Andy snickered, "The Orion."

"Orion," Azra nodded.

"Yes and you get to make lots of new friends," Hammy smiled.

"Yay!" Azra ran off to go through her toys.

Stinger smiled. "This will be fun."

Andy smiled at Stinger, "She's so adorable. I'm glad we got to adopt her."

He leaned over and kissed her. "Me too."

Once they were on the ship, Balance and Naga started playing with the cats, letting Treasure and Kaitou run free with them.

Azra liked having more cats to play with, so she hung out with them, as Hammy caught up with the thieves. Andy and Stinger met Champ on the bridge.

"How've things been?" Andy asked.

"Quiet. Makes me worried." Champ got up from the Commander chair.

"Well, it just means Jark Matter hasn't been attacking people. So that's good, right?" Andy tried to sound hopeful.

Stinger sighed. "Whenever it was quiet during the war, something big was in the works. Hopefully we're just jumping at shadows."

"Well, let's keep enjoying our free time while we still have it. We can go back to battle mode once we know there's actually something to worry about." She sat down, "How long until everyone is here?"

"Lucky and Garu said they'd be here in about three hours. Shou begged off."

"Hammy said Raptor and Spada wouldn't show until tomorrow. Kotaro said something about needing to check with his uncle but would try to be here when he could," Andy added. "I guess if Spada won't be here tonight, I should probably get dinner started. I was thinking something that needs to cook for a while, so it would be done after Lucky and Garu show." She smiled and headed off to the kitchen.

Andy was getting dinner ready when Azra came in. "May I have a snack?"

Andy chuckled and got something together and set it at the table in front of Azra.

Andy went back to the counter and worked on cutting vegetables. She set the knife down gently and picked up the cutting board with both hands. Seconds later her grip faltered and the board and contents landed on the floor. She muttered a curse under her breath before looking for a broom. She glanced up when Stinger entered.

"What happened?"

"Just a small accident," Andy smiled.

"Mommy dropped it!" Azra answered.

Stinger kissed Azra. "Go play sweetie. Mommy and I need to talk."

Azra smiled and left the room, her now empty plate still on the table.

"How long?" Stinger picked up the plate, placing it in the sink.

"How long what?" Andy sighed. "How long have I been dropping things? Or forgetting things? Or losing my balance?" She grabbed out a new cutting board and fresh vegetables to start over. "I don't know. A while now. Some days everything is fine, and other days it's not. I've not been really trying to hide it from you, but I am trying to hide it from Hammy and since you two are always both home at the same time... Though I'm surprised Azra hasn't blabbed about it."

Stinger chuckled. "She gets that from you. Remember when you blabbed the fact that I died to everyone?" He grew serious. "When this is done, you're going to headquarters and you are getting checked out."

"In my defense, you were almost dying again and trying to tell us all your last words. It was kind of hard to not have a panic attack about it," she chuckled. She then sighed, "If that's an order, I guess I will."

"It's absolutely an order." He moved over and kissed her.

She took a deep breath, "I'm just worried. I told you it would happen though. And if it's what I think it is, there's not really anything we can do about it."

Stinger grabbed her shoulders. "We did not live through Jark Matter, Shocker and horde of damned zombies to lose to this."

Andy nodded and pulled him in for a hug, "Ok. But can we still not tell the others? Unless it becomes necessary?"

He nodded. "Agreed."

She pulled away and glanced at her shaking hand, "I hate this. I finally had my entire body working normally again, I could remember everything and hold things easily and now I'm back to being a disaster. And what's worse is before my left hand was better than my right so I had at least one I could trust but now both are acting up so I just keep dropping everything."

Stinger took her hand and kissed it. "I know. But we're going to get through this together."

She wiped a tear away, "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Less stressed?" He chuckled as he looked at her.

She gave a soft smile and nodded, "A little bit." She turned and glanced at the food, "Want to help me finish this up? It'll be a lot faster with you here."

He smiled. "My pleasure."

After getting the food into the oven, they headed back out into the hallway. Andy glanced in on Balance teaching Azra how to play with cats using string. She watched them for a minute before looking at Stinger, "I know making food took longer than expected... How long is it now until Lucky and Garu show?"

Stinger checked the time. "A little over an hour."

Andy yawned, "I think I might take a nap..."

"Good idea. You look like you're exhausted."

"Wake me when they get here?" She smiled sleepily.

"Of course. Want me to tuck you in?"

She chuckled, "If you want to." She started walking down the hall toward their room.

Stinger followed her.

Andy entered the room and started heading to the bed. She stumbled slightly but quickly righted herself and continued until she climbed into bed.

Stinger pulled the covers up over her and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, beautiful."

She was asleep seconds later.

He watched her for a few minutes, then quietly left the room.

When Azra spotted Stinger she called to him through the open door, "Hey daddy! Look at Crystal." She pointed at the cat who had just turned big. "She can be like Shishi now!"

Stinger laughed. "Now we have a pair of them."

Balance looked shocked for a second as Azra turned into a cat but the same size as Crystal now was. "I knew you could be a kitty but I didn't think you'd be that big!"

Azra laughed as she turned back to normal, "It's fun being a kitty."

Stinger shook his head in amusement. "Having fun with Uncle Balance?"

Azra nodded, "I like him, he's shiny."

"I love shiny things too!" Balance said excitedly.

Stinger closed his eyes and shook his head. He gave Azra a kiss on the head as he headed towards the bridge.

Champ looked up, "You look worried, aibou."

Stinger frowned. "Just some things on my mind. Anything happening?"

Champ shook his head, "Still nothing. Kotaro did call and say he'd be here soon but that's it." He glanced back, "Do you want to talk about what's on your mind?"

Stinger shook his head. "Nothing important. Think it will stay quiet?"

"Hopefully."

Stinger huffed. "Not very convincing aibou."

Champ moo-ed, "I'm not a fortune teller."

Andy blinked her eyes open when she heard Stinger's voice. She looked confused for a second, "What?"

"Lucky and Garu are landing."

She nodded, "Right." She yawned before stretching and moving to get out of bed. She followed him to the voyager bay and smiled at the two climbing out of their voyagers. "Hey guys. Did you have a safe flight?"

Garu smiled. "Yeah. How are you two, grr?"

Lucky laughed. "Where's the baby?"

Andy chuckled, "She's a toddler now." She glanced at Stinger, "Is she still with Balance?"

"Last I saw, unless he traded her for something shiny."

Andy chuckled, "We'll take you to meet her."

She started out of the bay and down the hall, entering the room. The cats all looked up as soon as Garu entered but Andy gave them a look telling them not to fight.

"Azra, sweetie. We have a couple people for you to meet."

Azra smiled and approached. She looked at Garu in confusion before looking at Stinger, "Is he a puppy?"

Andy tried to hide her laughter.

"No, he's a wolf. Remember I told you a lot of animals have tails?"

She nodded and repeated, "Wolf." She then looked at Lucky, "Do you have a tail?"

Lucky laughed. "Nope. Sorry."

She nodded, "Mommy doesn't either. I like tails though." She changed just a bit to have a tail like Stinger.

Andy chuckled, "This is Garu and Lucky. They're your uncles too."

Both of them were staring at Azra's tail in astonishment.

Azra nodded, "Garu and Lucky." She smiled again before moving toward Stinger, reaching up to him for a hug.

Stinger knelt and gave her a big hug as Garu and Lucky recovered.

Andy noticed their looks, "She can shapeshift. Don't be surprised if you see a black cat running around, that's her favorite thing to be." Andy glanced at the rest of the cats, "She's basically part of their cat family too."

The two of them laughed as Stinger touched her shoulder. "Food's done."

Andy nodded, "I'll go find Hammy and Naga if you take it out of the oven." She left the room and checked in the other rec rooms finally finding them. She then headed to the kitchen and noticed Stinger getting plates out, "Anything I can help with?"

"Nope. You just sit down and let me take care of everything."

She looked at him suspiciously a second before nodding and heading to the table.

He set the table quickly, bringing the food last. As he passed her, he gave her a quick kiss.

Andy made a little plate for Azra, making sure her food was cut small enough. "So is there anything exciting happening on your planet?" She looked down at Lucky.

He put his glass down. "Exciting, no. Boring? Yes." He chuckled. "Being King gets tiring."

She smiled, "There has to be some perks though. Can't you find a way to make it more fun?"

"If my chief of staff wasn't so straight laced, yeah I could. But he's so strict I'm going crazy. When Stinger called I said yes immediately."

He smiled ruefully. "Almost makes me miss Jark Matter."

Andy smirked, "We can plan more get togethers if that will help."

Hammy nodded, "I love being home but I do miss you guys. You can come visit anytime you want."

Lucky and Garu grinned. "We'll hold you to that."

"Have you been allowed any fun, Garu? Or are you just spending all your time trying to keep Lucky from boredom?" Andy chuckled.

Garu chuckled. "I have more fun than he does, grr. But I like spending time with him." He playfully nudged Lucky, earning a smile and a roll of the eyes.

The group looked up when the door opened, Kotaro smiling as he entered. "Hey guys."

Andy smiled, "There's more food if you're hungry."

Kotaro grinned, "Definitely." He made a plate and sat next to Stinger. "How are you, Aniki?"

"Good. Never thought I'd have a kid."

Kotaro looked across the table, "She's big." He smiled at Azra, "Hi there. I'm Kotaro."

Azra smiled, "Kotaro. I'm Azra."

"Nice to meet you."

She looked him over a second, "What kind of animal are you?"

Kotaro looked at her a second before glancing at Stinger, "What?"

Stinger laughed. "She thinks we're all animals and have tails."

"He's a regular person like Hammy and I," Andy smiled, "He doesn't have a tail either."

Azra looked sad for a second until Kotaro asked what her favorite animal was.

"Kitties. Or scorpions," she flicked her tail she still had.

Kotaro just laughed, "Scorpions are pretty cool, aren't they?"

Stinger huffed a laugh. "She's kinda obsessed right now."

Hands suddenly covered Andy's eyes.

She frowned a second before smiling, "Kiba?"

He chuckled as he moved his hands. "Hi. Thought I'd see how you guys were doing."

He moved into her line of sight and smiled.

He'd let his hair grow a little and he was a little skinnier. He was sporting a new leather bracelet, but other than that, everything was the same.

Hammy smiled, "It's been a while."

He blushed. "Sorry. Had some things happen. But it's fine now."

Azra smiled, "Kiba!"

He grinned. "Hi sweetheart. You've gotten big."

Andy laughed, "Get some food and sit down."

Kiba gave a salute. "Okyu!" He grabbed a plateful of food and sat down next to Hammy.

"So what fun things have you been up to? How's your kitten?" Hammy wondered.

"Nothing fun I'm afraid. And Asuka? She's fine other than nearly giving the others a heart attack."

"Big cat?" Andy smirked.

Kiba shot her an amused glance. "That and the fact she nearly bit Tsukasa when he yelled at me."

Andy chuckled, "So no fun but you're still alive so it can't have been too bad, right?"

Kiba shook his head. "Change the subject." He gave her a thought. _"Later okay?"_

She nodded and noticed Azra yawning. She glanced at the time, "We better get you to bed."

Azra nodded sleepily.

Andy smiled, "I'll be back soon."

Andy led Azra to their room and got her into the small bed they had set up for her.

Andy pulled up the blankets around Azra. "Goodnight, baby."

"Mommy? Can you stay a bit?"

Andy nodded, "Of course." She managed to climb into the bed, laying on her side. She wrapped her arm around Azra and they both were soon asleep.

Kiba gave Hammy a kiss. "I think I'm going to turn in too." As he took his plate to the sink, she noticed it had barely been touched.

He left the kitchen, heading to his own room. Once he closed the door behind him, he took a bottle of pills out of his jacket. Quickly downing one, he climbed into bed and closed his eyes.

Hammy frowned but figured she'd talk to him about it in the morning. After a little bit she looked at Stinger, "Shouldn't Andy be back by now?"

Stinger chuckled. "She probably fell asleep with Azra."

Hammy nodded, "She seems to be more tired lately... I hope she's ok."

Stinger nodded. "She's fine."

Hammy smiled, "I think I might sleep too. Raptor and Spada will be in early so I want to be up by then." She put her plate up before leaving the room.

Naga, who had been quiet all night, finally spoke up, "Apparently it's time for everyone to sleep." He put his plate up too and left.

Kotaro chuckled as he finished up his food.

Stinger rolled his eyes. "You going to bed too?"

"That depends, are you staying up? We could play games or something?"

Stinger grinned. "You're on. What game should we play?"

Kotaro shrugged and glanced down the table at Lucky and Garu, "Are you playing or sleeping?"

They looked at each other, then Lucky replied "Playing."

Kotaro smiled, "Let's go see what games we have." He headed out to one of the rec rooms. They decided on cards and stayed up late playing.

Finally, Stinger yawned. "I think I'm sleeping now."

Kotaro nodded, "I probably should too." He picked up the cards and put them away. "Night."

Stinger waved as he headed for the bedroom, Lucky and Garu going down the hall in the opposite direction.

Andy mumbled when she heard the door open but was still fast asleep next to Azra.

When Andy woke in the morning, both Azra and Stinger were already gone from the room. She blinked in confusion, still feeling kind of tired. She got up and changed before heading toward the kitchen. She smiled when she spotted Stinger drinking coffee and Azra eating cereal.

"Morning. Did I miss anything?"

Stinger shook his head. "Everyone is still asleep." He sighed and looked at her. "Did you notice anything off with Kiba last night?"

"Yeah. He said he'd tell me later but I accidentally fell asleep..."

"He barely ate anything and went to bed almost right after you did."

She nodded, "If he doesn't tell me willingly, you know I'll force him to." She smirked.

Stinger laughed. "I'd tell cause you're scary when you go all serious."

She laughed and sat next to Azra. She kissed her forehead.

"Morning, Mommy."

"Morning, baby," Andy smiled. "I didn't even notice you get up this morning."

"You looked really sleepy," Azra laughed. "You snore."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "No way."

Azra nodded, "You were snoring. Right, daddy?"

"Are you trying to get me in trouble, munchkin?" Stinger chuckled.

Andy rolled her eyes. "Are you hungry, love?"

He smiled at her. "You up to cooking?"

She shrugged, "Honestly, I feel like I could sleep for another week. But I'm going to cook anyway. Do you want some?"

He sighed. "Sure."

She made some scrambled eggs without incident and slid a bowl in front of him before sitting down.

He examined her face. "You should go back to bed."

She sighed, "Maybe." After eating she nodded, "Wake me up when everyone else starts getting up." She kissed him before leaving the room.

A few hours later, Stinger opened the door. "Andy?"

"Hmm?" She barely woke up, not even moving.

"Almost everyone's awake."

"Mmm," she rolled over, trying to get up. She finally stood and opened her eyes, blinking at Stinger.

"You don't look any better, beautiful."

She gave an exhausted sigh, "Sorry."

Stinger came into the room and embraced her. "It's not your fault. Hammy is getting suspicious though."

Andy nodded, "I have something that might help. I just have to stop in the infirmary for it." She smiled, "Where is everyone? Kitchen?"

Stinger nodded. "Everyone but Kiba."

She frowned, "If I don't see him, I'll stop by his room and check on him."

Stinger gave her a small smile. "See you in a few minutes then." He kissed her and left.

Andy made her way down to the infirmary and rummaged through the cabinet, finally finding what she was looking for. She prepped a syringe, which took her a few seconds longer with her shaking hands. She then injected it into her arm, waiting a few moments before she felt it start to kick in. Feeling a bit more energized she went to leave the infirmary when she spotted Kiba.

He was changing a bandage in a side room. When he was finished, he turned around and jumped. "Andy? How long have you been there?"

"Not long," she assured. "Sorry if I scared you."

He gave her a wan smile. "It's okay." He reached for his shirt. She noticed several more bandages before he got it on. He threw away the used bandage which was spotted with blood.

"So what are you doing?"

Andy shrugged, "I'm a medic, I kind of live here, don't I?" She gave him a look, "Sit down and at least let me heal you a little bit."

"Not sure you should. You look tired."

"Let me worry about that. Sit down."

He chuckled and sat down on a bed.

She scanned him over before she started healing up the worst wounds, "So what happened?"

Kiba exhaled sharply. "Shocker happened. For a change, they weren't after me."

"Is everyone ok?"

"They're alive. Okay is relative."

Andy frowned, "I can help them, if you want me to."

He winced. "Dad left. Not sure where he is, but he didn't get hurt bad. Tsukasa and I took the brunt of the attack. Natsumi is taking care of him though."

Andy nodded, "From the healing, it looks like this happened a few days ago?"

He nodded. "Yeah. At first everyone thought we weren't going to make it. But we pulled through. I just had to get out of there. You know how I feel about being cooped up." He reached for his jacket, pulling out a bottle. "Been taking these, but they don't help much."

Andy glanced at it and nodded, "Well, you should feel a lot better when I'm done but I can also give you better pain meds too."

He took a deep breath. "It scared me. I woke up and Dad was gone and Tsukasa…" He shook his head. "I think Dad couldn't handle it."

Andy stopped healing for a moment and put a hand on his arm, "I'm sorry you had to deal with that." She shook her head, "I told Daiki to bring you here if you got hurt. I wonder why he didn't."

"Natsumi said he was going to, but he was afraid it would finish the job Shocker started. I was pretty bad if you can't tell."

Andy nodded and brought her hands back up and continued healing on him. After a bit, she asked, "How are you feeling now?"

He grinned. "Much better. Thanks."

"Let's get you some pain meds and then get you to actually eat something," she smiled. She stood from the chair she had been sitting in, holding onto the bed when she realized she was dizzy. She took a deep breath trying to steady herself.

"Are you okay?" Kiba stood and wrapped an arm around her waist.

After a moment she gave a small nod, "Just a bit dizzy. Must have overdone it a little." She smiled and moved away, heading back out to the cabinet. She took another dose of what she had before, luckily her hands weren't as shaky this time. She then got a pill out and handed it to Kiba.

He watched her with concern. "What's going on with you?"

She shook her head, "Just a little tired. The medicine will help with the dizziness."

Kiba didn't look convinced, but dropped the subject and took the pill. "So who ratted me out on the not eating?"

"Stinger." She frowned, "Were you not eating because you didn't feel good?"

"Yeah. When Shocker attacked, they hit us with some kind of beam. Ever since, I've been feeling weird. Had trouble keeping food down too. So I haven't eaten much."

She looked at him with worry, "Do you still feel weird even after I've done some healing? Or is the weirdness gone?"

He paused for a minute, then shook his head. "Still there but dulled. Might just be I need food. I hope."

"Let's get you food then, and then in a bit I'll run a few tests just to make sure everything else looks fine."

He nodded, then swayed. "That medicine kicked in quick." He took a deep breath. "I'm okay now. Let's eat."

She looked at him a second but nodded, "Are you sure you can walk?"

"If I do it slowly, yeah." He gave her a grin. "It's like when I got drunk at Lucky's. Trick is small steps."

She chuckled before starting out the infirmary door. They walked slowly to the kitchen. When they entered Andy smiled, "Spada is back. Breakfast will be great." She sat next to Stinger and smiled over at Hammy.

Stinger gave Kiba a once over. "You don't look good."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Thank you Captain obvious." He sat down next to Hammy with a small wince.

"I doubt he'll make it through all of breakfast. I gave him pain meds," Andy admitted. "He'll be fine though."

Stinger narrowed his eyes. "What happened?"

Kiba sighed. "Shocker attacked the Studio."

"Are you sure you're ok?" Hammy worried.

He kissed her cheek. "I'll be fine."

"Between me healing him and the medicine, he should just be a bit sore." Andy informed. "But you better eat before the meds knock you out."

He grinned. "Yes ma'am."

Andy glanced around not seeing Azra. "Is she with Shishi again?"

Stinger chuckled. "She and Balance are in the rec room. He said he was going to teach her cards."

Andy rolled her eyes, "He'll probably teach her all the tricks to cheat too."

Stinger and Kiba laughed, saying in unison "Pretty sure that was the idea."

Andy chuckled and took a waffle from the plate Spada set down. She looked at Hammy, "How is Raptor doing? Is she on the bridge?"

Hammy smiled, "Yes. She's good. It was nice catching up."

Andy nodded with a smile before getting distracted by listening to a conversation down the table with Lucky and Spada.

Lucky was retelling a story about the royal chef, who apparently couldn't make a decent meal if his life depended on it. Spada offered one of his chefs, which Lucky accepted.

Kiba nibbled on a waffle, glad Andy was distracted. Hammy glared at him, "You need to eat more."

Andy looked over at the sound and noticed Kiba hadn't eaten much but she didn't say anything.

He grinned apologetically. "The meds are messing with my appetite."

Andy thought for a moment, "Why don't we get you to the infirmary so you can just sleep the meds off?"

Kiba nodded as he finished the waffle. "Think that's probably a good idea."

Andy stood slowly and smiled at Stinger before heading to the door, waiting on Kiba.

He stood unsteadily, but gradually got his balance. He made his way to her with a smile.

"See? Small steps."

She chuckled. Once they were in the hall she spoke again, "I'll let you sleep if you want but I do want to run some tests. I can probably do most of it while you sleep."

He nodded sleepily. "This is getting really bad now. I feel like I do when I have a panic attack."

She frowned, "I can give you something that might help that a bit. And I'm going to give you an IV with nutrients in it to help replace what you should have been eating."

He stopped walking, taking a deep breath. After a few minutes, he started walking again. "Sorry."

She shook her head, "Do you want me to help you walk at all?"

"You're going to have to, I think. The hall wants to flip upside down at the moment." He leaned on the wall, shaking his head.

She sent a thought to Shishi who soon approached. She grew large.

"Me on one side, Shishi on the other," Andy ordered as she held her arm out to help him.

He complied slowly, eyes half closed.

After getting him to the infirmary and into bed, she got some supplies together and set up the IV. She drew some blood and did a brain scan. Shishi curled up on Kiba's chest.

She moved into one of the side rooms and started doing experiments, testing the blood samples.

After a bit, she forced herself up and gave herself more medicine before going back to the tests. She frowned but made her way out to her patient, "Kiba? Can you wake up for a minute?"

His eyes opened slowly. "What?"

"Hey, I figured out what that beam did..."

His eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Andy sat by him, "So, basically it's literally splitting your DNA apart. But, I do have a couple options on how to help fix it." She frowned, "The serum that I used to bring you back does seem to be fixing the DNA samples I've tested it on. The problem is, the serum is only supposed to be used on you when you're dead. So options are, give it to you anyway and hope it doesn't screw you up... Or kill you and then give it to you and hope it brings you back and fixes it."

Kiba snorted. "Hell of a choice. Which one do you think will work honestly?"

Andy sighed, "I'm afraid if I killed you that one of these times the serum won't bring you back. But, I really have no idea what the serum could do to you if you are alive when taking it. It could have no side effects or it could kill you. I really don't know. I'm sorry."

He gave her a weak smile. "How long before I'm completely split?"

She shrugged, "I was so focused on trying to fix it, I forgot to test the rate of it..." She sighed, "Again, I'm sorry. I'm sure though, you've lasted a few days so far, you would probably last one or two more."

He winced as pain flared in his chest. "I'm not sure about that." He struggled to catch his breath.

She frowned and held her hands out trying to help steady his breathing. After a minute she asked, "So what do you want me to do? And do you want me to call Hammy down here before I do whatever you choose?"

He frowned. "Either she watches me die and be brought back or she could see the serum do gods know what to me. You think she wants to see those options?"

Andy shook her head, "No, probably not."

He grimaced. "I think I'll go for option A. We know the serum worked twice before. So we'll have to trust it will work again."

"Ok, you want me to just kill you and then give it to you?"

"Yeah. Hate to do this to you again. You could just let it finish maybe? Or do you think that would really kill me?"

Andy put her hand over her face in frustration, "I don't know. It's probably better to do it now while your body is in better shape than wait and see how bad it gets. Plus, waiting it out will be painful, this way won't." She sighed, "I hate this."

"You and me both. How do you propose to do this?"

"Last time it only took seconds to stop your heart. But I'm going to at least knock you out first because I don't want to see your face if I did it while you were awake..." She stood up and went to the door panel and locked it. "Not going into full lockdown like I did with DeStruct, but I don't really want anyone walking in right now, you know?"

Kiba chuckled weakly. "Yeah." He squeezed his eyes shut as the pain flared again.

She unhooked the IV from him before prepping a small dose of sedative.

"I'm sorry if this doesn't work. But I have faith that it will," Andy smiled sadly. She stuck the needle in his arm and sat back down, waiting.

He gave her a smile. "I have faith too." He closed his eyes as the sedative put him to sleep.

After another minute, Andy took a deep breath and stood up. She gave him a kiss on the forehead before whispering, "I'm sorry." She then focused on his heartbeat, quickly bringing it to a stop. She prepared the serum before scanning over him making sure he was dead. She then gave a silent prayer before injecting it into his arm. She then sat back down and watched, waiting for signs of life.

After a few minutes, Kiba coughed and began breathing. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Did it work?"

"Well, I killed you and you're alive again. Let me get another sample to double check," she drew some blood again and tested it, making sure everything looked normal. "It looks fine. How do you feel?"

"Tired. Hungry too. But the weird feeling is gone."

"Do you want me to get you food or do you want to sleep first?"

"Sleep. Think I'd end up falling asleep while eating." He yawned.

Andy nodded and moved toward the door, unlocking it. She then went to the bed next to his and sat on it, "I'm tired too. Let's just both take naps then we can eat something good when we get up. Maybe s'mores for celebrating you being alive." She chuckled.

He grinned. "I'd like that. What are we going to tell the others?"

"If you want to tell Hammy you can, but I won't tell anyone anything. Except Stinger, because if killing you again gives me nightmares he's going to have to know why I'm having them all of a sudden."

"I think it's better she doesn't know right now." His voice was sleepy. "She'd be upset."

Andy frowned, "I know she knows about the first time you died, but does she know about me having to kill you?" She paused, "Oh right we were all in the same room when I had a freak out, so she definitely knows about that time too."

"Yeah. That's why I don't want to tell her." He turned over to face her. "I just have to worry about that damn beam now." He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Andy grabbed a pen and paper and jotted down to look into ways to stop the beam, before she laid down and fell asleep.

When Andy woke she was surprised to find she was feeling a lot better energy wise. She glanced over and noticed Kiba still asleep. She moved off the bed, glancing at the note she wrote herself. She made her way out and found everyone except Champ and Stinger in the rec room. They were all talking and watching Azra, kind of playing with her when her attention was on them.

Andy smiled when Azra looked up at her.

"Hi, Mommy!" She stood and ran forward, her black pigtails bouncing on her head.

Andy bent down and hugged her, "Hi baby. Are you having fun with everyone?"

"Yeah. A lot!"

"That's good," Andy smiled. "I have something to work on right now but why don't you stay here and keep playing with everyone?"

"Okyu!" She giggled.

Andy raised an eyebrow at Balance, knowing he had taught her that phrase. "Can you two help me with something?" Balance looked at Naga and nodded.

Hammy caught her before they left the room, "How is Kiba?"

"He's a lot better," Andy smiled. "You don't have to worry about anything. He's just sleeping right now."

Hammy looked at her a moment before nodding, "Ok."

Andy led the thieves into one of the side rooms in the infirmary before closing the door, "Ok, I need your help figuring out how something works, and then a way to reverse it. Without us having the item to analyze in the first place."

Naga spoke, "That sounds difficult."

"I know, but it's important. And also, if we can keep this quiet from the others, that would be great. It's something for Kiba, the original weapon is something Shocker created, and I just don't want them worrying."

"Okyu! We can do this!" Balance said excitedly.

Six hours later, they had come out with a device. It had been tested on DNA samples and seemed to work, so she hoped it would work on Kiba.

Andy locked up both devices before going to see what was going on. Stinger gave her a worried look when she entered but she smiled at him reassuringly. Azra was asleep on the couch next to him, completely oblivious to the noise the rangers were making. Andy approached Hammy and Kiba with a grin. "How is everything?"

"Good. Where have you three been?" Hammy looked suspicious.

Andy shook her head, "Just needed their help to work on something. It's not a big deal." She caught Kiba's eye and sent him a thought, 'I have something for you, let's talk later.'

She was going to talk again but Spada came in and announced that dinner was ready. Andy stayed back, as everyone else filed out of the room, watching her husband and daughter still on the couch. Stinger smiled down at Azra who was using his leg as a pillow.

"Sorry that I was busy all day," Andy spoke softly. "I had to help Kiba out in the infirmary for a while, then took a nap, then I needed Balance and Naga to help me make something, which is also for Kiba." She shook her head, "At least he's going to be okay now. I'll tell you about it later," she glanced down at Azra, knowing the girl was asleep but still didn't want to risk her hearing what Andy had to say.

Andy bent down and ran her hand over Azra's hair. "Hey baby, why don't you wake up now? It's time to eat dinner."

Azra blinked her eyes open sleepily before stretching out. She looked up at Stinger and smiled before sitting up.

Andy smiled, "You look pretty sleepy still, why don't I carry you?"

Azra looked worried for a moment.

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

"You're not going to drop me, are you? You've been dropping things a lot."

Andy's heart sank, "I don't think I'd drop you, baby. But if it will make you feel better, daddy can carry you. Or you can walk if you want."

Azra looked back at Stinger, "Daddy can carry me!"

Andy gave a sad smile and kissed Azra's forehead, "Okay. I love you."

"I love you too, Mommy!" Azra smiled before standing and reaching her arms out toward Stinger.

He grinned and scooped her up, tickling her as he did.

Andy took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, before starting toward the kitchen.

Kiba was getting a plateful of food when she walked in. He was only using his left hand, the plate on the table in front of him. As she watched, he carefully put the serving spoon back and picked up the plate. "Hey Andy. Sleep well?" He walked over to where Hammy was sitting and sat down.

Andy's eyes narrowed in suspicion but didn't want to bring anything up now, in front of everyone else. She carefully got a plate and took it to the table, "Yeah I feel better. You?"

He grinned. "Practically a new person. As much as pain meds help, I hate that they make me so sleepy." He kissed Hammy's cheek and began eating.

She chuckled, "Yeah... Pain meds will do that." She smirked.

"Did Andy finish healing you up?" Hammy questioned.

Kiba nodded. "That's another reason I was so sleepy. Pain and anxiety do not make a good night's sleep."

Andy looked over at Stinger coming to the table with Azra. She tried to push her feelings away and just smiled at them. She looked back at Kiba, trying to figure out why he wasn't using his other hand as a distraction from her own problems. Hammy started chatting with Kiba, while Andy just listened and kept watching him.

Kiba grinned. "I think Dad's losing his touch. The last heist we tried, he tripped the alarm twice. Never have seen him run so fast. Then again, being chased by two giant dogs with three heads each will terrify most people." He took another bite. "Though if you tell him I said that, I'll deny it."

Hammy laughed, "Who do you like doing heists with more? Your dad or Balance and Naga?"

He pondered the question. "Dad finds some neat stuff, but I get caught less with Balance and Naga."

Hammy chuckled, "Their heists are always when I have other things going on so I haven't gotten to go with them. Not sure that's my kind of thing anyway though."

Kiba laughed and kissed her. "Probably not, unless seeing Balance drool over whatever we find is your idea of fun."

"Honestly, he does that enough as is, I can't imagine how bad it would be during the heist."

"Don't ask." Kiba rose, taking his plate to the sink. As he returned, Andy saw him rubbing his right wrist under the bracelet. He reseated himself, quickly halting the motion.

Andy sighed, finally looking back at Azra and Stinger. "Did you get enough to eat, sweetie?"

Azra nodded and went back to playing with one of the cats that had snuck under the table. Andy chuckled and hoped Spada wouldn't notice that a cat had made it into the kitchen.

"So what are the fun plans for tonight? Are you guys playing more games?" Andy glanced at Stinger.

"Ask Kotaro. I have no plans except getting munchkin here to bed."

Andy nodded, "It's probably time for her to get some sleep, unless her nap screwed with things." She rubbed Azra's hair playfully. "I'm going to go clean up in the infirmary a bit, changing the sheets and stuff. I'll be out to do whatever Kotaro is planning soon." She smiled and put her plate up. She made eye contact with Kiba before leaving the kitchen.

Kiba grinned sheepishly. "I'll be right back." He squeezed Hammy's hand. He headed for the infirmary.

When Andy noticed him enter she gave him a small smile, "With the help of Balance and Naga, I created something that should help you." She fumbled through her keys and finally found the one for the lock box she had put it in. "So, using samples of your DNA, we figured out a beam that can split it apart. Using that, we figured out another beam to counteract it. Now, we can't be one hundred percent sure it is the same thing Shocker has, but it at least has the same end results." She held out a little device. "The other thing is, yes we used it on your DNA but that isn't your entire body. I would hope it works the same but we can't be sure until you need to use it. I'm going to destroy this," she pulled out another device, "but I didn't know if you wanted me to make you a guinea pig and try both beams on you before I do get rid of it."

"Well, we need to know if it works right? And it's not like I can ask Shocker to shoot me and then use the beam on myself. So I'm game if you are." He took the small device with his left hand and began to examine it. "You guys came up with this quick."

"I had the basic idea but they did most of the actual work," Andy admitted. She held her hand out, "Here, I can shoot the bad beam at you first then see if you get the same weird feeling from before, then I can shoot the good beam at you and see if it fixes it." She took a deep breath, "You might want to sit down though just in case."

He handed the device back, pulling a chair up and sitting down. "I hope this isn't going to give you nightmares." He carefully put his right hand in his jeans pocket.

"This? Probably not. Killing you? Maybe." She shook her head, "It's fine, it's not like I'm fully nightmare free anyway. But they aren't too terrible anymore." She grabbed one of the devices, "Ready?"

Kiba flashed a cocky grin. "Ready. And here's something to make you happy. My nightmares have decreased significantly."

"I'm glad," she smiled. "Ok. 3, 2, 1." She pressed the button and pointed it at Kiba.

A yellow beam shot out and surrounded him for a few seconds, then faded. Kiba frowned, then nodded. "Oh yeah. Definite weird feeling. Even stronger than the first time I got hit."

She chuckled, "Maybe we made a better one than Shocker did." She pointed the other device at him, "3, 2, 1." She pressed the button and watched for any changes.

A blue light shot out this time. When it disappeared, Kiba sat quiet for a moment. Then he grinned. "Feel normal again. Good job."

She smiled and held out the second device to him, "I have notes in the system how to make it if you break it, but don't break it." She went and locked the other device back up, "I'll see if Balance wants me to actually take it apart or just blow it up. But I'll get rid of it." She looked thoughtful a second, "Though now I'm wondering how it would affect normal people. Probably shouldn't try it though."

Kiba shook his head. "Please don't go mad scientist on me. I've dealt with enough of those." He chuckled. "I won't break it on purpose, I promise." He slipped it inside his jacket with a smile. He winced as he jostled the other hand.

Andy sat down, "So what's wrong with your hand?"

He gave her an innocent look. "Who says anything's wrong?"

"Kiba, I spent quite a bit of time adjusting to using my left hand after my right one didn't always work right when I had that brain hemorrhage," she answered. "I also know you normally use your right hand but have only been using the left. Don't try to pretend nothing's wrong, especially around me who knows you best."

He sighed. "About two months ago, I ended up in a world being terrorized by a pretty nasty monster. I fought and destroyed it, but it left me with this." He removed his right hand from his jeans and wriggled the wide bracelet off.

The skin on the inside of the wrist was scarred badly, some spots almost raw looking. He flexed it with a hiss, the scar tissue didn't move. He extended the wrist for inspection. "Never get into a fight with something that spits acid."

She frowned as she raised a glowing hand up to analyze it. "Why didn't you come have me look at it?"

"They treated it there. Told me it went through the muscle and affected some of the tendons. Said I would probably lose mobility. I figured there was no way to stop it and plus you should not have to heal everything that happens to me."

Andy rolled her eyes, "If it's something serious like this, then at least have me look at it." She sighed a moment, pulling her hand away. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her kyutama, "When I'm morphed I have a bit more power. I'm going to see what I can do. At least maybe make it hurt less if nothing else."

Kiba smiled at her. "You're an angel you know that?"

She chuckled, "I doubt that." She morphed and moved a table over, resting his hand on it. She tried to repair the tendons and nerves first, then worked a bit on the muscles. "I'm not sure I can do much about the scar tissue, but how is it feeling so far?"

He chuckled. "You're definitely an angel cause you're working a miracle."

She laughed before she went back to focusing on his wrist. About ten minutes later she finally pulled away and unmorphed. "Can you move it without hurting?"

He flexed and bent it, then gave her a bright grin. "For the first time in two months."

She smiled, "I'm glad. If it gives you any more problems let me know."

He nodded, slipping the bracelet back on. "Thanks." He thought a minute. "You mentioned being curious how the beam reacts on a normal person… would you consider Tsukasa normal?"

Andy laughed, "I'm not sure he's anything close to normal. But his DNA probably is."

Kiba frowned. "He was hit with the beam the same time I was. When I left, he was pretty sick in addition to being injured some. Wonder if it messed him up the same way?"

Andy looked thoughtful for a moment, "Why don't you just pop in and check on him? You could try shooting him with the reverse beam and see if he gets any better. Then you can come back and let me know. And I'm pretty sure earlier we discussed s'mores so..."

He laughed and nodded. "Think I will go see him. And don't you dare eat all the s'mores before I get back." He waved his hand and disappeared.

Andy chuckled before moving to finish actually cleaning the infirmary. She glanced through her file before preparing a couple things to test on herself later. She'd come back once everyone went to bed. She'd already spent too much time away from the group, she didn't want them any more suspicious.

Andy headed out to the rec room and sat down next to Stinger on the couch. She watched as a few of the others were playing charades.

"Did Azra get to sleep fine?"

Stinger kissed her cheek and nodded. "Shishi and the kittens all climbed into bed with her. They're all sound asleep."

Andy smiled, "Good."

Stinger looked at her. "Where did Kiba disappear to?"

"He's testing something to appease my inner mad scientist." She chuckled. After noticing his look, she answered, "It's a long story but he's checking on Tsukasa. He'll be back soon. And if he's not he won't get any s'mores."

Stinger laughed. "Maybe I can use that as a threat the next time he wants to do something foolhardy. No s'mores."

Andy smirked, "That might just work. I'm not going to make any until he gets back though. They're a treat for getting through today alive."

Stinger gave her a questioning look.

She looked around, remembering all the people nearby. She sent him a couple short memories of the day, talking about the beam, killing Kiba, bringing back Kiba, and creating a reversal beam. All she said out loud was, "It's been a tough day."

Stinger bit back several choice swears and just gave her a hug. "I would kill him, but it's too much work." He whispered, only half joking.

"You know I'd just find a way to bring him back anyway," she chuckled.

"That's why I said it was too much work. How dangerous do you think this beam is to normal people? Just in case we run into it."

Andy grinned, "That was my mad scientist question. But I knew I shouldn't actually try it on anyone. Kiba said Tsukasa got hit though, so he was going to try the reversal beam on him and see what happens." She added, "It basically is like a zipper. One beam unzips, the other zips. But I don't know if it unzips normal DNA or just Kiba's because he's a clone."

Stinger nodded. "It sounds bad, but I hope it only affects him." He sighed. "He gets into the weirdest trouble."

Andy glanced around again before speaking quiet enough only Stinger could hear, "I know. And it seems no one else can get him out of it. I just hope I'll be able to keep helping him."

Stinger didn't reply, just held her tighter and kissed her hair.

She cuddled against him a while longer before she heard the door open. She glanced up and saw Kiba. She kissed Stinger before heading into the hallway.

"Good news and bad news." Kiba waved the reversal beam. "This relieved some of the effects of the first beam. Not everything, so it doesn't do the same thing as it does on me." He paused, looking down at the floor.

"So... we need to make one that works better with regular DNA?" She wondered.

"If you do, do it fast." He raised his eyes to meet hers. "Shocker is manufacturing the damned things like crazy. And from what Dad saw, they want to share over here."

Andy rubbed her forehead, "Alright. I'll go get Balance and Naga..." She headed back into the room, sent a look to Stinger, and then whispered to the thieves. They nodded and followed her out. "Ok, hopefully this won't take as long, since we already have the beam that causes the trouble. We just need to test the effects on regular DNA then get a beam that fixes it back up."

Kiba chuckled. "Got a guinea pig already in the infirmary."

Andy raised an eyebrow before walking down there.

Kiba followed, holding back laughter as Daiki sat up and glared at him. "This is kidnapping, you know."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I saved you from the thumb, Dad. Plus, you were bleeding all over the floor cause of your dumb stunt."

Andy just looked between them and moved across the room, unlocking the device again. Balance and Naga had entered, going into the side room they were in before.

Daiki looked at her. "This will help Tsukasa?"

Andy nodded, "We need to make a beam that affects regular DNA because the first one we made specifically to Kiba's DNA." She glanced at Kiba, "Did you literally just drag him here? We could have just used any DNA sample first..."

Kiba glared at Daiki. "He deserved it. Idiot tried to destroy the facility where the beams are being made ALONE. He almost got himself killed and did get injured because he took off."

Andy smirked, "Sounds exactly like something you would do." She moved over to Daiki and scanned him over.

Daiki gave her a sheepish smile. "I know. It was stupid. But after the attack… I had to do something."

"I understand," she nodded. "I just wish Kiba didn't get your habit of doing idiot things."

Daiki gave a wry chuckle. "Tsukasa has done stupid things too."

"Not as many from all the stories I hear." She looked at Kiba as she pulled her hands away from Daiki, "Do you know how to do stitches?"

Kiba grinned. "Done enough on myself. They aren't neat but they do the job."

She nodded, "Then can you stitch his side up? I need to get them started on the beam, then I'll come back and heal up what I can." She grabbed a vial and got a bit of the blood dripping from Daiki before she stood up. "And now we have normal DNA." She frowned a second, "And let's test it against two DNA's," she grabbed out supplies to take a blood sample from herself, "Now I'm wondering if DNA is slightly different, being different universes... I've never thought to compare the DNA like that..."

Kiba face palmed. "Mad scientist calling..."

"Better to think of it now than later when we find out a second beam doesn't work on someone."

Kiba sobered and began stitching a subdued Daiki.

A bit later Andy came back out and started healing Daiki. She looked at Kiba, "He has a couple broken ribs, so he'll have to be careful for a few days. I'm healing them up as much as I can though."

Kiba nodded, then spoke quietly. "Sorry about this. I seem to always bring trouble to your doorstep." He sat down and stared at the ceiling.

She sighed, "It's fine. You know I like helping anyone I can." She continued without thinking, "Right now I kind of like the distraction."

Kiba gave her a look. "What's going on? And don't you dare say nothing."

She frowned, "I'll tell you when I know more."

He frowned, but changed the subject. "So we hit Dad with the beam, then reverse it like you did to me?"

"If he's awake and willing."

Daiki opened his eyes. "Not asleep. And I'm willing to do anything to protect Tsukasa and you guys."

Andy nodded. She pulled her hands away and looked at Kiba, "Hammy's already suspicious of something going on with me. I don't want her to worry though, so when I do tell you, don't mention it to her. Or anyone else. But it's my problem, it's not anything big like Jark Matter."

Kiba took a deep breath and nodded.

Andy smiled at him before heading back into the other room to work on the beam. Within another hour, they had one that seemed to be working with the DNA samples. She came back out with both of them, "So at least between our two universes, DNA seems to look and act the same so it should work on anyone from either."

Kiba and Daiki exchanged a glance, seeming to communicate silently for a moment. Then they looked at her again.

She sighed, "Are you ready?"

Daiki nodded without hesitation.

She took a deep breath and pointed the first one at him. She counted down before pressing the button. "How do you feel?"

Daiki raised an eyebrow. "I don't feel anyth…" His eyes rolled up and Kiba caught him.

"This is exactly what happened with Tsukasa."

Andy nodded. She took a moment to scan him over and see how it affected his body, before she stepped back again. "Ok, let's see how this goes..." She pointed the new reversal beam at him and fired.

Daiki opened his eyes slowly. Kiba helped him sit up, waiting until he'd taken a deep breath before asking, "Are you feeling okay?"

Andy moved to Daiki and scanned him over again while waiting for the response.

Daiki slowly nodded. "A little tired but not ill. I think it works."

Andy nodded, "Everything looks back to normal." She handed Kiba the new reversal beam, "Go take care of Tsukasa."

The duo grinned. "Be back soon." Kiba promised. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, but they disappeared before Andy could ask.

After talking with the thieves for a few minutes, Andy headed back to the rec room to look for Stinger. She spotted him talking to Kotaro.

She smiled at them both, "Stinger? Can I talk to you a minute?"

He excused himself and moved over to her. "Everything okay?"

"I showed you about the beam and the reversal beam, right?"

"Yeah. The reversal one works right?"

"The first one we made seemed to not fully work on Tsukasa. That's why I stole Balance and Naga again earlier. So now we have one that works on regular DNA." She sighed, "The big problem is, Daiki got intel that Shocker is mass producing the unzip beams, and that they might even bring them over to our universe... We have something to fight it now, but..."

He looked at her. "But what?"

"If they are mass producing them, they could take them anywhere across either universe. Even if we have the means to mass produce the reversal, we don't have enough of us to go around tracking down everyone who got shot with the first one."

"So we take out the factory. Simple. Then if any show up after that we can take them out one by one. And we do it before they use it again."

"One problem is, they'll be expecting us... Daiki tried to take the factory out alone..."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Of course he did. But they won't be expecting us. They have no idea **we** can cross universes. And they no doubt believe Kiba is dead. So we have an element of surprise." He thought for a moment. "Only question is who will go on the mission."

Andy looked around, "We could do it while we have the team together... Hammy or someone can stay with Azra while the rest of us go."

He nodded. "Let's tell them what's going on. Ask for volunteers."

Andy smirked, "Okyu, Commander."

He rolled his eyes. "You like doing that don't you?"

She looked at him innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I should spank you for that." The words were teasing.

She chuckled and got up by his ear, whispering, "You want to."

He reddened and gave her a mock glare.

She laughed, "Ok, we should probably get to business. Once we know who is going we can set up an exact plan."

He took a deep breath and spoke up. "We have a situation."

Everyone turned to listen. Stinger laid out the problem quickly, ending with "I understand if any of you have prior obligations. But we could use all the help we can get."

The door opened, Daiki and Kiba quietly entering.

Andy moved over to them and whispered, "How is he?"

Daiki grinned. "Back to his annoying self. He wanted to come, but Natsumelon threatened him with the thumb."

Kiba studied the room. "What's going on? Stinger has his game face on."

"I told him about the beams being produced. He plans for us to attack Shocker and shut the beam thing down before it gets out of hand."

Kiba growled a curse. "He does realize it's in our universe right? And that he's vulnerable?"

"Yeah. We want to do it anyway. We were hoping you'd at least help us get there."

"Oh we'll help shut the place down. Just try to keep him from getting hit will ya?" Daiki watched Stinger talk to Lucky. "You guys have so many different DNAs."

Andy frowned, "I'll compare them all before we go... I have it in their records."

Kiba nodded. "We'll be ready when you are."

Andy approached Stinger, "Who all is going?"

"Everyone. I shouldn't be surprised, but I expected at least Lucky to bow out. But he says his chief of staff does practically everything. Are the dynamic duo going to get us there?"

"Seems like. I need to check some stuff in the files before the mission... but you guys can come up with a plan and inform me later. Is Hammy fine watching Azra?"

"She insisted. Only thing is she threatened me that if we didn't both come back, she'd find a way to resurrect us and kick our butts." He chuckled.

"As long as she doesn't make us into weird zombies..." She kissed him and headed out of the room. She stared at the computer screen in the infirmary, trying to make sure the beam would work with everyone. She eventually looked up when the door opened and she saw Stinger. "You guys have a plan?"

"A rough one. It probably won't survive first contact, but what plan ever does?" He came up behind her, massaging her shoulders. "We need sleep. They're going to open the portal before dawn."

Andy nodded, "I just have a couple more to look through then I'll come to bed."

Stinger nodded. "I'll hold you to that." He kissed her head and left the infirmary.

She finished up, relieved that it seemed like the reversal beam would work on everyone. She then brought her file back up, remembering she had originally wanted to run tests that night. She sighed before locking the infirmary door. She quickly made a clone of herself and started it up. She knew Stinger would make her go to headquarters anyway, and she had an idea of what to expect from her last scans, but it had been a while since she had taken them. She frowned, staring at the newest scan of her brain. She took a deep breath and quickly filed it away before unlocking the door and leaving. She climbed into bed next to Stinger and cursed herself, realizing she probably wasn't going to sleep now that she had more answers.

"Beautiful?" Stinger's voice was sleepy.

"Sorry if I woke you, love. Go back to sleep."

He opened his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. We should be resting for the mission."

He frowned, but closed his eyes.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would eventually come to her.


	24. New Outlooks

When morning came, Andy climbed out of bed and went over to Azra, waking her slowly.

"Hey baby. Aunt Hammy is going to play with you today. The rest of us have work to do."

Azra nodded, "You'll be back soon, right?"

Andy pulled her in for a hug, "I hope so, sweetie. Just remember I love you." After pulling away, she glanced at Stinger who was putting his jacket on. "Ready?"

He nodded, giving Azra a hug. "As I'll ever be."

Andy took a deep breath, "Let's go then." She led Azra out to Hammy's room before rejoining Stinger.

He gave her a kiss. "They're waiting on the bridge. Daiki has a map to brief us with."

Andy nodded, "Ok. I hope this goes well..."

He gave a small smile. "You and me both."

They went to the bridge, where everyone was examining a hologram that Daiki had created.

"Morning. Ready to charge into the lion's den?" Kiba gave them a smile.

Andy just gave him a silent nod.

Stinger snorted. "Now or never right?"

Andy looked down and smiled at Shishi who had appeared at her side. She bent down and pet the cat with a shaky hand, "Are you coming with us?" The cat nudged her in response.

Kiba grinned as Daiki raised his head. "Hey. Programmed this from memory. You want to start?"

Andy stood back up and looked over at Stinger, raising an eyebrow, waiting for a response. She didn't really want to admit she had gotten distracted by Shishi and hadn't heard what Daiki said.

Stinger nodded. "You brief them on the map. I'll give assignments."

Daiki grinned. "Okyu." He turned back to the hologram and touched a large area. "Actual production area. The smaller is lab and office. Both were guarded heavily."

Stinger frowned, then nodded. "Alright. Balance, Naga, Garu and Lucky. Go with Daiki and take out the production area. Champ, Raptor and Spada take the lab. Kotaro, Andy and I will go with Kiba to the office. Be careful and don't take any unnecessary risks." He gave a look towards Daiki and Kiba.

They both gave sheepish grins in response.

Andy nodded and tried to ignore her growing headache.

Daiki and Kiba waved their hands, creating separate portals.

Stinger looked at them all. "Good luck."

Daiki and most of Kyurangers disappeared, the portal vanishing after them.

Kiba took a deep breath, then grinned. "Shall we?"

Andy nodded, "Let's get this over with."

Kiba stepped into the portal, the others following.

They emerged in a large empty office.

Kiba went to the door. "I'll keep watch. You guys do your thing."

Andy looked at Shishi who grew large. She then looked at Stinger and Kotaro, "Ready?"

They both nodded as fighting was heard outside.

Stinger looked at Kiba. "Our team?"

Kiba chuckled. "Yeah. Almost feel sorry for the enemy."

Andy started looking around the office, scanning through any papers that looked useful. She shoved a couple small stacks into her bag, knowing she wouldn't remember what they all said.

Stinger and Kotaro began to place mini explosives around the computers first, then around the rest of the office.

"ANDY!" A weight knocked her to the floor as a yellow light flashed.

When she finally sat up and looked around she noticed Kiba was now on the floor next to her. "What happened? Are you ok?"

"Damn mook was pointing one of those beams at you." He was trembling, his breathing erratic.

"I don't feel real great. You guys done?"

Andy nodded, "I'm done." She looked at the other two.

Stinger and Kotaro gave nods. Stinger helped Kiba to his feet as a portal formed.

"Let's get out of here." Stinger gave Andy a look.

She nodded and looked at Shishi who was now back to normal size, "I'm glad you didn't have to fight today. Let's go fix Kiba up."

The portal started wavering. "Go. Don't know how long I can keep it open."

Kiba's voice was pain filled and shaky.

Stinger and he quickly went through, followed by Kotaro.

There were explosions starting in the factory area and Andy said a quick prayer, then jumped through.

She noticed how bad Kiba looked and went to his side, "Come on, let's get you in a bed. Do you have your reversal beam?"

He tried to reach into his jacket, but tensed as a wave of pain washed over him. "Pocket..."

His eyes were closing quickly, the shaking growing stronger.

Andy put an arm around him, "Stinger, help me with him please."

Together they got him on a bed.

He was now unconscious, alternating shaking and arching his back in pain.

Andy moved to get into his jacket and grabbed the beam out, blue light surrounding Kiba as she shot it at him.

He gave a cry, the shaking getting worse. His eyes cracked open as he struggled to speak. "Other pocket...give to Hammy…" He went limp, his eyes closing.

Andy's heart sank as she scanned over him, noticing his vitals were almost nonexistent. She focused, trying to keep his heart beat up, but no matter how hard she tried, it kept dropping until it finally stopped beating altogether. "Kiba..." She stepped away sadly, tears starting to well up in her eyes. She moved over to the cabinet and got a vial of serum. She injected it into his arm before she heard noise coming from behind her. She looked up to see Daiki, who looked severely injured, being held up by Naga and Balance. "What happened?"

"He was shot several times watching our backs." Naga gently laid him on a bed.

Andy scanned over him, noticing all the damage he had taken. She turned to the thieves, "He got everyone else back, right? Can you get Raptor? I'm going to need help with this."

"Okyu. Yes, everyone is back. They're in the kitchen."

The pair left as a hand grabbed hers.

She looked down at Daiki, "Hey, it's going to be ok. We just need to stitch you up and I'll heal everything else."

His eyes looked over at Kiba. "He okay?"

She gave him a comforting smile, "Yeah. He's going to be fine."

Daiki gave a tiny smile before his eyes drifted off to the side and his hand went slack in hers.

Andy took a deep breath, trying to fight back a sob. She scanned him over, noticing all activity in his body had stopped. Her heart sank as she realized he was gone. She tried to push her emotions away as she moved back over to Kiba and scanned him over, noticing his vitals were still gone as well. She looked at Stinger who was standing by the door, "How long since I gave him the serum?"

"A few minutes." Stinger walked over to her.

Andy remembered what Kiba had said and checked his other pocket. She found a small box and after opening it, she realized there was a ring inside. "Kiba... Come on you have to give this to her yourself. Please come back." She moved over and filled another syringe full of serum and gave it to him, hoping this time it would do something.

Stinger moved to Daiki, gently closing his eyes and placing his hand on his chest. Then he turned and embraced her gently. "They're gone."

Tears finally started streaming down her face as she shook her head, "They can't be... There has to be something I can do..." She knew there wasn't though, so she just cried with her head against his chest.

"Andy?" Raptor stood by the door. "Naga said you needed help?" She gave a little gasp as she realized the situation.

Andy just cried harder, not able to bring herself to say anything.

Raptor entered and gave Stinger a look. "I'll take care of him." She gently began to clean Daiki up.

Stinger led Andy slowly into the hall, before motioning to the box. "Is that what I think it is?"

She nodded, wiping some tears away, and held it out for him to look at.

He opened it and gave a low whistle. "He must have been saving for a while."

Andy gave a sad chuckle, "Or he and Daiki stole it."

Stinger grinned. "That is a definite possibility. Either way, it's beautiful."

Andy started sobbing again, "How am I going to tell her?"

Stinger held her close. "Hammy knew this mission was dangerous, especially to him. But I think she'll be comforted by this," he handed the ring back. "He actually was going to settle down with her. At least as much as he ever would."

He sighed. "It's going to be harder telling Tsukasa about Daiki."

She looked at him a moment, "I know..." She sighed, "I'm going to help Raptor a few minutes and put off talking to Hammy..."

Stinger kissed her. "Whatever you need."

Andy took a deep breath and headed into the infirmary. She looked at Kiba a moment before going over to where Raptor was. She looked down at Daiki, trying to not start crying again. "You two are both idiots... Thank you though for keeping my friends safe." She moved to start helping Raptor but she stopped when she noticed a light coming from her pocket. She pulled out her kyutama and noticed it glowing before the light surrounded Daiki. Her eyes widened as she watched.

Daiki suddenly gave a shuddery breath, then another. His eyes were still closed and other than his chest rising and falling there was no other movement.

Andy scanned him over and noticed his vitals were back to normal. His wounds weren't gone, but they weren't as bad as they had been. She turned to Raptor, "Keep an eye on him and let me know if anything changes..." She moved over to Kiba and sat by him. She stared at the kyutama, "Can't you help him too? Why do you help who you help? You could have saved Avery but didn't. You saved Stinger and I, and now Daiki. Why won't you help Kiba?"

After a while, Andy got up and left the infirmary. She found Hammy in the kitchen with the ingredients for s'mores out on the table. Hammy looked up with her and froze when she met Andy's eyes. Andy approached her, not saying anything, and pulled her in for a hug. Finally, she pulled away and held out the box. "I'm sorry."

"No… no please. Not again..." Hammy began to sob. She took the box, opening it with shaky hands. When she saw the ring, she fell to the floor. "NO! Please Daka, say it's not true…"

Andy looked away, feeling numb. "I gave him the serum. I gave him two doses. But nothing has happened..."

Hammy carefully removed the ring and slid it on, continuing to sob. She looked up. "I want to see him."

Andy nodded, "He's in the infirmary."

Hammy stood slowly, not looking at the table. She began to head for the door as Andy's com beeped.

Andy jumped slightly at the sudden noise before answering, "Yes?"

"Andy, you need to get back in here." Raptor's voice was slightly panicked.

Andy didn't even answer, she just rushed past Hammy and ran down the hall. When she entered the infirmary she looked at Raptor, "What is it?"

"Kiba's vitals just appeared. Can you check him?" The android was trying to stitch one of Daiki's injuries. "Daiki is bleeding again."

Andy rushed to Kiba's side and scanned him over. She noticed Hammy in the doorway. "His vitals are weak, but they are steady. The serum might be working after all. I don't know why it would take so long though..."

Hammy gave a shaky smile as Stinger appeared. "I might be able to explain that."

He was carrying a blueprint, his face grave. He spread it on an empty bed.

"It's a good thing we took out the factory when we did. This was their newest version."

Andy looked it over, "It's stronger than before. So it affected him quicker..."

"Yeah." Stinger growled. "They hadn't started shipping them out yet. But according to the papers you grabbed, a few of the first versions were sent over here."

Hammy was sitting next to Kiba when he suddenly spoke. "Then we have to track them down."

"_We _will track them down," Andy answered. "_You_ are going to be resting here for quite a while."

Kiba opened his eyes and frowned. "I'll be ready by the time you find them." He noticed Hammy next to him. "Hey."

Andy glared at him, "You better say more than just hey to her, because I had to tell her you died." She looked over at Stinger before leaving the room.

Kiba grimaced. "Hammy, I'm sorry. I thought it was a regular one. The asshole had Andy in their sights and I just reacted. Forgive me?"

Hammy was quiet for a moment but finally spoke up, "Thank you for protecting her. I'm not mad at all, I just don't want to lose you..."

He smiled at her. "I don't want to lose you either." He took the hand the ring was on. "Do you like it? Will you marry me? I know I'm not the best man in the universe, but I love you."

Hammy moved to pull him in for a kiss. When she pulled away, she had a smile on her face, "Of course I will. I love you."

He gave her a wide grin, then his eyes began to close. "Damn it. I don't want to sleep right now."

She chuckled, "Get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up, and then I can make you s'mores."

He chuckled as he fell asleep.

Stinger looked over at Daiki, who was still unconscious. "How is he?"

Raptor looked up, "Really good, considering how bad he was... His vitals are fine so he just needs to keep resting."

Stinger nodded, leaving the infirmary in search of Andy.

Andy was in their room, lying in bed with the lights off. She was curled up, holding her head, trying to get it to stop hurting. She'd taken medicine and hoped it would kick in soon.

"Beautiful? You alright?" Stinger wrapped his arms around her gently.

"Headache," was all she answered, but she relaxed slightly, feeling him hugging her.

He sighed. "I'm going to set course for headquarters. You need to see a doctor." He gently massaged her shoulder with one hand. "By the way, we have to start planning a wedding."

Andy smiled for a second, "I'm glad things worked out with them." She then spoke even quieter, "Don't set course until the others are gone... I don't want them worrying about me." She sighed, "I know what's wrong but there's probably nothing anyone can do about it. Unless headquarters has procedures more advanced than anything I've ever seen."

She felt him nod. "Alright. You might be surprised at what headquarters has." He gave an evil laugh. "I'm going to have fun planning the bachelor party."

She chuckled, "Just make sure the bachelor party is at least a week before the wedding, because between you, Kiba, and Daiki, I'll be surprised if no one ends up hurt or in some kind of trouble."

Stinger tried not to laugh. "You know they both would be disappointed in your low opinion of their ability to stay out of trouble. I think we'll do it at Lucky's."

"Well until they can both stay alive and uninjured for more than a month at a time, I'm going to stick to that opinion."

Stinger lost the fight and began laughing. "How drunk do you think we have to get them to do karaoke?"

Andy smirked, "I don't know, but I want to see that."

Stinger gently kissed her head. "You will. Get some rest."

Andy nodded before frowning, "...Who is watching Azra?"

"Balance and Shishi."

Andy took a deep breath, "Good." She glanced at him, "Am I still an okay mom? She's now afraid of me carrying her because I drop things... What if I get worse and can't do anything for her?"

"Does it make you love her any less? And if it happens, we'll deal with it. She loves you. Plus, who knows when she'll be getting older."

"I just really love her and want to do everything I can for her."

"Same as every mom ever." He gave her a kiss before getting up. "I better go rescue her before Balance takes her on a heist as a lookout."

Andy smiled before closing her eyes. She was asleep shortly after.

Stinger went to the kitchen, which was empty except for Spada and Azra.

Spada looked up. "Hey Stinger. Everyone went to bed early. They're all heading out in the morning except for Hammy." He glanced at Azra. "She's been asking for Andy."

Azra looked at Stinger, "Yeah. Where's Mommy?"

"Mommy is sleeping. She got tired out because she had to help your uncles. I'm going to take care of you tonight okay?"

She looked thoughtful before smiling, "Okyu!"

Stinger grinned and picked her up, tickling her ribs. "Who's my little scorpion?"

She giggled, "Me." She made a tail and waved it.

"That's right. Thanks, Spada."

Spada nodded, waving to Azra as they left.

Stinger got her ready for bed, quietly entering the room.

Azra looked up at him before whispering, "Who is Mommy talking to?" Andy was mumbling in her sleep, words not even fully complete.

Andy's mind went a thousand directions. Replaying all of the times Kiba had died, seeing Daiki's face when he died, and staring at her scans on her computer. Eventually the dreams morphed from memories to fears, old enemies threatening Azra instead of her teammates, and Azra dying because Andy couldn't save her.

Stinger gently kissed Azra. "She's just dreaming. Go to sleep honey. I'll take care of her."

He climbed into bed with Andy, wrapping both his tail and arms around her. "It's okay beautiful. Just rest."

She didn't respond but he felt her relax a bit and the mumbling stopped.

He let out a deep sigh as he drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Andy and Stinger were on the bridge after their teammates left. Andy sighed, "As long as Daiki is doing fine, they can leave soon. Then we can send Azra home with Hammy for a bit..."

Stinger nodded. "Then you check on them and I'll talk to Hammy." He gave her a kiss and left the bridge.

Andy headed to the infirmary to check on Kiba and Daiki. She smiled at Kiba, who was already awake, "How are you feeling?"

He grinned for a moment. "Normal." He looked at her. "I'd have slept better if I wasn't getting flashes of brain scans."

She froze, not meeting his eyes, "Brain scans?"

"Don't pull that. You can't con a con. Now spill." He got off the bed. "Haven't you ever wondered why we can talk up here so easily?" He tapped his head with a smile.

She sighed, "Yeah. I know I was having nightmares last night but I didn't remember thinking about that."

"Well, you did. Quite a bit actually. Now what's going on?"

She sat down, still not looking at him, "I've been having some trouble for a while... I finally did new scans to check on the problem." She shook her head, "Stinger is making me go to headquarters to get checked out there, but I don't think there's anything they can do though." She finally looked at him, her voice barely above a whisper, "I have a brain tumor. And the location it's in isn't normally operable on."

Kiba swore softly. "There has to be something." He raised her chin. "You better not give up on me. Not after everything that's happened. I'll be damned if I let a tumor take you away from us."

He glanced over at the sleeping Daiki. "He's going home, but I'm staying at least until you get checked out. Then I have a few things to do. But if I come back and you're not fighting this, I'm going to kick your butt, got me?"

She smirked, "Well, I have to stay alive so I can keep you guys alive, right?" She glanced over at Daiki.

"Hey. What happened after you got me here?" His dark eyes held nothing but sympathy. "I thought the beam worked?" He touched her shoulder. "Talking about it helps not let it take hold in nightmares."

She nodded, "The beam they shot you with was more powerful so the reversal we had didn't work well enough. You died soon after. I gave you serum and then Daiki showed up. He was wounded really badly and I didn't even have time to heal him before he died... So both of you were dead, I wasn't sure what to do. I gave you more serum and still nothing. Somehow my kyutama brought Daiki back. Then eventually the serum kicked in and you came back..."

Kiba chuckled. "Kinda jealous. Does your kyutama not like me or something?" He kissed her head. "I'm sorry you had to deal with both of us dying. And before you start making jokes, I don't want you to live for me. I want you to live for that grumpy scorpion and that munchkin who thinks she's a cat. They need you. You're my best friend, but you're their world."

Andy nodded before wiping a couple tears away. She then gave a sad smile, "Honestly, I don't know why my kyutama saves who it does. It didn't save Avery. And it didn't help you either. I'm thankful for all it's done but I hate never knowing what to expect."

Kiba thought for a moment. "Maybe it's something you can find out. It's the Iruka kyutama right? That means it comes from that constellation. If you go there, maybe there's an answer for you."

He glanced at the stirring Daiki. "I'll be right back." He quickly swept both of them into the haze.

Andy stared at the spot for a moment before standing and starting to clean up the bed Daiki had been in.

A few minutes later, Kiba reappeared. He stumbled for a second, but regained his footing quickly. "By the way, Stinger looked way too pleased earlier. Is he planning something I should worry about?"

Andy looked thoughtful for a minute before chuckling, "Pretty sure he is trying to plan your bachelor party."

Kiba groaned. "Yeah, definitely worrying. You think I should hide?"

"I think it'll be fun," she smiled. "Don't worry about it." She glanced over, "Have you guys figured out any details yet for the wedding?"

He shook his head. "I think we're still dealing with everything. I'm sure she'll be picking things out and yelling at me soon though." He sat down on the bed he was in earlier. "I feel so weak. I can barely make a portal stay open." He rubbed his face tiredly.

Andy nodded, "You've died twice within just a few days, your body is going to really need a lot of time to feel back to normal."

He grimaced. "Those weapons are still here somewhere. I have to be able to get rid of them if I come across them." He rubbed his temple with a grimace. "I'm no good like this."

"Just rest for now. We'll take care of the beams when we do find them. Also, Balance and Naga updated the reversal beams so they are stronger too." She sighed, "I know how you feel though. Some days I'm fine, others I'm not. The last few days I was so exhausted and then yesterday I was fighting a headache all day. Today I'm doing a bit better though."

"Don't get any ideas on having your doctors examine me. I doubt Shou wants to pay to fix heart attacks." He joked as he laid back with another grimace. He stayed that way for a minute, then got up and headed for the drug cabinet.

She watched him, "Pain meds?"

"Yeah. Head feels like if I move wrong, it'll fall off." He hissed as he tried to read the labels. "My eyes apparently aren't much help." He leaned against the cabinet. "I guess I won't be able to use the portal for at least a couple of days."

"Well it's not like you really need to go anywhere," Andy stood. She looked in the cabinet and pulled out the pain meds. "Let's get you back in the bed first." She helped him sit down before handing him a pill and some water.

"I guess you're right." He chuckled as he took the medication and drained the water. He handed the cup back as he got comfortable. "Just don't want to be needed and not be able to get there. The studio was already attacked once and the weapons are gods know where…" He closed his eyes.

Andy sighed. She sat next to him and scanned him over again before seeing if she could help ease his headache. A few minutes later, she pulled her hands away.

He smiled in his sleep, murmuring Hammy's name softly.

Time skip—

Andy looked at Stinger after landing at headquarters, "Why don't you go visit Shou or Tsurugi while I go get checked out?"

"Yeah. Need to tell Shou about these damn beams." He kissed her. "Be nice to the doctors."

She rolled her eyes, "As long as they don't treat me like I'm clueless. I might know more about medicine than half of them."

Stinger laughed. "Probably do. I mean you deal with quite a few weird specimens they've never seen before."

Andy nodded, "I'll see you later, love."

He grinned and headed down the hall with a wave.

A few hours later, Andy came out of the doctor's office, having been told the same thing she already knew. She walked slowly down the hall, dreading having to tell Stinger what the diagnosis was. She considered trying to call him, but she chose to wander the hallways of headquarters instead.

"There you are. Went to pick you up and you had already left." Stinger waved at her.

Andy gave him a soft smile and approached.

He kissed her gently. "Go home or somewhere else?"

"I want to go to the Iruka system. My kyutama has healing powers, which I want answers about anyway, but they might have something there that can help me. Because like I thought, the doctors here can't do anything for me."

Stinger frowned. "So it is_ that_ bad. Dammit." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Anywhere you want. Shou gave me time to take care of you and to see if the weapons show up."

"Honestly, the tech we have on the Orion is better than what they have here... But they weren't too bad," she spoke. She took a deep breath, "I have a tumor in a place in my brain that's impossible to operate on. It's growing but not very fast. I've known for a long while now. I told you before symptoms even started happening. But the bigger it gets, the worse the symptoms get."

Stinger sighed. "How long do you have?"

Andy shrugged, "The doctors didn't tell me and I've not wanted to estimate it myself. But I still have time as long as the symptoms don't get too bad."

"Have you considered asking Tsurugi if he can help?"

Andy shook her head, "I know his kyutama can heal, but it puts him at risk. I want to at least make sure there's no other options before I begin to consider asking."

"You know he won't care about the consequences."

"But _I _care about them."

Stinger chuckled sadly. "Always putting everyone else first." He looked at her. "Iruka system it is."

Andy and Stinger made their way back to the ship. They found Kiba on the bridge.

"Having fun?" Andy chuckled as he spun on a stool.

"Actually yeah. Now that Raptor has let me out. By the way, I plotted a course for you." He grinned.

She rolled her eyes, "Are you leaving or coming with us?"

"I figured I'd stay for a few days. After that, I need to go check on a few things."

"By few things, you don't mean looking for the beams by yourself, do you?"

He shook his head. "Would I do that? Nooo. I mean checking to see if Natsumi has killed either of my dads yet. And I may go see Hammy. Promise I'll stay out of trouble."

"You better," Andy warned.

He gave her a hurt look. "What do I have to do for you to trust me?"

She smirked, "Quit getting into trouble and eventually I'll believe it's possible."

He laughed. "You do realize with my DNA that's almost impossible right?" He grabbed his coffee cup and headed for the door.

Andy rolled her eyes again and chuckled.

As he left, Stinger gave her an amused look. "Wonder how much coffee he's actually had? And before you ask, I don't trust him either. You should probably activate that tracking program when he leaves." He checked the navigation console. "Iruka system _is_ input though."

Andy nodded, "How long until we get there?"

"Four days, give or take. Why?"

"Just wondered," she answered. "I wish Azra was here..."

Stinger smiled softly. "Me too."

Kiba quickly typed search words into the computer, sipping his fifth cup of coffee. He tapped out a melody with one hand as he waited. He hadn't _lied _to Andy, just hadn't told the whole truth. He had every intention of visiting the studio, Hammy too, but he couldn't just wait around for those weapons to show up. So a few searches of fences and black market dealers he knew might give him a place to start looking.

Andy headed to the kitchen to work on making them lunch.

Kiba walked in, whistling "Let it go" with a grin. "Spada's replacement sure is a lot prettier this week." He joked as he reached for the coffee pot.

"How much coffee have you had?" Andy wondered with a chuckle.

"Probably more than I should." He admitted. "But it keeps me awake."

"Why do you need to be awake? Take a nap."

He shook his head. "Not going to happen. Too much up here." He tapped his temple and poured the coffee. "My little victory was short lived apparently and it's easier to wear myself to exhaustion."

Andy smirked, "You know what helps with that? Sedative."

"Are you my dealer now? Keep waiting to get hooked." He chuckled. "Though I wonder if I can get addicted to anything other than caffeine and s'mores?"

Andy chuckled. She carefully moved a pan off the burner and got out plates. She made herself a plate then pointed at it, "Get yourself some. Hopefully Stinger remembers to come eat." She picked her plate up with both hands and headed to the table.

Kiba snorted and made a plate. "He probably won't." He sat down across from her with a yawn.

"I sometimes wish I didn't know what I know. One thing I have to say for DeStruct, he didn't have nightmares about practically everything."

"What have your nightmares been about lately?" Andy looked curious.

"The studio attack. Hammy. Everyone I know literally 'unzipping' in front of me and blaming me as it's happening. Take your pick. Sometimes I get all three at once." He grimaced, then began to eat.

Andy sighed, "You can't just ignore your sleep to prevent nightmares... Why don't you nap in the infirmary? I'll stay in there so I can help you if you do have one."

"In your condition? That feels too much like taking advantage of you right now." He sighed and sipped the coffee. "I shouldn't even be weighing you down with this."

Andy growled, "I know my symptoms are getting worse because the tumor is growing, but I've known about it since before we got Azra. I've helped you countless times since then, and I want to keep helping you even if I wear out a little easier."

"How do you know being in my head didn't cause the tumor to grow?" He turned dark eyes to hers. Fear was visible even though he was trying to hide it from her.

She took a deep breath, "Kiba, I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way. And even if it did, you know I'd be wanting to help you anyway." She sighed, "Helping people is why I left my planet. I don't care if I'm on my deathbed, I'm going to try to be helping people. But don't worry, the symptoms might be showing more now, but I'm still far from how bad I could get."

He frowned. "Almost everything that has happened lately has been because of me. Hell, these damn weapons wouldn't even exist if I didn't. I'm a curse to everyone I touch. Why I waited so long with Hammy. I probably would still have the ring if I hadn't died." He shook his head, forcing a smile. "Listen to me. I sound like an idiot talking to his therapist."

He picked his plate and cup up and took them to the sink. He detoured to Andy's side and kissed her cheek. "I may leave early; I haven't decided yet. You better not give up on me, you better lick this thing." He left the kitchen quickly.

Closing the door to his room, he leaned against it. Willing the caffeine to kick in before the sleep he'd been denying did. Crossing to the computer, he sat down and keyed it on. "Dammit." None of the people he'd reached out to had come across anything resembling the beam weapons. He typed in a general search for any news reporting weird beams being used. One report popped up, a few hours old and he clicked on it.

He paled as he watched, his guilt overwhelming him. Shutting the computer off, he got up and crossed to the dresser. Grabbing a bottle of water, he reached for a small bottle on the dresser.

With shaking hands, he opened it and took all the contents. Washing the taste from his mouth, he went back to the chair, sitting down hard. He wouldn't receive absolution, he thought as he ran a hand through his hair. But maybe atonement would be enough. He closed his eyes and slumped back in the chair.

Andy tried to push her worry for Kiba aside, pulling out her notebook and jotting notes in it. They had at least three more full days until they reached the Iruka system, so she intended to use the time wisely. She remembered the beams that could be floating around in their universe and tried to think of ways to find it. She got a couple theories to test and left the kitchen, heading to Kiba's door. She knocked on it and waited for an answer.

She went and checked the computer, noticing he was in his room, and according to his vitals he had fallen asleep. She shook her head and headed back down there. After keying in to his room, she found him asleep at the computer. She knelt by him, "Kiba? At least get to an actual bed."

He began pleading, head tossing from side to side. "I'm sorry… it's not my fault...please no…"

Andy sighed and focused on his mind. She knew he never really woke from outside so she'd have to go in and try to help him out of it. She opened her eyes to see the scene his mind was playing.

A burnt out building appeared, the sign barely legible. "Hikari Studio". Suddenly Tsukasa and Daiki appeared, bloody and burnt in some places. Two other people lay in the doorway unmoving.

Kiba knelt before the apparitions as they suddenly became surrounded by yellow light. They started to literally unravel before her eyes, all the while telling Kiba "Your fault… you're a curse. You kill everyone you love...the only safe place is death…"

"No. Please… it's not my fault… I'm sorry...!" Dream Kiba shook violently, his sobs mingling with the whispers from the almost completely disintegrated forms of his fathers.

Andy approached slowly, "Kiba? This is just a dream. It's not real."

"It's true what they're saying… I should just die and stay dead. Everyone will be safe."

The kyurangers suddenly appeared, in the same state as the others. Hammy was in front. "Is this why you wanted to marry me? So your curse would happen?"

Andy and Azra appeared, both almost completely unraveled. "I kept saving you and this is how you repay me? Look at her, you've killed her!"

Kiba was curled into a ball, deep shuddering breaths encompassing his frame. He'd quit pleading.

Andy moved to his side and knelt down by him. "That's not the real me. None of this is real. You aren't cursed."

He raised his head, his eyes dull. "Everyone gets hurt or dies sooner or later because of me. Just end it please?" He lowered his head again.

Andy wrapped her arms around him, "You aren't cursed. People could get hurt or die whether you are in their lives or not. You don't cause them to die." She sighed, "Everyone you know is either a ranger or a rider. We all live dangerous lives anyway. We'll get hurt anyway. That's not on you." She rubbed his back gently. "Everything is going to be okay."

"Tell that to them…" Eleven riders appeared alongside the rangers. She identified OOO, and thought she glimpsed Ankh far in the back. The rest she couldn't identify.

Kiba gazed at them sadly. "I killed them. I deserve the same. Why won't they hurry up? They never do it. They just stand there." He screamed "Just do it already!"

Andy took a deep breath before talking again, "DeStruct killed them. Not Kiba. They died because of Shocker." She glanced at the riders, "Maybe they know that. Remember the version of Eiji and Ankh we met? They realized it wasn't your fault. Shocker is the only one to blame." She sighed, "You don't deserve to die. And you should know if you did die, I'd try to bring you back again."

"DeStruct was me!" The tears began streaking his face. "I can't get away from him... "

Kiba was starting to hyperventilate, his sobs becoming fainter. "Those weapons have killed people because I couldn't find them…"

Andy hugged him tightly, "I have some ideas to try to find them. It's not your fault you can't find them. If anything, if people die, it's the Kyurangers fault. We're supposed to be the saviors of the universe..." She looked at him softly, "You blame yourself for the things DeStruct did. But let me ask, if Jark Matter did something to control me and I killed people because of it, would you blame me or Jark Matter?"

"Jark Matter would be to blame. It's a different scenario though." Kiba looked at her quietly. "You wouldn't know what you were doing. I knew. I was happy doing it. Would have kept doing it if I hadn't been injured badly by OOO in the fight. If I hadn't met Tsukasa… those weapons were only created because I switched sides." He shook his head quickly. "Completely different from Jark Matter's mind control."

"Then put me in that scenario. If you were me, and I was you, would you blame me? Or Shocker?" Andy tried to stay calm, "Look, the past is in the past. I know, the past sucks, but imagine all the people you can help if you keep living. Think about the smaller missions, the planets you've helped save from Jark Matter. Or the planets you've saved from Shocker. Because of you, a lot of people have been saved."

"My past won't stop showing up… it won't stay gone! I can't keep running into it. It has to end... What better place than here and now?"

"I'm sorry your past keeps coming up. I get it, it's hard. But I'm not going to let you die. I don't care what I have to do to keep you alive, I'm going to. I don't care if it's a different situation we are going through, but you _don't _get to tell me to not give up and then give up yourself. You have people who care about you. A whole team of people in this universe. Your dads in the other. Hammy, who was devastated when I told her you died. We all are here to help you through the rough times when your past comes back up. You just have to let us."

"I can't handle the idea of anybody dying because of me... It's easier if I am the only one…" He closed his eyes and disappeared.

Andy growled, going back to her body to check on him.

He was breathing but slower than she expected. Something peeked out from one hand and she reached for it, finding the empty bottle to the pain med he'd shown her when he had first arrived.

Andy cursed before scanning him over. She used her comm to call Stinger and Raptor, "Can you help me get him to the infirmary?"

Stinger answered. "What did he do?" He quickly headed off the bridge.

"It doesn't matter, just help me." Andy tried to keep calm but it was not working.

"I'm here." Stinger appeared next to her and froze. "Son of a bitch… is that what I think?"

Andy just nodded.

Stinger growled as he began to carry Kiba toward the infirmary. "He and I are going to have words. Thought he was done with this shit."

Andy sighed, "I keep trying to help him, but he won't listen..." She entered the infirmary and saw Raptor.

"Andy?" She waited until Stinger had laid Kiba down. "What happened?"

Andy gave her a short answer before starting to give orders. Soon, she made a clone who stayed in the infirmary and kept working while the real Andy moved to Stinger and took him into the hall. "I'm so thankful I can make clones because I'm so sick of my hands not wanting to work right." She glanced at him, "I don't know what to do. I mean, I know what to do right now to save him. But I don't know how to help him after that. He just keeps pushing me away. He'll seem fine for a long while and then go back to blaming himself for everything. He is blaming the beams on himself. He even was worried that me going into his nightmares so much was making my tumor worse. How do I help him?"

Stinger sighed. "Remember when you first met me? I had buried all the guilt, the self-recriminations so far down the only time they appeared was in nightmares. It wasn't until I went back home I was able to put the demons to rest." Stinger frowned. "Not that I'm advocating Kiba go back wherever he was raised, but he needs to kill the specter of DeStruct once and for all."

Andy nodded and pulled him in for a hug, "Well yeah, but how? I've been trying to get him to do that for a while but he just fights it."

Stinger ruefully chuckled. "So did I. But you finally got through to me. You'll get through to him too. I have faith in you." He cocked his head. "He really blamed the tumor on himself?"

"He literally is blaming everything on himself. He thinks he's cursed and that anyone who comes in contact with him will get hurt or die."

Stinger shook his head in amazement. "And I thought I was bad. Someone's got to knock some sense into him. Starting to think quite literally."

Andy smirked, "You can knock some sense into him, then I'll heal him if he gets hurt."

Stinger chuckled. "He going to be okay? I talked to Raptor and she said he'd been drinking the coffee ever since she released him this morning. Do you think he took the pills all at once or was he spacing them out?"

Andy shook her head, "He was drinking coffee to try to stay awake. I don't understand why he'd take them slowly and the coffee if it would just counteract each other..." She sighed, "I don't know what he's thinking outside of blaming himself. He will be fine in a bit though. Wondering if I should restrain him? But he hates them. But if it helps protect him..."

Stinger nodded. "Better do it. If he's that determined, he could get into something in there while everyone's busy. Wouldn't even know until one of you went in. As far as the pills go, he may have not wanted to raise suspicion. We know he drinks a lot of coffee so we wouldn't think it was weird."

Raptor suddenly appeared. "I believe I found out why he did this."

Andy looked confused, "What did you find?"

"I checked his computer logs. He's been looking for the weapons with no success. About an hour ago, this story was reported on the system." She showed them the report.

"Planet Damara Five. All inhabitants dead. One survivor died after reporting seeing a bright yellow flash of light right before the whole planet started attacking each other. They killed each other. Violently."

"The beam didn't work like that on anyone else... So either they changed something or their DNA reacted differently..." Andy sighed. "I have an idea that could help us find the beams but I'm going to need help. Too bad Naga and Balance aren't here..."

Raptor said softly "Damara Five was an ocean based planet. They resembled eels."

Stinger asked "Should I call them?"

Andy thought for a second, "See what they are doing and if they are far from us. I can try to start working on it though." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Let's keep heading to the Iruka system. Not entirely for me, but if there's a chance they have any kind of healing techniques, it might come in helpful for helping with beam attacks."

Stinger nodded and headed down the hall.

"What should I do?" Raptor kept glancing through the half open door. "He's awake."

Andy rubbed her hand on her forehead. She remembered her clone who was still in the infirmary, "My clone can talk to him. You can help me get started on seeing if my idea will work."

The clone approached Kiba, "Hey."

He refused to meet her eyes. "I guess you're pretty disappointed in me."

Andy sighed, "I'm just worried about you and want to help."

He laughed bitterly. "How can you help an entire planet dead? A weapon designed for me just _killed an entire planet_. Still going to tell me it's not my fault?" He yanked on the restraints angrily.

"It's **not** your fault," Andy said plainly. "Shocker created the weapon. Shocker spread the weapon. It's their fault. The _only_ way it would be your fault was if you willingly went and shot them with the beam yourself. And I'm sorry about the restraints, I just don't want you hurting yourself..."

"Shocker wouldn't even be in this universe if it wasn't for me!" He hissed, tears beginning to run down his cheeks. "If I hadn't stolen that chip... Shocker wouldn't have come here."

"Stop blaming yourself for everything! You can't change what you did! You have to find a way to accept it and move on. You can't analyze every decision you've ever made and try to make connections to bad things that happened! You're literally just blaming yourself for living. People make mistakes! _Any _choice a person makes can affect others! Even in small ways! So you know what you can do? You can get your shit together and make good choices. Choose to help people. Choose to keep fighting. Don't let Shocker win by giving in. Don't let DeStruct win by giving in. Be Kiba! You define who you are. You can make yourself anything you want to be. You have the chance to help people. Don't just throw it away." Andy's clone disappeared from beside him.

_Choosing to steal that chip to protect you guys alerted Shocker to this universe, _he sent the thought to her. _Still trust my choices? Plus, I'm only alive because Tsukasa saved me after I destroyed my OOO. I was dying and he saved me. I shouldn't be alive at all._

Andy growled, _Yes I trust your choices. I've told you before, I trust you with my life. I'd trust you with Hammy, and Stinger, and Azra too. Don't forget, Stinger, Daiki, and I shouldn't be here either. But we're trying to make the most of our second chances. _Andy looked up from the screen she and Raptor were staring at. She looked over at Stinger, "I might have yelled at him... If you don't want to knock sense into him, I will gladly do so. But I think you should try because I'd probably just beat him up for being dumb and not actually help him."

Stinger fought a smile. "I'll try. But if he pisses me off I'm using my tail." He stood and left the bridge.

Andy looked back at Raptor and continued working.

Kiba took a deep breath and tried once more to pull his hand out of the restraint. He growled a Scorpius curse as nothing happened. He lay his head back and tried to formulate a way out. If he could just get free….

Stinger entered the infirmary and sat down next to Kiba. "I heard Andy yelled at you. She's really calmed down a lot over the years because you get yelled at a lot less than I did."

Kiba gave him a sideways glance. "Not sure I believe that. She seems to yell a lot."

"She at least can talk calmly with you. I feel like all she ever did was yell. Though looking back, I probably deserved it."

Kiba looked at the ceiling. "Why doesn't she understand? I did the things I did because I enjoyed being a weapon. I was proud to be a part of Shocker. When I found out the truth, my whole existence became an evil. Something that needs to be purged so it doesn't corrupt the universe."

"Because when you found out, you knew you'd done wrong. She can tell if a person is good or not. I wondered for the longest time why she ever wanted to be with me because I didn't see anything good in me. But she did. She saw the good, even if it was hidden under all the darkness. And that goodness is what she fights for. No matter how much you try to convince her otherwise, or how much you piss her off, she's going to keep fighting for the goodness she sees in you."

"There's no way I can escape the feeling I have to die to fix everything. That planet died because of a weapon that was designed to kill me. I try to do the right thing and people die because of it. I want it to end."

"They could have created any other weapon and wiped those people out. And you've died four times. Don't you think that's enough payment for the sins you're convinced you've committed?" Stinger sighed, "We all feel bad that the people died. We all could have done things differently and tried to save them. But it's done. But you know what Andy is doing? She's working on something to find the beams. She's still going to the Iruka system, but more than to help herself, she's trying to find ways to help the people hit with the beams. She's the most selfless person I've ever met. And even though I was in a dark place, thinking the only option was to die, she came and saved me. And since then I strive to be as selfless as she is. I know we can't save everyone. She knows she can't save everyone. But that's not going to stop her from trying. The people on that planet dying was not your fault, but even if you are convinced it is, wouldn't you rather try to find the beams and try to take them out and save the other planets than to just die and let them kill countless other people?"

"I've been looking all day. Then the planet was reported. I couldn't do anything." He locked eyes with the scorpion. "How many innocent people have you killed? I've killed eleven active riders, two retired and one sidekick. And I enjoyed it. You say I've died four times? How does that stack up to fourteen people who fought to help people? And I keep coming back instead of atoning for those killings." He paused. "No. Not killings. Murders. How can Andy care about a murderer?"

"Like I said, she sees the good in you and fights for it. If you keep coming back, maybe it's a sign your atonement is meant to be something other than your death?"

Kiba sighed. "Maybe you're right. Does the darkness ever disappear?"

Stinger nodded, "Things don't automatically become perfect. But if you fill your life with enough light, it pushes away the dark. Andy was a big part of that light for me. Other things have helped too, like my friends, you included. And now we have Azra. Once you get used to the light, it also becomes easier to make your own."

Kiba smiled softly. "I feel free with Hammy. I don't think I can stay in one place forever, but I think she just might be _my_ light."

"And I know you're a big part of her light too. Though, she's always been a pretty bright person on her own, but everyone has some amount of darkness to work through."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Never seen any darkness in her. Maybe mine was just too dark to see through." He yawned. "Tired, but afraid to sleep. Any chance I can get any coffee?"

Stinger shook his head, "I don't think either of them would let you have any. If you want, I could try to wake you if you had a nightmare? Though I'm sure Andy is a lot better at it, seeing as she can actually get into it. I'm sure she'd come sit with you if you wanted."

Kiba gave a small smile. "Isn't the reason you're here because she was too pissed to see straight? I think I'm the last person she wants to see at the moment..."

"She gets pissed but it's a sign she cares. And if you needed help, you should know she'd put aside her anger and help you," Stinger answered. "Honestly, I also think her head hurts right now, so the yelling she was doing probably didn't help. She might have left to try to get some quiet."

Kiba looked ashamed. "I'm worried about her."

Stinger sighed, "I am too. She told me she had found abnormal scans a long while ago but I tried to be hopeful. I started noticing some of the symptoms she'd mentioned, but I still was hopeful there would be a way to help her. I'm not out of hope yet, but I'm a little discouraged the doctors at headquarters couldn't help. I thought maybe they'd know of something she didn't or that she'd have read her scans wrong... But I think she's been hiding exactly how serious it was even from me. I just hope there's something we can find to help her."

Kiba nodded. "All that and she's spending time fixing my stupid ass. If I could smack myself right now, I would. Tell her I'm sorry will ya?"

Stinger chuckled, "You know she'd rather be spending time helping you, or anyone, rather than worrying about herself."

Kiba laughed. "Yeah. But I'm still sorry."

Stinger gave him a soft smile, "Get some rest. I'll tell her so she can come help you if you get nightmares."

Kiba nodded drowsily, eyes starting to close.

Andy looked up when Stinger entered the bridge. "Did you call the thieves? Because I think we may have figured it out without them. Though if they do come it'll help us take out the beams."

"They'll be here in the morning." He grinned. "I _may_ have gotten through to problem child finally. He's half zonked, but asked for coffee because he doesn't want to sleep. Told him you'd help him if he needed it."

Andy nodded, "I hope you got through to him." She turned to Raptor, "Do you think we can make something that permanently disrupts the frequency of the beams? Because that might be easier than having to actually fight and destroy them..."

Raptor was quiet a moment, "Maybe. But let's make sure the findings for this are accurate first."

Andy nodded, "Keep working on it a bit. I'm going to see if Kiba needs help. We can pick back up in the morning when Balance and Naga are here to help."

Raptor gave a small salute, "Okyu."

Andy looked at Stinger, "Do you want to know how what we are making works or just know when it does work?"

"Just let me know when it works. The sooner we take these out, the better."

Andy nodded before kissing him. "I guess I'll be in the infirmary if you need me."

He grinned. "Where else?"

Andy entered the infirmary quietly, noticing Kiba's eyes were closed. She sat in the chair next to him and closed her own eyes for a moment.

Kiba could feel the darkness trying to approach and forced his eyes open. He tried to stay quiet when he saw Andy with her eyes closed. But when his headache spiked, he let out an involuntary whimper.

Andy opened her eyes and spoke softly, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Kiba grimaced. "Didn't mean to wake you. Just a headache. Don't worry about it."

Andy shook her head, "I wasn't asleep anyway." She moved the chair closer to him, held her hands up, and started trying to help his headache.

"Headache's my own fault. There's a reason I don't use telepathy much. I'm only mildly gifted at it. Use it too much and I end up like this."

"It doesn't bother you when I use my jutsu to send you thoughts or memories, does it?"

He shook his head gently. "Only the other way around. Tsukasa suspects it's because of the portal gift not really being mine. That I can easily receive but not send." He smiled. "Something like that anyway."

Andy pulled her hands away, "How are you feeling now?"

He gave her a soft smile. "Better. You should go get some sleep."

Andy sighed, "I am kind of tired... But I want to help you if you need it. How about I sleep on one of the other infirmary beds? That way I get to rest but can still help you?"

"If you want. Doubt I'm sleeping though. What Stinger called 'the inner darkness' is trying to worm its way in again. And I refuse to let it. I'm done with that."

"Ok, but you still need sleep..."

"I'll be fine. Go to sleep."

Andy shook her head, "Not until you do. And I can tell if you're faking."

Kiba grinned. "First of all, I'm not the one who plans on taking Shocker on tomorrow. Before you ask, yes I was listening in. Another reason for the headache. And two, I'm just going to count the ceiling tiles all night. No need for you not to rest just because I can't. Been dealing with this for years now."

Andy got up and got in the cabinet. She got a tiny dose of sedative into a syringe and moved back over, stabbing it in his arm. "We might not take on Shocker tomorrow, but we _should _be able to track the beams. So it depends on how far they are."

"Ow. That hurt…" He complained drowsily.

Andy chuckled and took a moment to heal up the spot she gave him the shot in. "Sorry. Get some rest."

He pouted, but quickly drifted off.

Andy took a pain med before locking up the cabinet. She laid on one of the other beds before falling asleep.

When she woke, she noticed the time. It was really early morning. She doubted that even Stinger would be up yet. She got on her tablet and scanned through the blueprints for the beams, still sitting in a bed in the infirmary in case Kiba needed her. Shishi appeared after a while and after greeting her, the cat went and laid on top of Kiba's chest. Andy chuckled and went back to trying to focus.

Kiba blinked his eyes open to see Shishi staring at him. He grinned at her. "Sorry I can't pet you right now." Her ears twitched and he got the feeling she was annoyed with him. "I know, I know. It was stupid, what I did. I'm sorry, okay?" She head-butted him gently and he rubbed his face on her fur. "Asuka is fine by the way. Think she scares Tsukasa." Shishi curled up by his neck and he sighed.

"How are you feeling?" Andy asked quietly.

Kiba looked over at her. "Physically, fine. Mentally, worn out. I feel lighter somehow though. Like a weight that was crushing me is gone." He shook his head. "I don't know. Brain's so weird."

"Maybe just take a few days to get your mind a bit better? You could go visit Hammy and see if that helps?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Have to see this through. Put these beams down for good. I'll see her after." He shifted position and raised an eyebrow. "Can you take these off? I have some physical things I need to take care of. I swear I'm not going to do something stupid."

Andy got up off the bed and grabbed the keys. She struggled to steady her hand to get the key into the hole but eventually she got it unlocked. "Once Balance and Naga get here, we'll finish up what we're working on and can hopefully track the beams."

He sat up slowly, rubbing his wrists. He climbed off the bed and headed for the bathroom. When he returned, he sat down on the bed and looked at her. "Can I help? Please?" He absently petted Shishi as he waited for her answer.

"Yeah. I'll explain everything when they get here," Andy gave a soft smile. "Until then, do you want to get some breakfast?"

He gave her a smile. "Yeah."

Andy pushed herself back off the bed and headed out into the hallway. She glanced back to make sure he was following. She took a second to make sure she was fine after a moment of dizziness. "Anything sound good? Or do you just want me to cook whatever's easiest?"

"Whatever won't make you too tired out. You're the smart one with the plan. We need your brain."

Andy rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. She entered the kitchen and started looking through the fridge.

He looked at her. "Maybe I should cook instead."

"I'm not useless you know," Andy pulled a few things out. "I can still do stuff. Not everything makes me tired."

He took her hands. "I know you're not useless. Just don't want you wearing yourself out. You're always there for me, I want to be there for you." He grabbed a few things out. "Just let me cook, okay? Unless you're afraid I'll poison you or something." He teased her with a smile.

Andy chuckled, "I guess you can cook." She sat down at the table, "You know how I like to do everything myself. I just hate realizing I can't do it all. Though that's not going to stop me from trying..."

Kiba chuckled. "Control freak." He began mixing ingredients.

"I'm only a little bit of a control freak," she smirked. She smiled when Stinger entered the kitchen, "Morning, love."

"Morning." He gave her a kiss, then watched Kiba cook. "Sure that's a wise idea?"

"I heard that." Kiba didn't look up, a smile on his lips. "Be nice or I'll poison your breakfast."

Stinger stuck his tongue out, then turned to Andy. "Balance and Naga will be here in an hour."

She nodded, "And how long until we get to the Iruka system?"

"Two days."

Andy nodded again. "Well hopefully we won't take too long with the tracking system, then we can see where the beams are and how many, then if there's any close we can take them out first."

Kiba brought breakfast out, setting it in front of them with a teasing grin. "Extra poison in the scorpion's portion."

Andy chuckled before starting to eat.

Stinger rolled his eyes, then did the same.

Kiba sat down with his own plate. "How big will the tracking system be?"

"Do you mean how far out it can track? It depends on how magical Balance is, honestly."

"More like will it only work on the ship? Or could it be handheld? Like someone could scout separate locations with it?" At her look, he shook his head. "Not planning anything suicidal. Just curious."

"We might be able to upload it to the voyagers, but I doubt we could have a handheld one with enough power. I figure if we find they are located near any of our team, we can see if they are available to take it out. And unless Balance and Naga have other plans, I figure we can maybe send them off to take a few out too. That is, if there's actually a lot of beams over here. They might not have sent too many."

Kiba nodded as he chewed. "Hopefully." He looked at Stinger. "Bachelor party? Really?"

Stinger grinned. "Oh yeah. And we're going to record it and show it at the reception."

Kiba looked over at Andy. "Are you going to let him actually do this to me?"

Andy smirked, "It sounds fun and I want to see it. So, yes."

Kiba sighed dramatically. "I'm doomed."

"At least you guys have some ideas. I don't know if Hammy wants a bachelorette party, but even still there's only three of us girls, unless we invite others like Naomi. Not sure if she wants wedding at home or on the ship? Or somewhere else?"

"Ask her? And I'm sure I could get at least one more girl." Kiba chuckled as he took the dishes to the sink.

"Yeah. As soon as we get done with this beam business and go back home, we'll start planning all the details," Andy answered.

Kiba grinned. "I'm all for that, although I still can't believe I actually popped the question."

"Yeah, dying definitely helps push things like that forward," Andy chuckled. "I'm really happy for you guys."

He kissed her cheek. "You better be there too." He whispered in her ear before leaving the kitchen.

Andy sighed before looking at Stinger, "Have there been any more reports on beam activity?"

Stinger shook his head. "Think Damara Five was a trial run. But things may happen soon."

She nodded, "Hopefully our trip to the Iruka system doesn't take too long..."

Stinger gave her a smile. "Stay positive, beautiful. I love you."

"I love you too. It's just a little hard to stay positive when my head is pounding, you know?" She rubbed her forehead, "At least the pain meds help a bit."

"Why don't you take a nap? I'll wake you if we need you. I'm sure Raptor can brief our thieves when they get here." He gave her a kiss, then frowned. "Where did he go?"

Andy sighed, "I don't know, probably looking into trying to find the beams. Also, even though he could portal anywhere else and get some, all of the medical cabinets are locked up just in case..."

Stinger nodded. "Gonna go find him just in case. You go sleep." He headed out the door.

Kiba stretched under the shower spray, letting it run on his head and neck. After a few minutes, he decided it wasn't helping and turned it off. Stepping out, he dressed slowly and sat down on the bed. Looking at the computer, he considered starting another search and just as fast vetoed the idea. His head couldn't deal with a screen right now. He sighed and lay back, rubbing his temples.

The door chimed and he groaned softly. "It's open."

Stinger popped his head in. "You okay?" He eyed the rider critically. "You don't look good."

Kiba chuckled, then grimaced. "Just a headache. Self-inflicted. Nothing to worry about. Need something or just being watchdog over me?"

Stinger gave him a half grin. "Just making sure you weren't doing anything I'd have to kick your ass for later."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Great. Now I have three dads."

Stinger laughed. "Hope you feel better." He closed the door.

Kiba smiled to himself for a minute before staring up at the ceiling.

Stinger went looking for Andy.

Andy sat at the table a bit longer, her mind busy worrying about Kiba and the beams. She felt like with every movement she made the headache got worse. Finally, though, she stood and made her way to the hall. She felt like the hallway was spinning, walls enclosing on her. She stood still trying to get the feeling to stop but it didn't help. She tried leaning against a wall for support but she just slid down it onto the floor. She tried to push herself back up, but she suddenly fell forward, falling unconscious.

Stinger walked down the hallway. He spied Andy on the floor and ran to her side, calling for Raptor through the com. He gently turned her over. "Andy? Beautiful, open your eyes for me."

When he got no response, he picked her up and headed for the infirmary.

He was laying her down when Raptor arrived.

"What happened?" The android began to scan her.

Stinger shook his head. "I found her like this in the hall. It's the tumor isn't it?"

Raptor looked at the scans, "Probably. I'll give her some medicines and see if they help." She moved to one of the cabinets and unlocked it. After grabbing a few things out, she locked it back up. After Raptor injected them into Andy's arm, she added, "She just needs rest. She will probably wake up soon though."

Stinger nodded slowly, then checked the time. "Balance and Naga are due any minute. I need you to brief them quickly, then they can get to work."

"Okyu," Raptor headed out of the infirmary.

Stinger pulled a chair out and sat down, taking one of Andy's hands. He sat silently watching her.

After a while he felt her lightly squeeze his hand.

"Beautiful?" Stinger sat up from his doze. "Are you awake?"

Andy struggled to push her eyes open, "What happened?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I found you unconscious in the hall."

She sighed, "I'm sorry."

Stinger brushed her bangs out of the way. "Why are you apologizing?"

"For not being strong enough. I'm becoming useless," tears welled up in her eyes.

Stinger glared at her. "You're not useless. You just need to rest. Raptor is briefing our thieves.

I'm going to warp the rest of the way to the Iruka system." He kissed her forehead. "Just rest okay?"

Andy wiped at one of her eyes, "I should be helping them."

Stinger shook his head firmly. "You are staying here and resting. I'll have Raptor restrain you if you even try to get up."

She took a deep breath, "Okay..."

He kissed her again. "Good girl. Get some sleep." He stood and left quietly.

Andy blinked sleepily before finally closing her eyes to rest more.

Stinger reached the bridge and approached Raptor in the navigation seat. "Our thieves busy working?"

Raptor nodded. "Balance said it would be at least a couple of hours."

Stinger nodded. "Please hit warp. I want to get to the Iruka system as soon as possible."

"Okyu." She pressed the button and they watched the stars zoom by.

Andy wasn't entirely asleep when she heard the door open. She opened her eyes slowly to see who had entered.

Kiba smiled at her. "Heard what happened. How are you feeling?"

"Tired but a bit better. Probably because of whatever Raptor gave me."

"You gave Stinger quite a scare." He sat down next to her.

"All I remember is he told me to get sleep, so I was heading to our room. My headache was pretty bad so maybe that did it?"

Kiba nodded. "Probably. Good thing he found you so fast."

Andy nodded and glanced at the time. She frowned, realizing she didn't even remember what time they ate, so she didn't know how long she'd been out. "Are Balance and Naga here?"

"Yeah. They're already working on the tracker designs. Won't know if it works for at least a few hours. Don't worry."

Andy sighed, "I hate this."

Kiba huffed. "I know you do. Just let us take care of this alright?"

"I want to help but Stinger threatened to restrain me. And I'm not sure I have the energy to make a clone to break myself out," she chuckled sadly.

Kiba gave a soft laugh. "Don't look at me. I just got off his shit list. I am not going back on so soon."

"Better to be on his shit list than mine," Andy gave a tired smirk. "But I think I will rest a bit more."

Kiba leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You don't have a stinger. But I'm glad you're okay."

She gave a soft smile before closing her eyes. She was fast asleep within seconds.

Kiba stood quietly and headed back to his room. Resting sounded good to him too.

When Andy woke a while later, she was feeling a lot better. A little weak still but good enough to get up. She pushed herself out of the bed and made her way to the bridge. Everyone looked up when she entered. She smiled at the thieves, "How's it going?"

"Great!" Balance said happily. "We just finished up."

"Good," Andy nodded.

Stinger glared at her. "Didn't I tell you to rest?"

"I did rest, so I did what you told me to." She looked at him, "I'm feeling a lot better right now."

He frowned, but didn't say anything more.

Raptor brought the Orion out of warp. "The Iruka system."

Andy looked out the window trying to get a view of any planets around. She finally spotted one and smiled. "Let's try the tracker first, then I can go explore the planet. What's the planet's name?"

"Eshana." Stinger looked unhappy. "You're not going down alone."

"Well, I didn't think you'd let me go alone," Andy sighed. "Balance? The tracker?"

Balance nodded and pulled up the map, "Using different satellites that we hacked into, we've been able to reach about the entirety of the 88 constellations." He pressed another button.

Naga pointed at the dots, "There's six devices that have appeared."

Andy nodded, "Six isn't terrible..."

Stinger nodded. "With any luck, we'll be able to destroy them easily."

Andy stared up at the map, "There's one not far from Lucky. And there's another near Champ and Kotaro. So if they handle them, we'll just have four left."

"I'll contact them before we go down to Eshana." Stinger smiled at her softly. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

She sighed, "Well, I'm not at 100% but I'm probably the closest I can get right now. Better go now than wait for something worse to happen, you know?"

"Alright. Let's go." Stinger took her hand and kissed her.

After calling the others, they headed to the voyager bay. They climbed into the Iruka voyager and started heading to the planet. Andy watched as bright blue oceans became clearer in her view. She found an area of land and quickly descended. There were a few trees, but most of the island was sandy beaches.

"It's so pretty. This would be a great place to take a vacation," Andy smiled over at Stinger.

"I agree. Makes Atria look cheap."

"We should bring Azra here. We've been so busy lately, we've never taken her on a real vacation," Andy sighed.

She started walking toward the trees, finally seeing some buildings in the distance. "Maybe we should have actually looked a bit more into the planet records before landing. I wonder how many people even live here."

"Fifteen hundred last census. They are tribal, matriarchal and extremely protective of their dolphins. They are also known for their healing abilities." Stinger recited as they walked with a smile.

Andy nodded, "Thanks. I hope we get to see some of these dolphins." Soon, a few women approached. Two were young, followed by an older woman. All three were dressed in skirts and flower prints.

The older woman had light grey hair and a little crown made of purple flowers. She finally spoke, "You are kyurangers, aren't you?"

Andy nodded, "Yes."

"It's been a long time since we've seen any of you. There was someone asking about a kyutama. I hope it's been of use for you," she said kindly.

Andy smiled, "Yes it has," she pulled it from her pocket.

The woman nodded, "How can we be of help to you?"

Andy glanced at Stinger before looking back at the women, "I've come to learn more about the kyutama and its healing properties."

"Come to our village, and then I can take you to the temples," The old woman turned before the other two turned and followed her.

Andy looked at Stinger again, "Well, I'm really glad this is a friendly planet."

Stinger grinned. "After you." He looked at her closely. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed, "Tired. But other than that I'm fine for right now." She reached for his hand before she started walking. "Also just a little nervous, but I'm always like that on new planets, even if they are friendly."

Stinger chuckled. "I'm the same way." He admired the calm ocean as they walked. "Maybe we should drag our problem child down here. He might relax."

Andy laughed, "I could always sedate him and just drop him on the beach if he argues against it."

Stinger stopped and bent over in laughter. "It would serve him right for all the grief he causes."

Andy smiled as she noticed huts set out in a line on each side of the walkway. At the end there were a few larger buildings.

They followed the women into one and noticed there were other people sitting around eating. The older woman went and sat on a chair at the front of the room before looking at the pair, "There once was a beautiful woman, who became our leader. Though we've always been known for healing, she went above and beyond what any of the others could do. She spent years finding new techniques which have helped our people ever since. She grew old and when she passed, she became the dolphin in the sky that protects our planet." She smiled at Andy, "Though we do not normally teach our techniques to people from other places, if the kyutama has helped you, I know she would want you to learn them too." After a moment the old woman chuckled, "Where are my manners? I'm Evian, the current leader of our village. I'm just so happy to see the kyutama again. May I?"

Andy glanced at Stinger before handing the kyutama over. Evian turned it gently in her hand and smiled at it like it was an old friend. A few moments later she held it out for Andy to take back.

"I'm Andy. And this is Stinger," she smiled as she retrieved the kyutama.

Evian smiled, "The answers you are looking for are through there," she pointed to a doorway. "The temples have books and stories. I have a feeling the kyutama will help guide you."

Andy looked at her confused for a second but nodded and headed to the doorway. She glanced back and noticed Stinger following her. Evian spoke up, "Ah, you can't go. Only she can."

Andy gave Stinger a nervous smile, "I'll be back eventually."

Stinger sighed. "I love you. Be careful."

Andy headed through the door and noticed three temples. She looked through the first one which had bright paintings on the walls and ceilings. It told a bit of the planets history and their connection to the dolphins. The second temple had books which gave details into some of their healing methods. Andy pulled out her notebook and took a few notes, though most of what they had here were things that she had learned elsewhere. Finally, she made it to the third temple which was almost entirely empty. There was a cushion in the middle but nothing else. She looked around, wondering if she missed something, but she jumped when she heard speaking behind her, "Sit."

Andy looked back and noticed a woman who was almost see-through. She was glowing the same color as Andy's kyutama, and finally she realized her kyutama was now on the floor in front of her glowing.

"Don't worry," the woman spoke softly, "Just sit."

"Who are you?"

"Mariana. I'm the one dear Evian told you about."

Andy sat down to listen.

"I had always been a medic, as many of the women on my planet are. But I lost my love, unable to save him from the disease that took over his body. After that, I spent years trying to find ways to prevent it from happening again. I found a way to revive the dead. It's not something to take lightly, controlling life and death."

Andy finally spoke up, "So you've been the one bringing us back?"

Mariana smiled, "Yes, I have. And I know your next question. We can't save everyone, and your brother had accepted his fate. I don't hear everything you say, but I do recall something about it being an honorable death to die for your village. You also had to learn to accept that you can't save everyone. I know it's a hard truth, but it's something you needed to accept."

Andy took a deep breath but nodded, "What about Kiba?"

"He's a complicated case, but I could probably bring him back, if need be."

"Then why haven't you any of the times he's died?" Andy tried to stay calm.

"The first time I was unsure if I should. After that, I knew the serum would kick in."

Andy frowned but nodded and let it go.

"The reason you can't bring someone back without my help, is that you only have access to your own energy. You know how to control your energy and use it to heal. But at your best, you only have one hundred percent energy. To bring someone back, you need more than that."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "How is that possible?"

"Close your eyes, and focus. You know how to feel the energy of the people around you. Feel the energy in everything else. The air, the planet, the plants. You need to learn to draw on that energy and control it." Mariana added, "If you can learn this, you will also be able to heal yourself."

"Why teach me this? You said it's not something to take lightly, can I be trusted with that kind of power?"

"I've seen you work the last few years. Ever since you received the kyutama I could tell there was something about you that I liked. You've come a long way and now I trust your decisions."

Andy nodded slowly, "Thank you."

"Now focus. It could come to you quickly; it could take longer. At least you have the knowledge of how to use the energy so it will be a lot easier for you to control it. Just take time and try to gather the energy from around you."

For the next few hours, Andy sat there with her eyes closed, trying to focus on the energy as well as fight the exhaustion creeping over her. Eventually Mariana spoke up, "You're getting it. Keep working on it, I know you'll perfect it."

Andy opened her eyes and looked up at the speaking form. "Is there anything else you can teach me?"

Mariana shook her head, "You've already come up with your own ideas on how to treat different problems. If something new arrives, I know you'll be able to figure it out." She reached out and held her hand over Andy's head. After a minute she pulled her hand away, smiling, "I'm always here with you, in the kyutama. You're never completely alone, just remember that." She disappeared, leaving Andy sitting in silence.

Andy still felt tired but pushed herself up and headed back to where Stinger was. She smiled when she finally spotted him. "Have you been having fun?"

"Too worried about you. Are you alright?" He gave her a concerned look.

"Yeah. Just learning a lot," she admitted.

Evian smiled and spoke up, "She's a great teacher, isn't she? I miss her greatly."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Did you know her?"

Evian's eyes sparkled, "My grandmother."

Andy smiled softly, "Thank you for all of your help."

"Any time, child. Be safe on your travels."

Andy nodded and looked back at Stinger, "Are you ready?"

He nodded and turned to Evian. "Thank you very much for your hospitality."

Evian smiled in response.

Andy took Stinger's hand, "Let's get back to the ship." She started walking toward the voyager.

"You don't want to see the dolphins? We don't have to rush away."

Andy sighed, "I do want to see them, but we have other things to take care of right now, like the beams." She looked out at the water, "After Hammy and Kiba get married, I think we'll take Azra with us so they can have some time alone. She'll be old enough to stay alone in the room by then too. We can bring her here and all see the dolphins together. You know she'd be happy to learn about another kind of animal."

He chuckled. "New tail to copy. Alright, let's go."

Andy looked thoughtful, "I wonder if she could change a bit to breathe underwater?" She climbed up into her voyager.

"Don't tempt her. Hard enough to get her out of the bath as it is." Stinger cracked as he climbed in after her.

After lifting off, Andy looked back at the planet one more time before heading to the Orion. She landed safely in the voyager bay. "Let's see if the others had any luck taking out their beams. Then we can set course to the closest one." She sighed, "After that, I'll be in the infirmary working on stuff."

Stinger looked at her. "Maybe you should get some sleep first?"

She blinked at him sleepily, "I'll be fine, I promise."

He frowned. "I don't want a replay of what happened in the hall."

"Look, I am really tired but everything else feels fine. I think it was probably the headache that made me pass out," she answered before sighing, "Alright, maybe a little nap. But I do want to check on the beams first."

Stinger gave her a smile. "Alright."

Andy started down the hall, heading for the bridge. She smiled when she noticed Raptor, "Anything happen while we were gone?"

"Lucky reported the beam near him destroyed. Waiting on Champ and Kotaro to report in."

"Have you seen Kiba? I figured he would have been up by now," Andy glanced around the bridge.

Raptor shook her head. "I haven't seen him since you released him."

Andy frowned and headed out of the bridge, down the hallway to his room. She knocked on the door and waited for a response. After not receiving one, she sighed and unlocked the door. She saw him asleep on the bed, so she went over and sat by him. "Kiba? Wake up."

After another try with no response she scanned over him. His brain was still active, but wasn't functioning at its normal level.

She knew she was too tired to help him with just her own energy so she closed her eyes and focused, like she had done down on the planet. After drawing in the energy she could, she opened her eyes back up, her normal blue eyes now glowing the same color her hands did. She worked on trying to speed up his brain function and heartbeat to try to wake him.

He twitched, his eyes beginning to move under his eyelids slowly. He groaned, then blinked them open. "Andy? What's happening?"

She kept her hands out, trying to make sure everything was back to normal, "You weren't waking. It seemed almost like a coma."

He squeezed his eyes shut, then reopened them. "Last thing I remember was coming back here after visiting you in the infirmary. I was really tired and the headache wasn't going away. So I decided to see if resting a little would help."

She frowned, "Still the headache from doing psychic stuff? Or something else?"

He shook his head. "I thought from the psychic stuff. But I've overdone it before and the headache usually only lasts a few hours. But with everything else, it could have been aggravated more. I don't know."

He sighed and looked at her. "How are you doing?"

She thought for a moment, "Your body has had a lot going on, and with the psychic thing, if you were in my mind, your headache probably only would have gotten worse," she chuckled softly. "I'm ok. Have to go do some tests in the infirmary, but I think things will be fine."

He smiled. "I hope so. Have you been down to Eshana yet?"

"Yeah. We are going to come back sometime to see the dolphins. It's such a lovely planet," Andy sighed happily.

He grinned. "Yeah it is. Evian still running things?"

"Yes! She's so nice. When did you go there?"

"Several years ago. I was hurt in a fight. Ended up portaling there by accident. She helped me recover."

"That's probably one of the best planets to land on if you're hurt," Andy smirked.

He chuckled. "Yeah." He sat up and took a deep breath. "Any word on the beams?"

"Oh yeah," Andy remembered. "The tracker works. We tracked six beam devices. Lucky already took one out. Champ and Kotaro were going to take another one out but we haven't heard back yet. Then there's just the four left we need to take care of."

He looked at her in amazement. "How long _was_ I out for?"

"Well, I was asleep for a while. Then we were on the planet at least probably four or five hours..." Andy shrugged.

Kiba shook his head, then quickly stopped. "Bad idea." He grimaced for a minute, then began to stand. "What are we waiting for then?"

"I can help your head feel better if you want. Or at the very least get you a pain pill if you want it."

He sat down shakily. "Not sure which would be better." He rubbed his temples. "This is definitely not like the other times."

"I'm sorry if it was somehow my headache making yours worse," Andy sighed before closing her eyes. She gathered up energy again before starting to try to heal him. Her hands and eyes glowed again. "I definitely need a nap soon."

He shook his head slowly. "Don't think it's your fault. Think something's wrong. I've felt off since I got hit with the beam during the factory mission. I tried to ignore it, thinking it was just exhaustion and stress, but now I don't know."

She frowned, "Is my healing making it any better?"

"Yeah. It is down to a dull ache from feeling like my head was being squeezed in a vise. Tired as hell though…" His eyes began closing.

"Hey, stay with me just a couple more minutes..." Andy grabbed his arm, "Let's get you to the infirmary, then you can sleep and I can do tests to see what's going on. Okay?"

He forced his eyes open. "I'm awake..."

She rolled her eyes, "Come on then," she pulled him up off the bed, "Lean on me if you have to."

He chuckled as they left the room, heading for the infirmary.

When they got there, she helped him onto a bed. "Ok, let's both nap. Then I'll get up and start running tests, then we can see what's going on with the next beam. I think Raptor set course for it, but I don't know how long it will take to get there." She sat on one of the other beds.

He nodded before falling asleep in seconds.

Andy sighed and laid down, falling asleep soon after. When she woke, she made two clones, one to help her test herself and the other to help her test Kiba. He was still asleep, so she tried to stay quiet.

After a bit, she stared at her newest brain scans trying to figure out what happened. She then remembered Mariana holding her hand out to Andy. "Did you really heal me?" She took a deep breath, wanting to celebrate, but she looked over at Kiba with concern. She could celebrate when they were all alive and healthy.

"Andy? Are you alright?" Stinger stood in the doorway. He glanced over at Kiba. "Why is he here again?"

"I'm great. Except I'm worried about him," she sighed. Her clone that had been helping her vanished while the other was scanning over Kiba again, "He's not really doing well, but I haven't figured out the cause yet."

Stinger walked over to her. "Great? Andy, you were practically dead on your feet a few hours ago. What happened?"

She showed him the newest scan, "It's gone. Mariana, the spirit in my kyutama, healed me."

Stinger looked at it in disbelief. "I..." He raised his eyes to hers, tears threatening to fall.

She smiled and pulled him in for a hug. "I think she healed me while we were down there, but I was still exhausted from it and the training I was doing."

Stinger held her tight. "I was so afraid I was going to lose you…"

She sighed, "I know love. Believe me, I know."

He took a deep breath and pulled away, looking at Kiba. "Is this why he wasn't waiting for us when we landed?"

Andy nodded, "He was basically in a coma. I managed to wake him though, and we talked a little bit before I brought him here. I'm running some tests but so far I haven't figured it out. Though I've only been working on it for about an hour."

Stinger sighed. "Wanted to tell you, Champ called. Scratch another beam off your list."

"How long until we get to our first one?"

"Still two hours away. Good news is it hasn't moved." He kissed her passionately. "I have to report to Shou. Good luck with problem child."

He left the infirmary with a whistle.

Andy smiled a moment before focusing back on analyzing Kiba. An hour later with more tests done, nothing answering why he was feeling so bad. She let her clone keep working while she headed out to take a small break, hoping that maybe a small break would help her figure it out.

She found Stinger in the kitchen making coffee. "Normally the problem is obvious. I'm getting frustrated not being able to find it," she sat down at the table.

He turned on the coffee maker and sat down across from her. "Maybe it's just his body dealing with everything that's happened? I mean the beam messed him up bad, you had to give him a lot of serum to bring him back. Then his stunt with the pills. I'm surprised he was up so quick after that."

Andy's eyes widened, "The serum! I gave him two doses... That could be it, I've never given him more than one at a time... I'll run more tests to look for things the serum could have affected."

Stinger grinned. "Glad I could help." He got up and raised a cup. "Coffee?"

"Sure," she nodded. "Do we have a plan for the mission? Or just running in and hoping we make it out?"

"When have we ever stuck to a plan?" He laughed as he stirred sugar into the coffees. As he sat back down, he sobered. "I haven't the faintest. It would have been easier if they were all together like the factory." He slid her coffee to her.

"Well, I can send an invisible clone in first to check things out?" She took a sip.

"Might be a good idea." He paused, staring at her.

"What?" She noticed his look.

"Just can't believe you're well. I am so happy."

She smiled, "Me too. I just can't fully relax and enjoy it until I know Kiba will be okay, you know?"

He nodded quietly. "Even when he's not trying, he gets into trouble. Did you tell him about the beams yet?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "He was really tired though and wasn't awake long so we didn't talk about them too much." She sighed, "If we ever get him to quit being a problem child, I wonder who will be next? First you, then him, it seems I'm always going to have someone who always gets into trouble."

Stinger laughed. "Probably Azra. Who knows what she's going to be like in her teens." He drank his coffee with a smile.

"I hope she doesn't have your guys' stupidity..." She smirked. "She's probably going to be way bigger when we get back. I hate being away from her because with how fast she grows I feel like I'm missing huge chunks of her childhood."

"I know. It's going to be weird when she hits adulthood." Stinger gave her a look. "I am not stupid… just don't always think straight." He grinned and stood. "I left Raptor in charge of the thieves. Hope she hasn't powered Balance down while I was here."

"Yeah, you better go check on them," Andy chuckled. "Thanks for the coffee break. I should probably go help my clone, it'll get the work done faster."

He bent down and kissed her head. "Don't let him try to pull a fast one with that portal either."

"I don't think he has the energy to portal right now anyway," Andy admitted. She stood and put her cup in the sink before heading back to the infirmary.

"Andy?" Kiba was blinking owlishly at her as she entered. He raised up on one elbow, rubbing the other hand through his hair. "You alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine," she smiled. She glanced over and noticed her clone was analyzing samples in the other room. "How are you feeling?"

"Somewhat better. One advantage to this is no nightmares." He yawned, then sat up. He examined her critically. "You look different..."

"The tumor is gone."

"Really?" He quickly climbed off the bed, a huge grin on his face. "Andy, that's great! We have to celebrate."

She smiled, "We'll celebrate when you're feeling better too, okay?"

He paused, suddenly feeling drained. "What the hell is going on with me anyway?" He moved back to the bed slowly. He sat down and took a deep breath.

She took a moment and focused on what her clone was doing, "I haven't exactly figured it out yet, but the current theory is that it has something to do with the fact that I gave you two doses of serum... but you weren't waking up, so I thought the first dose maybe didn't work..."

"So what does that mean?"

She frowned, "Basically it means in trying to save you I screwed you up..." She took a deep breath before giving a soft smile, "But you know I'm going to do everything in my power to figure it out and fix you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't blame yourself. You had no idea this could happen. And I know you will." He sighed, laying back on the bed. "I need to be on the mission to destroy those beams."

Andy sighed, "I don't want you going anywhere until I've figured this out." She then added, "Champ and Kotaro took one out too, so we just have the four left."

"That's good news." He looked at her. "Don't worry. The very idea of creating a portal makes my head hurt. I won't disappear on you."

"I'm working as fast as I can on this. I know you'll be mad at me, but I might have to keep you from helping us take out the first one if you aren't better, but the other three you hopefully will be able to."

"Not mad. Can't do anything if I can't see or walk straight." He gave a low groan and threw a hand over his eyes.

She got up and headed to the cabinet, unlocked it and got a pain pill out, before locking it back up. She went over and held it out with a cup of water, "Here."

He sat up slowly and took it, then handed the cup back. "Sorry I'm so much trouble."

She shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed, "Don't be sorry. Yeah, you get into some sticky situations, but it's no trouble for me to help you. You're my best friend. You already were like a brother, but now you're actually marrying my sister. I will seriously do anything to help you, even if I have to chase you down to keep you safe for the rest of our lives."

He gave her a small grin. "Remember when you had to heal me the first time? I was surprised that you wanted to be my friend. You didn't even know my past then. Now I'm going to be a part of your family… and I'm still surprised."

Andy smiled, "Well stop being surprised because I'm not going to stop being your friend."

He chuckled, looking up at her. "I think I finally got that in my head." He closed his eyes. "Thanks for always being there."

"You're welcome. Thank you too," she spoke softly. "Sleep now. My clone is in here too, just in the other room, so even if I step out, I'm around here if you need me."

He nodded, then his head lolled to the side.

She frowned and scanned him over, making sure his vitals were still steady. She helped her clone for a couple more minutes before heading out to see how much longer until their mission. She found the others on the bridge talking.

"If it's moving, we have to take it out now." Stinger was pacing, his tail swishing angrily.

"What's going on?" Andy asked worried.

"The beam we were headed for has started to move." Stinger kept pacing. "I think we should try to take it out now, but no one else thinks it will work."

Andy sighed, "So... it's on a ship? I can send a clone and try to blow it up?"

"How do you propose to get aboard?"

Andy looked thoughtful for a moment, "That kyutama that can teleport."

Stinger stops, disbelief on his face. "You're crazy."

"Is that good or bad...?" Andy looked at him quizzically.

"Not sure at the moment. You really think you can do it?"

"At worst, it's just a clone. I know it's not exactly the same, but I have blown up at least two Shocker fortresses..." Andy smiled, "I'm feeling good, so it won't be too hard to control even a few clones if I need to."

Stinger took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's hope the rest stay put. Andy, do whatever is needed to get this going."

She nodded and made two clones. She went and got the kyutama and handed it to one of them before sitting down. They gave Stinger a little salute before going invisible and then activating the kyutama.

He gave a small chuckle and sat down beside Andy. "How is problem child? Do I have to worry he's going to do something stupid?"

"He doesn't feel well enough to do anything stupid," she answered as she closed her eyes. She focused on the clone in there, "He's currently unconscious."

"That bad huh?" Stinger sighed. "At least that's one worry off my mind, though it has now been replaced with another."

"I'm trying to figure it out," Andy sighed. "Even with the serum theory, I haven't been able to pinpoint the problem."

The clones that landed on the Jark Matter ship scouted the area. They found themselves in a hallway and quickly dodged a group of indavers walking by. They headed in separate directions, looking for a control room or the beam. One finally found a control room, but there was a malistrate and ten indavers crowded around in there.

The real Andy looked over at Stinger a moment, "Do you think my other clone could distract them?" She paused a moment, "I wonder how strong their ships defenses are? It might not be bad to just fire on them and see if that blows it up..."

Stinger nodded. "Once we get closer, I was planning to do exactly that." He stood up and touched a console. "In range in about two minutes. I'd feel more comfortable if we had eyes on the beam before I fire though. Just in case we're wrong about this."

Andy looked up at him confused, "Wrong about what? It's a Jark Matter ship, we should just take it out anyway."

"I mean wrong about the beams being on board. In case the tracker didn't work the way you guys thought."

Andy frowned, "Well, it worked with the first two that the others took out. But I guess I'll keep looking."

The clone near the control room watched as much as she could, trying to figure out any plans for their use of the beam. The other clone kept looking for the beam or anything that could be useful for them.

Stinger looked over at the real Andy. "I'm worried that the other two being destroyed alerted Jark Matter. They could have faked the signal moving to try to lure us out."

Balance spoke up, "I don't think they're smart enough to create a fake signal."

Andy chuckled, "Well, I'm still looking. I'll figure it out."

Her clone in the infirmary started to panic, noticing Kiba's vitals were dropping. She took a deep breath and started focusing her energy into him. The real Andy closed her eyes trying to focus on all of the tasks, "Raptor, please go to the infirmary."

"Okyu." The android quickly left the bridge. When she arrived, she quickly assessed the situation. She waited for Andy's instructions.

The clone had her do a few small things before looking over the current data to see if she could find anything Andy was missing. Kiba's vitals still weren't right, but she kept trying to even them out.

The clone on the opposite side of the Jark Matter ship from the control room, saw a light shine into the room she was in. She cursed, realizing it was the same technology they had once to see her clones. She noticed a couple indavers point weapons her direction before she spotted one holding the beam device.

The real Andy clenched her fists and closed her eyes tightly as she felt her clone being unzipped. Her breathing quickened but she finally spoke, "The beam is there."

"Firing." Stinger hit the button.

Seconds later the ship was just floating debris.

Stinger touched Andy's arm. "You okay?"

She jumped slightly at the touch. After taking a deep breath, she stood up, "Probably. I need to get to the infirmary, though, to work on Kiba."

He nodded gravely. "We'll monitor the other locations."

Kiba struggled to open his eyes. Everything felt wrapped in cotton, hazy and washed out. His chest felt tight, his limbs heavy. What was happening to him? He had to open his eyes, to make sure whatever was happening to him wasn't to anyone else.

The real Andy entered the infirmary and looked at Raptor, "Did you find anything yet?"

Raptor nodded sadly. "The chip was overloaded by the serum. It appears to be cumulative though, so it wasn't necessarily the double dose you gave him that caused it. His temperature is now dangerously high."

Andy sighed, "Maybe not, but I've given him at least four or five doses total. He probably wasn't even supposed to be given it once." She moved to his side and let the clone vanish, "I'll figure something out."

Kiba finally forced his body to obey him and opened his eyes. "Andy? Is everyone else okay?"

"Everyone is fine, Kiba. Don't worry." She brushed his hair from his face. "I'm taking care of you, alright?"

"Hot... everything feels heavy. What happened?" His eyes were slightly unfocused as they looked at her. A second later he asked "Is everyone alright?"

She smiled at him sadly, "Everyone and everything is alright." She grabbed a syringe from her bag and gave him a very small dose of sedative, just enough to put him back to sleep. Andy closed her eyes and started focusing on gathering energy, hoping that somehow she could fix the problem. She held her hands out and focused pushing the energy into him.

Raptor noticed the light from Andy's hands was now surrounding Kiba.

"Andy? What is happening?"

Andy opened her eyes, which were glowing too, and looked at Raptor, "Trying to heal him."

"Your eyes... are glowing."

Andy looked at her confused, "Are they? It must be from the new energy thing I learned."

Raptor just nodded slowly.

Andy looked back down at Kiba before closing her eyes again. She took a deep breath when she realized his vitals were holding at a steady level. She was afraid it would drop again soon, so she stopped pushing energy in and just monitored. After a few minutes she pulled her hands away, making the glowing stop. "He seems alright for now, we need to keep an eye on him though."

Raptor nodded, running the scanner over him. "His temperature is back down. He won't survive another spike though. Do you think removing the chip will fix the problem?"

Andy frowned, "Removing it caused problems. Putting it in caused problems. I'm not sure. I'm hoping his body can figure out how to regulate energy and allow us to leave the chip in, because I don't know how he'd do through surgery right now." She pulled up a chair, "I'll stay here with him. You can go see how the beam stuff is going unless you'd rather stay with me."

"I'll see if Stinger needs anything." Raptor left the infirmary.

Kiba stirred, blinking his eyes with a groan. "Anyone get the number of the voyager that hit me?"

Andy rolled her eyes, "Are you at least feeling a bit better?"

"Surprisingly yeah. What did you do?"

"I learned a new healing technique. I tried it. I want to keep an eye on you though. Not that I think you'll get bad again, but just in case." She smiled at him softly.

He returned it as he sat up. "What's happening with the beams?"

"Three of the six have been destroyed."

"Makes me feel even better. Are we going after the others?"

"I don't know if we set course yet, but we will. I was a little distracted trying to keep you alive to stay and figure out what the plan is."

He lost the smile. "It isn't just psychic backlash is it?"

Andy shook her head, "It seems the use of the serum has overloaded the chip. Now, I've got things to a normal level again, and I'm hoping they stay that way, but since it is chip related, that's why I really want to keep an eye on you."

Kiba swore softly, putting his head in his hands. "Let me guess, I'm grounded?"

"Not exactly, but I want you to stay around for a while. If the beams are on ships like this one, we won't need you on the mission anyway. I just sent clones down and once I figured out the beam was there we blew the ship up."

He sighed. "Alright. I'll stay on the ship. Or do you want me to stay here specifically?"

"I just meant the ship. But don't be surprised if I come check on you every couple hours, wherever you are."

He chuckled and stood up. "Understood. I'm going to take a shower so don't send a clone after me okay?"

She nodded, "Just let me know when you are done so I know you didn't drown or something."

He laughed as he headed for the door. "I will. Let's agree to meet in the kitchen in ten? If nothing world ending comes up of course..."

She smiled, "I'll start cooking us something."

He waved as he left.

Andy stopped by the bridge for a minute, "Kiba's up. I'm going to cook, if you guys want anything."

Naga nodded. Andy looked at Stinger, "Best eat while I'm reminding you. What I'm making won't take too long."

She headed to the kitchen and started cooking, glancing up at the time.

Kiba whistled as he entered. "Smells good." He got a cup of coffee and stood watching her. "Glad I don't have to watch out for falling pans anymore."

Andy rolled her eyes, "Honestly, I'm a bit surprised everyone wasn't more suspicious at how often I dropped stuff. Azra noticed for sure."

"Probably didn't want to risk Stinger's wrath by asking. I only knew cause your dreams leaked through our connection." He reached for plates, giving her a grin.

"Hammy was suspicious, but she never said much about it," Andy sighed. "I really should figure out some way to just stop nightmares entirely, though going into them and talking about stuff is probably good therapy. Though no one goes into my dreams but myself," Andy chuckled.

"Since when does Hammy not follow her suspicions? When Stinger's involved." Kiba laughed. "And if you ever do figure a way, sign me up." He helped her plate the food up. "By the way, I was here early right? Or is my sense of time screwed too?"

She smiled, "A couple minutes early. And yeah, I think at this point Hammy realizes Stinger will make sure I get taken care of so she doesn't have to worry as much."

He nodded, bringing their plates to the table. "Is Hammy going to drive me crazy once we're actually married?"

Andy laughed, "She's stubborn, but maybe not as bad as I am. Other than that, the only thing I think she'll drive you crazy with is how much she plays those Hoshi Minato CD's. You might want to try living with her a bit longer before you actually do marry her though," Andy smirked.

He mock shuddered. "She plays them nonstop anyway. Says he's underappreciated." He chuckled. "You're probably right and I should actually live there longer than a couple of weeks at a time."

"She gets that you aren't good at staying in one place long, but you two _will_ have to find a compromise that works for both of you."

He sat down and sighed. "Sure she didn't compromise by agreeing to marry me in the first place?" He looked down at the table. "Sorry. Just thinking about everything happening at the moment."

"She loves you. She wants to marry you. I know that for sure," Andy smiled softly. "You're a great guy and she's lucky to have you."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't stroke his ego anymore. We only need one Tsukasa." Stinger teased as he came in.

Kiba stuck his tongue out at him.

Andy chuckled, "Is Naga going to eat? I made enough for all of us."

Stinger nodded. "He's coming." He made a plate and sat down beside her. He watched Kiba eat, an unspoken question on his lips.

Andy glanced at Stinger but decided to stay quiet about it for now. She smiled at Naga when he entered, and then asked, "So are we on our way to another beam location?"

Stinger nodded. "It seems that the other two signals are converging on the one we're headed for. So if we're lucky we can take out the other three all at once."

Andy frowned, "I wonder why they are converging? What are they planning?"

Kiba looked up. "Nothing good, that's for sure. Where are we headed?"

Stinger pulled a map up on his tablet. "Nyota. Uninhabited. Which makes me even more worried."

Andy looked at Kiba a moment, "We've not had good luck with uninhabited planets, have we? This is obviously some kind of trap."

Stinger sighed. "Nyota hasn't been inhabited since the early days of Armage's rule. But I agree that it's probably a trap."

"And we can't just blow up a planet, even if it's uninhabited, can we?" Andy took a deep breath. "Well, we can send a couple of my clones down to check it out at least. Especially if they have three beams to watch out for, because you definitely do not want to be hit with those."

Kiba gave her a look. "When did-?"

"I sent two clones to the Jark Matter ship to take out the beam. Unfortunately, one clone got hit with it before we blew the place up."

Kiba grimaced. "Better a clone than you. Now you know why I pushed you out of the way at the factory." He pushed his plate away. "Think I lost my appetite."

Andy sighed, "Sorry. But yeah, that's why I figure we can send clones down first to see what is going on, if it is actually a trap or not."

He gave her a smile. "Not your fault. And I agree." He tapped out a beat on the table as he frowned. "Could be Jark Matter is just that dumb…"

Andy chuckled, "Honestly, I never know what to expect. Shocker's self-destructs just take a simple key card. Jark Matter isn't always the smartest either. But then they come up with other things that seem so smart."

Kiba laughed. "Very true. Was Jark Matter this stupid during the war?" He looked at Stinger.

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "Not always. They had some smart people, but we destroyed them all. So I guess this is the best of what's left?"

"Hopefully they don't recruit anyone else," Andy answered.

"Unless they get someone who can compare to the vice shoguns, I think we'll be fine," Naga finally spoke up.

"Vice shoguns? Why do I get the feeling they were bad news?" Kiba looked at Andy.

Andy nodded, "It was before I joined the team, but according to Hammy, the vice shoguns and the karos were the most troublesome, outside of Armage of course."

"I don't remember the other two as much, but Akbanya was terrible," Naga answered.

Kiba was silent, but looked troubled.

"Well, you were a little preoccupied at the time which is probably why you don't remember much about the other two," Andy smiled softly. "But what matters is, they're gone. And so far Jark Matter hasn't found anyone close to replacing them."

Naga nodded before taking another bite of his food.

Kiba sat for a minute before standing and picking up his plate. "Lucky for us." He put his plate and cup in the sink, then headed for the door.

"You heading to your room?" Andy wondered.

"No. Need to think. Don't worry, I'll still be on the ship."

"You better be," Andy smiled. "Don't forget I'm going to check up on you in a bit."

"Yeah." He disappeared.

Andy shook her head, "He better not do anything stupid."

Stinger nodded. "From your lips to the god's ears. I'll be on the bridge." He kissed her before leaving.

Andy stood and started cleaning up the kitchen. Naga brought his plate up, saying thanks, and then left the room. Andy tried to think of what to do, now that no one was in the infirmary and they were already tracking the beams. She considered calling Hammy and Azra, but knew it was getting late at home. She decided to just make her way to the bridge to see if they needed her there.

Stinger looked up when she entered. "Looking for someone?"

She shook her head, "Just seeing if you guys needed any help here."

He gave her a soft smile. "Everything's under control."

Kiba methodically punched the bag, his mind sorting through all the new information. Why would Jark Matter congregate the three beams on an uninhabited planet? What was their endgame? He was breathing heavy by the time he stopped.

He walked over to the window and stared out at the stars. Each beam had a small range, so why would Jark Matter want them all together instead of spread out? He frowned, trying to work out the puzzle. After a few minutes, his eyes went wide. "_Shit_!" He began heading toward the door, then realized he wasn't going to make it. The room began to tilt and he saw the floor rushing to meet him. The world went black.

Raptor frowned, looking at Andy. "Kiba's vitals just hiccupped."

Andy exchanged looks with Stinger. "What's his location?"

"Training room."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "He_ just_ doesn't learn. Go get him before he does something _really _stupid."

Andy rushed to the training room and cursed when she found him on the floor. She scanned him over and tried to get his vitals back to normal.

His eyes flew open. "Andy! I know why they are converging…" He coughed, his voice failing.

"Shh. Take it easy. You can tell me about it soon, okay? Let's get you back to feeling better," she spoke quietly, her hands still out trying to fix what she could for his vitals.

He shook his head. "You have to warn Stinger…" He took a deep breath. "They want to link them together! Make the range farther…" He lost consciousness.

Andy took a deep breath and used her comm, "Stinger and Raptor meet me in the infirmary." She made a clone and picked Kiba up, moving him down the hall and into a bed. The clone scanned him over, focusing on checking his vitals. Andy looked over when the other two entered, "Raptor, check the status of the chip please."

Raptor nodded, using the scanner as Stinger watched silently. She gave a gasp, shakily putting it on a nearby table. "The chip is disintegrating. Currently thirty percent remaining."

Stinger swore violently, slamming his hand onto the table.

Andy sighed, "Ok. I'll see what I can do." She looked at Stinger, "He wanted me to tell you, Jark Matter wants to combine the beams to make the range farther."

Stinger closed his eyes. "Should have known. Maybe I should blow up the planet…"

"I mean, it's not being used anyway, so it's not too terrible if you do. Maybe call Shou or Tsurugi and see what they think?" She closed her eyes, letting her clone vanish, as she focused on gathering energy.

Stinger nodded thoughtfully, then kissed her cheek. "I'm taking that advice." He looked sadly at Kiba. "You think this is it?"

Andy's hands started glowing, the light soon surrounding Kiba. She finally opened her glowing eyes and looked at Stinger, "I'm going to do everything I can to save him."

A moment later she noticed her kyutama glowing in her pocket. She took it out and then looked up, noticing Mariana on the other side of Kiba. Andy wasn't sure if Stinger or Raptor could see her though. "Thank you."

Mariana just smiled and nodded as she helped Andy work on Kiba.

Stinger headed for the office, closing the door behind him and dialing Tsurugi. When the call connected, he spoke. "We have a problem. I have a solution and need your blessing…"

Kiba opened his eyes. He was amazed to find the pain was gone. In front of him, he saw the Outlook, surrounded by blue light. All his family and friends were standing there, reaching their hands out to him. He tried to walk toward them, but found he was being drawn backwards instead. Turning, he saw a bright white light coming closer. He dug his heels into the ground, slowing his movement.

He felt a hand grabbing his and turned his head, meeting Andy's eyes. "Andy? What is this?"

Andy smiled softly, "Well, I'm in your mind, so dream or reality? We're working on trying to save you."

His feet were losing traction. He sighed. "Not sure you can this time." He gazed at her sadly. "I can feel the chip. It's almost gone. Once it is, my body won't survive long."

She held his hand tightly, "You have two expert healers working on you. We aren't letting you go that easily."

He gave her a grin, his eyes wet. "Good, because I'm too weak to fight alone." He looked back at the white light.

It was starting to push the blue light incrementally back. Kiba grabbed Andy's wrist as it got closer to him. "Don't let it take me…"

His body outside was struggling to breathe, his hands gripping the bedsheet in a death grip. He began to shake with the strain, his chest rising and falling erratically.

Andy focused on finding more energy. She found it easier when they had been on Eshana, being able to tap into the energy of the planet. She focused out, trying to find sources of energy that weren't needed. She really didn't want to take energy from her friends or the ship. Soon she reached her mind outward, outside of the Orion. She found a star nearby with no planets surrounding it, she started gathering energy from it and pushing it into Kiba.

Raptor watched as the blue light completely surrounded Andy, not just her hands. The light flowed into Kiba, the blue light around him strengthening a bit.

In his mind, Andy held onto Kiba's hand and tried pulling him back into the blue. She focused on pushing the blue light toward the white, trying to force it back.

Kiba fought to keep connected to Andy. He wasn't going to let go without a fight… but he was so tired… The white light was whispering in his ear now, promising peace if he just let go. He growled at it. "That's not happening. Not this time." He forced his feet forward, one shaky step at a time. If this was his fate, then it would have to overwhelm him. He wasn't going to lie down for it. "Just... don't let go, Andy."

"I won't," Andy promised as she tightened her grip. She pulled on him trying to bring more of him into the blue light.

The white clawed at him, trying to tear him away. He was breathing hard, his mind weakening. "Have to rest…" He paused his forward motion. "It's getting harder to move. I don't know if I can…" His eyes began to close against his will. "ANDY!" His grip began loosening as the white light began to dissolve his form. "HELP…" The words were cut off as the light blazed around his hand.

"Kiba!" Andy forced the blue light forward, trying to get him back.

The white light vanished, Kiba suddenly falling forward into her arms. He wasn't breathing, his body limp as she cradled him close. Brushing his bangs away, she looked into his face and sobbed.

Outside, his body gave a final twitch and lay still. Raptor hung her head in sorrow as she scanned over him. "The chip has completely disappeared. No vitals detected."

Andy ignored her and kept trying to push energy into Kiba. She looked up and noticed Mariana was still there focusing on him too.

In his mind Andy begged, "Kiba, come back. Please come back."

He lay still, his eyes closed. She began to squeeze his hand, willing it to respond. She'd almost given up when she felt a weak twitch.

"Kiba? Come on, Kiba, wake up," she begged, looking at him through teary eyes.

He took a slow breath, his hand starting to tighten on hers. Dark eyes blinked open and met hers as he gave a weak smile. "You didn't let go..."

"I told you I wouldn't," Andy smiled softly.

"I know. I was terrified. But I made the decision that if the light wanted me, it was going to have to take me. No more giving up." He tried to push himself up, but didn't have the strength. "It did take me…"

"Just rest," she smiled at him, "We're taking care of you."

"You won't leave?" He owlishly blinked, fighting the pull of sleep.

"I'll never leave as long as you need me, okay?" She spoke softly and ran a hand through his hair, "Just rest for now. Everything will be okay."

He nodded, his eyes closing as he drifted off. His body vanished.

Andy opened her eyes, noticing Mariana still across from her giving her a smile, "He's going to be fine now."

Andy nodded, the light vanishing around her and Kiba. Mariana disappeared as well, the kyutama's light going out as well. She looked down at him watching the slow rise and fall of his chest.

Raptor ran the scanner over him. "Vitals normal." The android looked at Andy. "No sign of the chip ever being there."

Andy nodded, "I think he'll be fine without it." She pulled up a chair and sat next to Kiba's bed.

The Orion suddenly shook underneath them.

Andy called Stinger on her comm, "What's happening?"

"Sorry. Forgot to warn you. Just took care of our little problem."

"Did you blow the planet?"

"Yup. Tsurugi gave me his blessing, since it wasn't going to hurt anyone but Jark Matter. How's everything on your end?"

"Things were a little rough, but I think our problem child is going to be okay."

"At least until he does something stupid again. But that's good news."

"I don't know if he'll do something stupid again. Though I'm sure he'll still be a trouble magnet," Andy smirked.

"I'll be down there in five."

True to his word, five minutes later Stinger was placing a cup of coffee in her hands. He sat down next to her, watching Kiba sleep.

"He really okay? And why do you think he won't be stupid anymore?"

"He's a bit different. You'd have had to have been there to get it. I think he's going to be better from now on. Also, Mariana said he will be okay and I trust her."

He gave her a smile. "And I trust you." He sipped his own coffee thoughtfully.

Andy put her coffee on a table before moving closer and hugging Stinger. "I hope no one else dies for a very long time." She rested her head on his chest, "I love you."

He wrapped his arm around her. "I love you too. And I wholeheartedly agree with you."

Andy stared out the window of the bridge, seeing her home coming closer in view, "Are you ready?" Andy glanced at Kiba and Stinger.

Kiba chuckled. "Oh yeah. I need to relax and spend some time with Hammy."

Stinger nodded. "The sooner we kick trouble magnet off the ship, the sooner _I_ can relax." He stuck his tongue out as Kiba pretended to be outraged.

"I've heard some stories about you being a trouble magnet too, ya know."

Both men dissolved into laughter as they made eye contact.

Andy chuckled, "Yeah you are both pretty bad." She smiled, "I was thinking if everyone is up for it we could go camping tonight? Then tomorrow we are probably going to head out again."

"S'MORES!" Kiba let out a whoop, then laughed. "Sounds good to me." He gave Andy a smirk. "Munchkin and I are going to cause Hammy some white hairs…"

Andy smiled, "Well, you can cause her all the white hairs you want, but for a while, Azra's coming with us. So are Shishi and Jewel. So the only trouble maker you'll have left is Crystal."

He frowned for a minute, then brightened. "If I bring Asuka over… And I meant we're gonna give her white hairs tonight…"

His dark eyes twinkled impishly. "There's my favorite tree to climb, and the watering hole to jump in… Any other fun places?"

Andy laughed, "I'm not telling. I won't help you get into more trouble."

He pouted for a minute. "Spoilsport."

"Come on, we are in range. Are you portaling down? We're taking one of the voyagers," Andy smiled.

"Little nervous. Haven't tried since..." He took a deep breath and waved a hand. The portal appeared and he paused. "Here goes nothing." He walked into the haze and disappeared.

Andy smiled and looked over at Stinger, "I wonder if the ship will finally be quiet or if Azra will fill the void."

He grinned. "Can't possibly be as loud as the crazy who just left. Shall we?"

Andy smiled and headed off to the voyager bay. When they were on the way to the planet, she asked, "You don't think Azra will be mad at us for having been gone so long, do you?"

He shook his head. "This has been all she's ever known. We are gone a lot and Aunt Hammy takes care of her. Why would she be mad?"

Andy sighed, "We're supposed to be her parents. We are supposed to be there for everything, her first steps, her first words, her first everything. And we've missed most of it. Even if she understands we have important things, it doesn't mean she won't be upset about it. Hell, in our village everyone went to battle, but they'd be home within a few days at most." She took a deep breath, "I just feel like we haven't been the best parents she could have."

He leaned over and kissed her. "If she's upset, we'll work it out. But let's not invite trouble by jumping the gun. Let's just enjoy being with her okay?"

Andy nodded and wiped a small tear away, "Sorry. I just worry, you know? I promised I'd take care of her and I feel like I've not lived up to that promise yet."

"Then let's make it up to her, so you can stop worrying."

She gave a soft smile, "Okay. Sorry I worry so much sometimes." She landed her voyager gently on the planet, "Let's go have some fun then?"

Stinger grinned ruefully. "As long as I don't have to babysit crazy."

"Hammy is here, she should learn to keep him under control," Andy smirked. She climbed out of her voyager and waited for Stinger.

Stinger got out and waved at Hammy who was approaching.

"Wanna tell me why Kiba picked me up and swung me around while kissing me repeatedly?"

Andy laughed, "Very long story but I think he's just happy we are all alive and healthy. Ask him if you want to know the details or just be happy he's happy to see you."

"I mean it's not unappreciated, just a little weird." She gave them each a hug.

"Everything that happens around us is weird, and it makes us a bit weird too, just get used to it," Andy chuckled. "How's everything been here?"

"Quiet."

"How's Azra?"

"Sure she's not related to Philip? She gets obsessed with things easily."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "What's she been obsessed with lately?"

"Kamen riders."

Andy nods, "Well... Kiba could tell her about some of them at least?" She chuckles, "What else has she been obsessed with since we left? It's been at least a month hasn't it?"

Hammy laughs. "About a month yeah. Animals like usual."

"Have you started training her yet?"

"When I can drag her away from her reading. Though I think Kiba might have an easier job of it."

As if on cue, Kiba appeared with a grin. "Slowpokes."

Andy laughed and looked at Stinger, "I wonder if we can get her to train by teaching her how different animals fight?"

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "Not a bad idea. She can shift into each one and get trained at the same time."

Kiba kissed Hammy. "She sure loves to learn. She wants me to take her to visit the studio."

Andy rolled her eyes, "Maybe when she's just a little bit older..."

"I told her that and she pouted at me..." Kiba laughed.

Andy chuckled, "I guess we should go see her," she glanced at Stinger.

He smiled and nodded, heading for the house.

They found Azra sitting at the kitchen table with a book in front of her. Andy spoke, "Hi, baby! You've gotten so big!"

Azra looked up and smiled, "Hi, Mommy."

Stinger kissed her head. "What are you reading?"

"A new book about animals from different planets. I've read all the books at the library about animals and there's only a couple mentioning Kamen riders. Uncles Balance and Naga sent this one and a book about snakes."

Kiba chuckled. "Definitely takes after Philip in the research department. Maybe I can get him to send some books over?"

"That would be nice," Azra nodded. "I need more books."

"Do we want the Gaia Library here?" Stinger tries not to laugh.

Azra's eyes widened, "I want to see the Gaia library!"

Andy chuckled again, "Well, we can't take you there, but we do have a lot of information downloaded into the Orion. Maybe you could learn more there."

Azra nodded before looking back at her book.

Kiba looked innocently at Andy. "I was _not_ suggesting the Library. Blame him for that one."

"Anyway," Andy looked at Hammy, "Camping tonight?"

Hammy smiled and took Kiba's hand. "Sounds fun."

Kiba gave her a smile.

After getting their things together, they headed to the Outlook.

True to his word, Kiba took Azra climbing trees as Stinger rolled his eyes.

After getting the fire ready, they all sat around it while Stinger prepped the food. "Have you taken her camping before?" Andy glanced at Azra who was back to reading her book, just in a new location.

Hammy shook her head. "We've both been busy with school."

Kiba was humming to himself as he watched the fire, lost in his thoughts.

Andy frowned a moment, "I forgot about school. Is she doing fine with the other students? Especially with how fast she grows?"

"There's been a few issues, but nothing too bad. She's smarter than most of the students as well. Been considering pulling her out, let her learn at her own pace."

Andy nodded, "She needs interaction with other kids, but for her learning level, it'd be better with her out of school. I hadn't even considered that... We are thinking of taking her with us..."

Hammy nodded. "Might be a good idea."

Stinger looked at Andy. "Then I say we do it, if you really want to."

Andy nodded, "And if we take her to some fun planets, she can learn about animals there and also get interaction with more people." She looked at Azra, "Hey honey, I found a fun planet to see dolphins. Do you want to go see them soon?"

Azra's eyes lit up as she smiled, "Dolphins look so fun but we don't have any here."

Andy grinned, "Eshana has a ton of dolphins. Maybe we could swim with them."

Azra nodded with a grin and went to look up dolphins in her book.

Hammy grinned, then waved a hand in front of Kiba's face. "Kiba? You in there?"

Kiba jerked, then gave her a smile. "Sorry. What?"

Hammy kissed him with a laugh. "You zoned out. You okay?"

He nodded. "Just thinking about stuff."

Andy raised an eyebrow at him, and focused on his mind a moment, _'Are you okay? Thinking about the stuff on our trip or something else?'_

He looked at her and grinned, then sent_ 'Re-evaluating my life choices. I have a new outlook and I want to help more people.'_

'_I'm glad. And the Outlook is a good place to think about life outlooks,' _Andy started chuckling. She quickly stopped when she noticed the looks she was getting from Hammy and Stinger.

Kiba bent his head, his shoulders shaking.

Stinger sighed, rolling his eyes as Hammy just stared at them.

Andy glanced at Hammy, "You know how I can send thoughts to people? With all the time I've been in his mind and his slight bit of psychicness of his own, we kind of just talk sometimes without talking..." She chuckled, "Great thing in battle. Terrible thing if my nightmares slip out secrets." She looked at Kiba, _'I feel like she's giving me the same stare our mom would give before she'd start yelling at us...'_

Hammy rolled her eyes. "Okay..."

Kiba fought to stop laughing. "It's my fault."

Andy sighed, "Sorry... Anyway, how's the food coming?"

Stinger checked. "Perfect timing."

Andy smiled, "Good. I'm hungry."

Stinger and Kiba passed the food around.

Andy made sure Azra was eating before she started on her own food. She zoned out most of what the others were saying and stared out at the village.

She was momentarily pulled out of her thoughts when Azra asked, "Do people eat dolphins?"

Andy started laughing, "Maybe on some planets, but I don't think most do."

After Azra seemed content with the answer, Andy tried to focus back on the group but was now wondering what Avery would have thought of Azra.

Kiba looked at Andy quietly, then sent '_Now who's woolgathering?'_

Andy rolled her eyes, _'Sorry. Figured I should think about my own outlook. Also thinking about Avery, as I always end up doing while I'm up here.'_

'_I figured as much. You know, I have always felt kind of guilty that I was here instead of him. Have a feeling you would have had a lot less stress with him,' _Kiba sighed through the link.

'_Ignore me, just feeling melancholy at present. I need to explore for a while, I think.'_

He gave her a smile, then stood and began to walk away towards the forest.

Hammy looked up in alarm, then looked at her questioningly.

'_Things happen for a reason. He wasn't meant to be here but you are. Please be safe, especially if Niko's group is out.' _She smiled at Hammy, "He just needs a bit. There's a lot going on in his head. Don't worry."

'_I'm not worried about Niko. But thanks.'_

Andy looked at Hammy, "It's been a very crazy month, and I'm sure he'll tell you all about it when he's ready." She sighed, "I'm sorry if it seems like I know way more about him than you do. It's just that I'm always the one saving his life from danger or his mind from nightmares."

Hammy shook her head. "We haven't had that much time together." She twisted her ring. "It's a good thing we're not married yet."

Andy smiled at her softly, "He loves you, and I know he's going to spend more time with you. He's never going to fully settle, but he's going to try for you."

Hammy nodded. "I know."

Andy sighed, "What's up? You seem like you aren't sure about things."

"I just don't want him to feel tied down. I don't really see myself as ever leaving here again, aside from if you guys really need me. He needs to be moving, helping people everywhere. I don't want him to resent me or find someone else."

"He's not going to find anyone else or resent you. Even when he goes out traveling, his heart is with you," Andy answered. "But maybe you should talk to him about your worries. Whether you are just dating or married, communication is important."

"You're right." Hammy looked up. "Where did he go?"

"He said he was going to explore a bit. I'm not entirely sure. But if you go after him, please don't get kidnapped this time," Andy smirked.

Hammy stuck her tongue out, followed with a grin. She gave a yelp as two arms suddenly appeared and pulled her into a portal.

Hammy emerged to see a lake in front of her. She turned to see Kiba, a small smile on his lips.

"Kiba, where are we?"

The smile got bigger. "Other side of the planet." He gazed out across the lake.

Hammy looked out at the water and smiled, "Okay... Why are we out here though?"

"We need to talk." He hesitated.

Hammy started worrying but took a deep breath, "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"Are you happy? With me I mean?" He sighed. "I proposed to you, then disappeared again. I know there's a few men who would love to be yours. Do you want to be free?"

He looked at her when she didn't answer. "I understand. I could feel the distance when I got here. Can I still call you a friend? Or have I screwed that up as well?"

Hammy chuckled softly, "Kiba, I love you. That's not going to change. I was just talking to Daka about how I was worried that you'd want to be free. I don't want to hold _you _down. I know you want to adventure, and I don't want to keep you from that."

He face palmed in embarrassment. "I feel like an idiot. I was worried all my traveling was making you resent me. I mean we got engaged right after I was brought back to life _again_. I wasn't sure if you had said yes just because of that moment."

"I said yes because I want to be with you. I thought you might resent_ me_ for not wanting to go adventuring with you."

He laughed. "You don't know half of what Andy does. But why am I not surprised you don't care?"

He took her hands with a smile. "I want you to know, no matter what universe I'm in, my heart is here. I may be gone a lot but I will always come back. I promise you this."

Hammy smiled, "And my heart is wherever you are."

"So a really long engagement?" He chuckled.

"If that's what you want," Hammy answered. "I'm not going anywhere, just going to be here teaching my students. So you take as long as you need and when you're ready, I'll be here. Though maybe visit a bit more often, especially if they are taking Azra."

He kissed her gently. "Agreed. Do you want to go back?"

"We can stay here a few more minutes. It's nice," she sighed happily.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Hope Andy doesn't hit me for doing this."

"Why would she?"

"I literally just grabbed you and disappeared."

Hammy nodded, "Good point. Maybe we should get back."

He grinned and summoned the portal.

Andy raised an eyebrow when she noticed the two appear but she stayed silent.

Kiba gave her an apologetic smile.

"You guys ready for s'mores?"

His eyes lit up and he grinned.

Andy rolled her eyes but laughed. After a bit, the sun went down and they were all sitting around the fire. Azra was laying with her head in Andy's lap and Andy was rubbing her hand through Azra's hair. Azra was dozing off, and Andy was listening to Kiba tell Hammy a bit more of his stories with Daiki. She smiled over at Stinger before staring back at the fire.

"Hey Andy? Want to know why he was with me when we ran into you?"

Andy thought for a moment, "Do you mean when we got Azra?"

Kiba chuckled. "Yeah."

"Why?" Andy smiled.

"He broke Tsukasa's camera."

"Damn. I'm surprised he made it out of the studio alive," Andy smirked.

"Natsumi saved him." Kiba rolled his eyes. "One of these days though…"

Andy chuckled.

Azra blinked her eyes open, "Mommy, what do you mean 'when you got me'?"

Andy sighed and looked over at Stinger for help.

Stinger grimaced. "Munchkin, remember how you can turn into different animals? But we can't?"

Azra sat up and nodded.

"And in your animal books, you know how the mommy and the daddy animals make baby ones?" Andy continued.

Azra nodded again.

"Well, sometimes the mommies and daddies can't take care of their babies for one reason or another... So new mommies and daddies adopt them and care for them."

Azra looked at Andy with worry, "Does that mean you aren't really my parents?"

Andy's heart sank and glanced at Stinger again, hoping he'd say something.

"We didn't give birth to you, but we were there."

"The woman who made you was dying, and I saved you," Andy remembered. "And you had no blood family left, so we took you in."

Azra just stared at them in confusion and shock.

Kiba moved to her side. "Let's see if I can't help. Look at me, munchkin."

Azra looked up to him with searching eyes.

"Do you realize how lucky you are? You have two sets of parents."

Azra had tears in her eyes, "So my first mommy died?"

"Afraid so munchkin. Guess what? I don't have parents."

"Who made you then?" Azra wiped some of her tears away.

Kiba smiled sadly. "Some very bad people, who were very mean to me."

"So you didn't have a mommy to love you?" Azra looked at him sadly.

He shook his head. "I had to run away. Then Tsukasa and Daiki found me and took me in. So I call them my dads." He looked over at Andy. "And your mommy takes care of me too."

Azra nodded. "And they're still good parents?"

"They are great parents. Though if you pay attention, they sometimes act like kids too."

"So it's okay that they didn't make you?"

"The way I see it, if they take care of you and love you, it doesn't matter. I'd rather be with my dads then the people who did make me."

Azra nodded, "Okay." She looked towards Stinger and Andy, "And you want me still?"

Andy nodded and pulled Azra in for a hug, "Of course, baby. We love you."

Stinger wrapped his arms around both of them. "You're my girls. I love you both so much."

Kiba smiled at them, before brushing a hand over his eyes.

After they pulled away, Andy glanced at Kiba, '_Thank you.'_ She brushed Azra's bangs out of her face, "If you want, I can tell you what I know about the planet you were from, and we could maybe even take you there to visit if you want."

'_No problem.' _

Azra nodded, "They can turn into animals too?"

Andy smiled, "Yes, honey. Maybe you'll even get to learn about new animals if we go there."

Azra smiled, "Okay."

Andy kissed Azra's forehead, "You probably should be getting to sleep. Why don't we get your sleeping bag ready, okay?" She looked over at Kiba and Hammy before smiling at Stinger.

Stinger whispered in her ear. "I feel like we just dodged a huge bullet."

Andy nodded and whispered back, "Hopefully she stays fine with things... I thought she was sleeping when I mentioned getting her..."

Stinger grinned. "Sneaky like Uncle Kiba?"

Andy chuckled and stood up, helping Azra get into her sleeping bag. After a few minutes she came back to the campfire.

Hammy looked at her sadly as Kiba was nowhere to be seen.

Andy looked at her, "What happened?"

"He was a bit upset. He's in the tree again." She was quiet a moment. "He doesn't talk about his past to me outside of the little he mentioned the first time we did this. Exactly how bad was it?"

Andy sighed, "It was... really bad." She took a deep breath, "Shocker did a lot to him... Things most adults probably couldn't handle, and he was just a kid."

Hammy took a deep breath. "The nightmares."

"Yeah. It's... not good. That's really why I know so much, is because of helping him through his nightmares."

Hammy looked towards the tree. "Will he be alright alone?"

Andy sighed and took a moment, "It probably won't hurt for someone to go talk to him." She glanced over, "Do you want me to, because I know about it? Or do you want to and maybe you'll learn more?"

Hammy shook her head. "I think he doesn't talk because he senses I can't deal with it."

Andy nodded, "It is a lot to deal with... I'll go talk to him," she gave her sister a soft smile before standing and jumping up into the trees.

Kiba had his eyes closed, humming under his breath to calm himself. He didn't flinch at her approach. "Hi."

"Hey," Andy sat down on the branch. "Thank you, again. I don't know how we would have handled that without you."

"For once, my past helped someone. Think it hurt more telling her though." He opened his eyes and sighed. "Her innocence is refreshing."

"Are you doing alright? I know it's never easy when your past is brought up."

He gave a rueful smile. "I did it to myself this time." He looked at her, tears glistening in his eyes. "That one sentence almost broke me. 'You didn't have a mommy?' All I could think of was how lucky she was."

"You know when you age regressed and were like a five-year-old? All I could think about was how much I wished I could have saved you and just adopted you," Andy gave a sad smile.

"That would have been interesting. But also amazing. But better late than never right?" He flashed her a cocky smile.

"Well, we do call you our problem child." She chuckled, "It's so weird. You're my best friend, but you're also like a brother, but I also kind of feel like we've just adopted you. At least all of those show we care, right?"

"Hell yes." He laughed.

"I am really glad we found you," Andy smiled. "Yeah, things can get kind of rough, but all of the good times are worth it."

He chuckled and reached for a hug. "You guys don't know how much you mean to me. I'm truly grateful."

She hugged him tightly before pulling away, "Are you going to tell Hammy anything that happened in the past month? I know she wants to know, but I think she knows she can't handle all of the shit you go through. I still haven't decided if I should tell her about the tumor. It's in the past now, it's not a problem, so does she really need to know?"

He sighed heavily. "I'm still not sure what happened with the chip. How can I tell her what I don't understand myself? And I don't dare tell her about the stunt I pulled after the news report. She'd probably make me disappear permanently."

"I don't want to burden her with my past. So probably not. Though I don't think she'd take kindly to you not telling her your story. But it's up to you. By the way, tell Stinger to postpone any bachelor party. We're going to have a long engagement."

Andy nodded, "That might be good. And if you don't ever tell her more of your past, and you need to talk about anything, you know I'm always here to listen." She chuckled, "Yeah don't tell her about the stunt you pulled. I think she'd flip if any of us told her our suicidal stories, but that was maybe the worst... I just don't want to hurt her. She's so bright and the rest of us deal with so much dark. I don't want to pull her into that."

"Exactly why I don't tell her my past. I can handle it most of the time. I'm so afraid of her seeing me as too broken, or worse becoming broken herself. I can't do that to her." He gave Andy a grin. "I'll just drop in on you when I need a therapy session."

"She's not going to see you as too broken, she'll just worry about you more than she already does." Andy smirked, "I think you once told me you sounded like an idiot talking to his therapist? I wanted to tell you that you did but you stormed off or something." She chuckled, "Seriously though, I am here if you need me. And I won't joke around too much."

"I think the jokes keep me sane frankly." He took a deep breath. "She got worried didn't she? That's why you came up here."

Andy nodded, "Yeah. I would have come up eventually though if you didn't come back," She smiled.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm never getting rid of you two am I?" He joked.

Andy laughed, "Like I've said before, I'll chase you across the universe to try to stop you from doing something stupid if I have to. And she's in love with you. So definitely not getting rid of us."

He smirked at her. "I need more crazy in my life. So I'm glad. We probably should come down, before Stinger comes up here next."

"Yeah. And I should probably go tell Hammy about my portion of our little trip..." Andy stood up.

Kiba laughed and jumped down.

Andy followed behind him and smiled at Stinger before glancing at Hammy, "You two having fun down here?"

"You interrupted our discussion of whether I should knock the tree down or climb up and rescue you."

Kiba choked off a laugh.

Andy sat down, "Hey Hammy? I have something to tell you about," she said a little nervously.

Hammy looked at her quietly. "What is it?"

Andy looked at Stinger a moment before looking at the fire, "Everything is fine now, but I didn't want it to come up and you get mad that I never told you..." She took a deep breath, "The last couple years I've been dealing with a brain tumor. Symptoms kept getting worse, but I was trying to ignore it the best I could because it was in a place that was inoperable. But we went to Eshana and I learned some healing techniques, and the spirit in my kyutama healed me, so the tumor is gone now..." She looked at Stinger again, hoping for reassurance that she did the right thing.

He gave her a soft smile and a nod.

Hammy sat for a moment. "I knew it was serious, but I didn't want to pry. I'm glad you were healed and I'm glad you told me now. But please don't hide anything like that from me anymore okay?" She stood and hugged Andy tightly.

After Andy pulled away she sighed, "Was it really that obvious that something was wrong?"

"You were a klutz, Daka. And you've never been a klutz in your life. Or looked like a light wind would knock you over either."

Andy chuckled, "I totally was a klutz after that brain hemorrhage, but luckily the kyutama healed that too. I owe her a lot."

Stinger smiled. "We both do."

Andy yawned, "We better get some sleep if we are heading out tomorrow."

The next morning, Andy hugged Hammy and then Kiba, "Call us if you need anything." She glanced over and made sure Shishi and Jewel were by Azra. "I hope this works out well."

"You'll be fine. Be careful." Kiba whispered in her ear.

"_You _be careful," Andy answered. She smirked at Hammy, "Also call me if you think of any good words that rhyme with Azra or Kiba... I haven't figured out one for Stinger yet either but at least there's words rhyme with that."

"Ready?" She glanced at Stinger.

"After you." He hugged Hammy and clasped hands with Kiba. "If you guys need anything..."

Kiba chuckled. "We'll call."

Andy gave a wave before climbing into her voyager. She helped Azra in before the cats jumped in too. After Stinger climbed in and shut the door, she headed off, back to the Orion.


	25. Meeting Heckyl

Andy groaned as she looked at Stinger, "Jark Matter hasn't done anything in over a year, why start now?" She stared back at the report, "It's not far from here, we can go check it out. Azra will be fine for a little bit, plus if we leave Champ here to keep an eye on things, you and I can go down and try to figure out what exactly they are planning and see if we need to call back up."

"It means postponing the trip with Azra." He sighed. "I could go with Champ and you could go with her?"

Andy shook her head, "If you get hurt, Champ can't heal you. Plus, my clones might help." She sighed, "I'll go tell her."

Andy made her way down the hall and knocked on Azra's door a moment before opening it, "Hey sweetie."

"What's up, mom?" Azra looked up from her book.

"Something has come up and we have to wait a bit on the trip to your planet. It's important or we wouldn't be doing it."

Azra looked sad a moment, "Well, I can go there alone."

"You will not," Andy said firmly.

"It's _my _planet. I'll be fine," Azra answered.

"No. You've never really been there, you don't know who or what you'd run into."

"If my _real_ mom were alive, I'd know the planet."

Andy took a deep breath, "Well she's not and you don't. I'm not letting you go alone. Just wait a bit and we will take you. It might not even be more than a day or two."

Azra rolled her eyes, "You're treating me like a child."

"You are a child, Azra!" Andy sighed, "I'm just trying to take care of you."

"Well you aren't doing that well of a job at it. My real mom probably could have done better."

Andy snapped. "Well if he were alive I'm sure my _real_ baby wouldn't have been such a brat! You aren't going alone and that's final. We'll see about going when we get back." She shut the door and headed down the hall seething. She walked onto the bridge and looked at Stinger, the anger still obvious in her eyes. "Ready whenever you are."

"She didn't take it well I'm guessing? Also, you were awfully quick to assume I was going to need to be healed. But let's go."

"Well I'd rather be there to help you if you need it than you need it and me not be around," Andy spoke, anger slipping through her words. "And no, she didn't take it well."

"You both need to calm down then. Come on."

Andy took a deep breath before nodding. She headed down to the voyager bay and climbed in her voyager.

Stinger shook his head in exasperation as he climbed into his. Andy in a mood was scarier than any Jark Matter malistrate. Hell, she could probably have made his brother wilt with one of her glares. He chuckled to himself at the mental picture and lifted off.

By the time they landed, Andy had pushed her emotions aside and was completely focused on the mission. "Where should we start?"

"According to the reports, the troops were housed in the far end of the compound." He consulted the map in his blaster. "About a mile straight ahead."

"So, let's go see how bad this is," Andy sighed and started walking forward.

As they got closer, Stinger dragged her into a stand of trees overlooking the compound. There was a massive amount of indavers patrolling the perimeter.

"Well the rumors appear to be true. We should get back so I can inform Command."

Andy nodded and went to move but she felt something prick her neck. "Stinger!" She cursed as she felt herself start to get dizzy and she realized it was a tranquilizer dart.

Stinger swore, try to find the shooter. He felt a prick and the world spun. He refused to give in and shakily climbed to his feet. He felt a second prick and the world went black.

Andy fell forward and tried to call the Orion, "Champ..." was all she got out before she lost consciousness.

When Andy woke she found herself tied up to a wall. She blinked her eyes, trying to focus them on anything. "Stinger?"

"He can't help you. He's a little tied up at the moment. Plus, he's sleeping. We don't want to interrupt his nap right?" A haughty voice spoke from the shadows.

Andy looked up trying to find him, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I already have what I want. And you may call me Snide, for the time that we are together."

A young man stepped into view cockily, dressed in a black suit. He has a medium sized blue tattoo on the right side of his neck and a blue streak in his dark hair.

"What are you going to do with us?" Andy growled.

"I haven't decided yet. I can tell you it won't be pleasant for the two of you." He chuckled evilly.

He began to twitch uncontrollably. Suddenly he rushed to her side and began to untie her bonds. "You've got to run. I don't know how long I can push him down."

Andy stared at him in shock a moment but nodded. She looked around and finally spotted Stinger across the room. Looking back to the person next to her she took a moment to read his energy, "So there's two people in one body?" She noticed two energy signatures.

"RUN! I can't-" The statement was cut off as he gave her a slow vicious grin. "Did he really think he could keep me from hurting you?" He laughed, a creepy nails on the chalkboard sound. He reached for Andy's arm to retie it.

Andy considered reaching out and stopping the man's heart, but she didn't want to hurt the other person inside him. She punched at him back trying to get him away.

He laughed again and punched her in the chest. As she tried to breathe, he roughly retied her arm. "That's just the start of what I'm going to do to you."

Andy glared at him. She focused and quickly made two clones, both jumping forward with Kunai to attack him.

He gave her another slow smile, then lifted his hand and extended it towards the clones. Blue flame flashed, enveloping both until they vanished. He looked at Andy and winked. "My dear, did I give you the impression that I was weak?"

She stayed silent, still glaring at him. She kept trying to think of ideas of how to get them out of the situation.

Snide kept smiling as he wheeled a tray over. "What should we start with?"

She took a deep breath and kept staring at him defiantly. She focused out on his energy again, hoping to get a better idea of what was going on inside of him.

He took the covering off the tray, putting a hand to his lips as he examined each item with his eyes. After shaking his head several times, he finally nodded and picked up the cattle prod. Pressing a button, he watched as a blue arc zapped across its prongs. He let the button go and approached her silently. He touched the prongs to her abdomen and pressed the button.

Andy felt pain shoot through her, making her want to scream. She could barely think but with the little focus she did have, she tried to keep quiet. When he let go of the button she struggled to get a breath in, finally opening her mouth again to try to help get in more air.

Snide shook his head. "I'm disappointed. I wanted to hear you scream." He dropped the prod on the tray and looked across the room. "You think he'll scream for me?" He began to approach Stinger who was finally beginning to regain consciousness.

Andy's heart sank and she finally begged out, "Please don't hurt him. I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt him."

Snide stopped and turned. "You shouldn't have done that. Now I know he's important to you."

He looked between them, then sighed and came back to her. "Doesn't matter. When I'm done with you, he'll be next anyway." He picked up the prod again and touched her abdomen.

The pain seared through her and she let out a scream, trying to not lose consciousness. Her head fell weakly when he finally pulled the prod away. She tried to look back up at him, her vision blurring slightly.

"What a lovely sound. You have a wonderful voice." He put the prod down and picked up a small knife. "Did you know that a dull blade causes more pain than a sharp one?"

She met his eyes and spat out, "I'd be a pretty bad medic if I didn't know that much."

Azra headed out to the bridge, "Uncle Champ? It's been a while since they left... Is everything okay?"

Champ looked at her. "I'm sure it is. Aibou has a habit of not checking in regularly."

Azra nodded. She sat down, "What's their mission about?"

Champ moo-ed. "They were checking on rumors of a Jark Matter training compound."

"Do you think the war is going to get bad again?"

"I hope not for your sake. Your parents want nothing more than to raise you in peace. That was the whole reason they had Hammy take you in the first place. Your mom was so worried you would get hurt if you stayed here. She didn't want to leave you. But she knew you wouldn't be safe until she and your dad got rid of Jark Matter."

Azra had finished crying a while after her fight with Andy but she started crying again, hearing Champ's words. "She cares so much but I didn't even notice. I said some terrible things... And I know she said something back, and it hurt, but honestly I probably deserved it after what I said."

Champ walked over and gave her a hug. "Your mom knows you love her. Things can be said in the heat of the moment, but it doesn't mean the person means them." He broke the hug to look at her. "Your mom lost one baby to Jark Matter, she would be devastated if she lost you too."

Azra nodded, "Promise they'll come back safe?"

Champ moo-ed and nodded, wrapping her in another hug. Softly he spoke to the air. "Don't make me a liar okay, aibou?"

The two looked up when a sound came through the comm system. It was Andy calling for Champ. The call cut out quickly.

Azra sobbed, "Mom?!"

Champ cursed. "Dammit aibou!" He looked at Azra. "Everything will be okay, I promise." He quickly headed for Stinger's office. He had some calls to make.

Azra sat there, staring at the comm system, hoping they'd get another message. Her worry was growing by the minute and she eventually got up and started pacing to use up some of her energy.

Andy stared at Snide, hoping she'd stay conscious long enough he wouldn't hurt Stinger.

Snide stared back for a moment before he snapped his fingers. "As much as I love your voice, I don't want to wear you out just yet." He walked over to Stinger, who was sending a death glare at him. "How's your voice?"

Stinger growled low in his throat. "Fuck you, psycho."

Snide clapped his hands, a wide grin on his face. "Oh I'm going to enjoy hearing you scream."

Andy sent a memory out to Stinger, showing him about the two energy signatures.

Stinger didn't look at her, but he cocked his head and studied Snide. If he could get the other person to come out, maybe he could get Andy free.

"Who's your friend? The one who came out earlier?"

Andy used the distraction time to focus up her energy and then tried to get into Snide's mind, trying to figure out the two different energies. She soon found herself in a dark room and she looked around trying to see if anyone was there.

In a corner, she saw Snide bound tightly, a gag tied around his mouth. His eyes were closed.

Andy approached slowly and undid the tie around his mouth before nudging him to see if he was awake.

Blue eyes fluttered open, blinking rapidly. As he saw her, he scooted up into the wall, alarm showing on his face. "What are you doing in here?"

Andy shrugged, "Are you the one that tried to rescue me?"

He snorted. "Look how that turned out. You shouldn't be in here. Snide will hurt you."

Andy sighed, "He's going to try to hurt me either way, so I figured I'd come see what was going on in here." She smiled softly, "If he's Snide, what's your name?"

"Heckyl." He gave her a weak smile. "No tattoo, see?" He showed his neck to her.

"I'm Andy," she informed before reaching up to start untying him from the wall.

"Why would you do this? You don't know if I'm going to hurt you." Heckyl massaged his wrists as he watched her.

Andy shrugged again, "I'm a medic, it's my job to help people. And you at least seem better than Snide, so I'll take my chances."

Heckyl chuckled sadly. "Snide is evil, the product of the Dark Energem. He fused with me when I tried to destroy him."

Andy looked thoughtful, "What's an energem?"

Heckyl gave her a surprised look, then sighed. "I'll show you." He pulled out a rainbow colored crystal. It glowed faintly in his hand.

She looked at it before looking back at him, "So, what does it do?"

"If it was charged, I could morph into Talon Ranger. But I can't charge it here." He returned it to his vest pocket. "I'm a prisoner in my own body."

She looked at him in confusion, "Talon Ranger?" She thought for a moment, "You aren't from this universe, are you?"

He shook his head. "Snide brought me here. Wherever here is."

She sighed, "I have a couple ideas to help free you, but I'm not sure they'll work."

"The only way I know for sure to free me is to destroy the Dark Energem. It will destroy Snide forever." Heckyl didn't meet her eyes.

Andy smiled, "Let me try my ideas and see if they work. It can't exactly hurt, right?"

He chuckled. "Good luck. I've been trying to get free for a long time. Made myself such a nuisance that Snide did this." He waved a hand at the ropes.

"Well, I'll see what I can do," Andy nodded before disappearing from his mind. She opened her eyes and looked back over at Stinger.

He was sagging against the ropes, small burns dotting his clothing. He weakly lifted his head, spitting out a stream of scorpius curses at Snide.

Snide waited for him to finish, then calmly backhanded him. His head hit the wall with an ugly crack and he passed out, blood trickling from his scalp.

Andy fought to keep calm. She focused, working on pulling Snide's energy toward her, but not into her. She hoped if she could pull Snide's energy completely out of the body, that it would free Heckyl from him.

Snide twitched, then turned towards her. His face twisted into a grimace as he jerkily walked toward her. "You-what are you doing?"

Halfway to her, Snide collapsed to the floor. A black energy cloud emerged from his body, coalescing into another Snide. It looked at Andy, its eyes furious. "I'm going to kill you slowly now."

Andy glared at him again, wanting to speak up but unsure what to say. She gave another glance over at Stinger and Heckyl before looking back at Snide.

Snide laughed and looked down at Heckyl. "You really thought you could free him?"

He knelt and touched the unconscious ranger, his hand disappearing into him. "As long as I have this," he showed her a pitch black glowing crystal, "Heckyl will never be free. Unless I kill him."

Andy frowned, trying to figure out what she could try next. Her mind raced back to Kiba, when she killed him to get rid of DeStruct. She wondered if she could kill them and then push energy into Heckyl and bring just him back.

Heckyl's eyes opened and he cringed as he realized Snide was above him. He tried to move away, but gasped in pain.

Snide grinned venomously at his alter ego. "I have my hand wrapped around your heart, Talon Ranger. If you move, I'll crush it."

Snide rose, his arm stretching as he approached Andy. "I'm going to kill her, Heckyl. You are going to watch me do it. Or I can turn your heart into mush first. Either way you're both going to die."

Andy's mind rushed a thousand places at once. She couldn't throw clones out at him, because he'd kill Heckyl. And even if she could try to bring someone back, if he literally crushed his heart, it'd be impossible to fix. She thought for a moment back to the ship, wondering if Champ had gotten her call. She then thought about Azra, remembering their fight. She hoped she could make it through this so her last words to her weren't from their fight. She wondered if Champ had called back up, and if anyone could possibly make it there in time. Even if not for her and Heckyl, at least for Stinger.

"Think you're a big shot don't you?"

Snide turned and raised an eyebrow. He withdrew his hand with a whispered warning to Heckyl who paled.

Stinger shook his head. "Threatening helpless people. You're a real gem you know that?"

Snide began to laugh. "I am a part of Heckyl. I am his darkness personified. She ripped me away. So she has to die."

Andy growled, "He doesn't need you. He doesn't need that darkness. You _aren't _part of him." She felt herself growing weaker and started wondering what she could do next to try to get Stinger and Heckyl out safely.

Heckyl suddenly lunged at Snide. He grabbed the Dark Energem, throwing it on the floor. Then he stomped on it. As it cracked, Snide screamed. Heckyl kept stomping, the energem slowly breaking apart under his feet.

Snide stumbled over to Heckyl, hand scrabbling for something in his jacket. He was starting to smoke, black energy flowing from a crack in his chest. With a wordless cry, he pulled something out, knocking Heckyl to the floor as he fell on top of him.

Heckyl pushed him off and stomped on the energem a final time. Snide evaporated as they watched.

Heckyl took a deep breath and went over to Andy. He made short work of the ropes and gently helped her stand. Then he went to the semi-conscious Stinger and untied him. He helped Stinger over to Andy.

Andy took a moment to think before helping Stinger sit down. She looked at Heckyl, "I don't know where we are, but if we are anywhere near the Jark Matter building, we aren't getting out without a fight. I'm going to heal him up and then we can get going." She took another moment, "Are you okay?"

Heckyl cocked his head. "I'm-" He began to feel weak and a burning pain erupted in his side. He put his hand on his shirt and felt wetness seeping through. Bringing his hand out, he saw blood on his fingers. "What-"

Andy stood and helped him sit down too. She made a clone, letting it heal Heckyl while she went and tried to heal Stinger. She gathered energy in, knowing she barely had any of her own left.

The clone looked at Heckyl, "It's a stab wound. Don't worry, you're going to be fine."

Heckyl raised an eyebrow. "I didn't even feel it. Why aren't you healing yourself?"

She sighed, "It's a complicated process. I'll work on healing myself when I'm done with you two."

The real Andy looked at Stinger, "We should call Champ."

Stinger winced. "He's not going to let me live this down." He touched his comm. "Stinger to Orion. You listening, aibou?"

Azra looked up at Champ quickly, hearing the sound, "They're okay?"

Champ moo-ed. "They're alive. He's hurt though." Champ touched the console. "I'm here,

aibou. What happened?"

Stinger huffed. "Long story. But Jark Matter is definitely here. Could use some help getting out of here."

Champ looked at Azra. "Will you be okay alone?"

Azra took a deep breath, "Sure."

Champ moo-ed and touched the com again. "I'll be down there soon."

Stinger closed the channel, and closed his eyes. "This is embarrassing. I should not need rescuing."

Andy rolled her eyes, "I know. But we've not been to battle in over a year, we're just a little rusty..."

Stinger kissed her hand. "You should sit down."

She shook her head, "I'll be fine. Like I told him, I'll heal myself when I'm done with you two."

Heckyl stood and bowed. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault this happened. It was Snide's fault," Andy smiled softly.

"It was my body."

Andy rolled her eyes, "Doesn't matter, not your fault." She smiled, "Just accept it." She took a moment, "Do you know where we are at all? If there's Jark Matter nearby?"

Heckyl grimaced. "We're surrounded. Smack dab in the middle of them."

She nodded and closed her eyes, gathering in energy. The clone worked on healing Andy a bit, before Andy stood and made two more clones. "Champ is on his way, let's work our way out toward him. Focus on going forward if you can and my clones will try to take out as many indavers as possible."

Heckyl sighed, bringing out his energem. "I could help if I could find a way to charge this. Any ideas?'

Andy held her hand out, "Give it here and let me try something."

Heckyl handed it to her and waited.

Her hand glowed as she forced energy into it. After a few minutes she handed it over. "This should work."

She pulled out her kyutama and prepared to morph. The clones all pulling out kunai.

Heckyl held out his energem and morphed. He pulled his gun out.

Andy waited until Stinger was ready and they both morphed. "Let's go then." She headed to the door and started making her way out.

She ran ahead, her clones slicing through any indavers they saw.

Heckyl ran, using his gun to shoot indavers.

Stinger ran slowly, swinging his tail and hitting the indavers with his stinger.

Finally, they reached the front gate of the compound. Heckyl shot the lock and they ran into the trees. He sat down on a fallen tree, demorphing as he did. "How long until your friend gets here?"

Andy looked at Stinger before looking back at Heckyl, "I don't know. Shouldn't be too long."

She unmorphed before her clones vanished. She then looked the way they had come, trying to keep an eye out for any indavers.

She glanced back when she heard Stinger say something, when she noticed a few indavers behind them. One was pointing a blaster at Heckyl, so she ran forward and pushed him out of the way. Pain rushed through her before she fell forward, blacking out.

Heckyl caught her and cursed. He raised his gun and shot the indaver with the blaster.

Stinger took her from the ranger and touched his com. "Where are you Champ?"

Champ answered. "I just landed next to your voyager here. Where are you?"

"A mile straight ahead. Hurry, Andy's hurt bad."

Champ moo-ed. "I'm on my way."

Stinger closed the channel and gently tapped Andy's cheek. "Beautiful? Can you open your eyes for me?"

Andy could hear Stinger, but she felt so tired. She tried to will her eyes open but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried. Soon, his voice faded out as she blacked out again.

Stinger cradled her and waited. Suddenly Champ appeared.

"Aibou! Take her to the Orion." Stinger carefully gave her to Champ.

Champ turned and quickly disappeared.

Stinger turned to Heckyl. "You up to destroying this place?"

Heckyl grinned at him. "Gladly." He stood and started walking back to the compound.

Stinger chuckled and followed.

Champ carefully landed on in the bay. He got out of the voyager and carried Andy to the infirmary.

Azra stood by the door with Shishi, tears in her eyes.

Shishi moved forward and jumped on the bed, laying on Andy's legs. Azra looked at Champ, "She's alive still, right?"

"She's alive. But not doing well. Raptor's on her way but it will be a few hours."

Azra nodded, "Can I sit by her?"

"Go ahead." Champ began to clean Andy's injuries. When he was done, he left quietly.

Azra watched the slow rise and fall of Andy's chest as she took shallow breaths. Azra was trying to stop crying when she noticed Stinger enter the infirmary. She looked up with worry in her eyes, but she stayed silent.

Stinger went over to Azra and hugged her. "Don't worry munchkin. She's going to be fine."

Heckyl entered the infirmary, glancing at Andy. "How's she doing?"

Stinger sighed. "Not great but she's still fighting."

Heckyl nodded, then caught Azra staring at him. "Hello."

Azra looked at Stinger before looking back at Heckyl, "Hi." She looked thoughtful a second, "I'm Azra."

"I'm Heckyl." He gave a little bow.

"I like your hair," Azra gave a small smile before a blue streak appeared in her hair.

His eyes widened, but then he laughed. "You're a shifter."

She nodded before looking back at Andy. She spoke to Heckyl again, "Are you a friend of my parents?"

Heckyl looked at Stinger who gave him a grin.

The Sentaian looked back at Azra. "Yes, I am. I must apologize to you for this."

Azra looked at Heckyl for a moment and shook her head, "Let me guess, mom did something to save you and that's why she's hurt?"

Heckyl nodded, looking at the floor.

"I don't see her work much, but I know she does that a lot. She helps anyone she can even if she gets hurt."

Heckyl sighed. "She saved me twice from dying. Even after..." He shook his head and walked quickly out of the infirmary.

Azra looked at Stinger, "Did I say something wrong?"

Stinger shook his head. "He has some issues, munchkin."

"So... Like Uncle Kiba?"

Stinger chuckled. "Yeah, just like Uncle Kiba." He put a hand to his head and winced.

"Are you hurt too?" Azra looked at him worried.

He gave her a smile. "Just a headache, munchkin. Your mom took care of it earlier."

He sat down next to Andy and sighed.

"Is she still mad at me?" Azra questioned quietly.

Stinger shook his head with a smile. "Doubt it. I think she'll be so happy to see you when she wakes up."

Azra nodded, "I hope so. I said something mean and I want to say sorry."

Stinger chuckled, looking at her sleepily. "I'm sure she knows you didn't mean it."

Azra took a deep breath. She then went back to watching Andy sleep.

Andy groaned when she finally regained consciousness. She pushed her eyes open and tried to look around, "Stinger?"

"He's on the bridge," Azra spoke softly.

"Azra?" Andy finally met her eyes. She laid her head back again and looked up at the ceiling, "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

Azra shook her head, "I started it. You were just trying to protect me and I shouldn't have said what I did."

"I love you. I just want you safe."

"I love you too, mom. I can go get dad or Raptor if you want?"

Andy sighed, "I'll be able to heal myself up soon. I just need my head to clear up a bit more."

Azra nodded, "I'll get dad anyway."

After a few minutes, Stinger walked through the door.

"Hey beautiful. How are you feeling?" He sat down slowly next to the bed with a soft smile.

She blinked up at him, "Hi love. Not feeling too fabulous," she answered. "How are you?"

He kissed her forehead. "I'm fine. Just concentrate on getting better okay?"

"Once my brain can focus more, I can work on healing myself..." She sighed and closed her eyes, "I definitely didn't miss this part of battles. I was probably insane for signing up to join you guys willingly," she smirked.

He laughed softly. "I love you. Just rest." He kissed her again and left.

Once outside, he let the smile drop. Leaning against the wall, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pill bottle. He took one pill and chewed it, grimacing at the taste. Replacing the bottle, he headed for the bridge.

Heckyl tossed and turned in his guest room. Between nightmares and the pain in his side, he hadn't slept much. He finally decided to get up and walked into the bathroom. He opened his shirt and looked at the half healed injury with a grimace. He reached for one of the bandages he had liberated from the infirmary.

When Andy next woke, she found herself alone in the infirmary. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and scanned over herself to figure out what the damage was. Even though she still felt exhausted, she made a clone and sent it out to see what was going on with the others. The clone headed to the bridge and looked around, quickly being scolded by Raptor.

"You're not supposed to be up."

"I'm _not _up.I'm sitting in the infirmary."

Raptor shook her head in frustration, "You shouldn't be using your energy for clones either."

Andy shrugged and ignored her, looking at the others.

Champ was glaring at Stinger who was refusing to look at him. The scorpion's posture was ringing alarm bells in Andy's head.

Champ saw her and rose. As he got close, he lowered his voice. "Maybe you can get aibou to use common sense and go lie down." He continued off the bridge with an irritated moo.

She sighed and headed over to Stinger. Sitting next to him, she spoke gently, "Anything going on?"

He turned to her with a smile. "Just a headache, beautiful. Little stressed out seeing you hurt. Nothing for anyone to worry about. Champ's just being over protective again."

She frowned, "I always worry about you, love." Andy pulled him in for a hug, scanning him over.

"Unh unh. I know what you're doing. You are supposed to be resting. I'm fine." Stinger broke the hug with an admonishing look. "Go back to the infirmary. That's an order."

"Like I said to Raptor, I'm still in the infirmary," she smirked.

"Then drop the clone. You need to rest, not use energy."

She rolled her eyes before closing them. Seconds later, her eyes opened, glowing. "Ok, not using my energy," she smirked again.

He growled softly and stood. Or rather tried to stand. His legs buckled as his eyes rolled up and he began to collapse to the floor.

Andy caught him and gently helped him down the rest of the way before she knelt in front of him. Her hands started glowing, like her eyes, as she checked him over and started healing him. A few minutes later, she finally dropped her hands, the glowing ceasing.

Raptor knelt beside them. "What happened? Does he need to go to the infirmary too?"

Andy sighed, "He was hurt but ignoring it. He should be better now, but he might still need to rest. If he doesn't wake up in the next couple minutes, we'll get him to the infirmary to sleep." She rubbed her hand through his hair after moving into a sitting position.

His tail twitched, then his eyes blinked open. "What-" He rubbed a hand over his eyes tiredly and looked at them. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Love, you just passed out and started falling," Andy gave him a soft smile.

"Oh." He began to push himself up, reaching for his pocket with a small frown. "Maybe I should have taken a nap earlier?"

She stared at him a second, "Stinger, you had a fracture in your skull. A nap wouldn't have helped much."

He blinked at her owlishly for a moment. "I thought I just had a headache from the darts. Don't remember hitting my head..." He pulled out the pill bottle, struggling to open it.

Andy glared at him, "How many of those have you taken?"

He raised an eyebrow at her tone. "Three? Or was it four?" He shook his head and winced. "Don't remember. Headache started a few hours after we got back."

Andy sighed, "Let's get you to the infirmary and we can scan you over and see how much medicine is in you before we give you more..."

Stinger frowned at her. "I'm okay now. No need for that, beautiful." He used the arm of his chair to pull himself to his feet. "See?" His face was pale and he was gripping the chair arm tightly.

Andy sighed again, "Raptor? Get him to the infirmary please."

His protests were cut off by Raptor saying "You can walk or be carried by Champ. Your choice, Commander."

He grimaced and headed for the door, supported by Raptor.

Azra walked down the hall and knocked on the door to the guest room Heckyl was in.

A moment went by, then it opened. Heckyl raised an eyebrow.

"What brings you here?"

Azra looked at him a moment before answering, "Just wanted to check on you. Also wondered if you were hungry?"

Heckyl smiled. "I am fine, dear girl. But I could use some food." He quickly put on his jacket, trying to cover the new stains on his shirt. "Lead the way."

Azra headed toward the kitchen and then looked through the fridge, "I can make grilled cheese? Or hot dogs? Normally mom cooks..."

Heckyl sat down slowly. "Either of those are fine, my dear. How are your parents by the way?"

Azra shook her head, "Mom's a bit better, but she forced dad to go to the infirmary because he was hurt. I don't know the details really."

Heckyl paled slightly, but forced a smile. "Glad to hear your mother is better. Does your father do that often?"

"Mom's told me a lot of stories of him hiding injuries," Azra grabbed a pan out to start cooking. "But this is really the first time I've been here when they've had to fight so it's the first time seeing them being that hurt…"

Heckyl nodded. "Understandable." He gave a soft smile, looking down at the table. "Your father reminds me of a close friend..."

"What's your friend like?"

"Stubborn, hard headed and aggravating. But he's also generous, fiercely loyal and puts everyone before himself. But I guess those are standard traits for a prince."

Azra looked thoughtful a moment, "I know a King. He's loyal and generous. And loud."

Heckyl laughed. "Luckily, Philip is anything but loud. In fact, the madder he gets the softer the voice." He grew sad. "I wonder how all of them are doing…"

"Well, I'm sure my parents will help you find your way back home to your friends," Azra smiled as she pulled the food off the pan and onto a plate.

Heckyl raised an eyebrow. "Have your parents turned into miracle workers?"

Azra shrugged, "Well, if they can't get you home, Uncle Kiba can. He's from a different universe so maybe you're from that universe too? I'm sure he could go to others but I don't know..."

Heckyl chuckled. "We'll see. Don't you worry your pretty head about it." He shifted, trying to hide a grimace. "Are you ready?"

She slid a plate down to him before making her own. She then joined him across the table. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He nodded as he bit into the food. He gave her a grin as he finished chewing. "This is excellent, my dear Azra. It's nothing to be concerned about, just sore from the adventure yesterday." He looked down at his plate, not meeting her eyes.

She looked at him a moment before nodding. "I can make you more if the one isn't enough."

He shook his head as he ate. "I believe this is more than enough. But thank you." He finished and began to rise before giving a sharp gasp. He sat down hard and squeezed his side tight. After the pain receded, he stood and went into the kitchen. Putting his plate in the sink, he leaned heavily against it.

Azra approached, "Even if mom is asleep, Raptor can help you if you're hurt."

"I do not want to be any trouble. Besides, this is penance for what I did to them." He shut his eyes tight, forcing himself to breath slowly. "I will just go to my room." He took a deep breath and stood upright. He turned and took a few steps before passing out.

Azra panicked and rushed to his side. She then realized she should call someone so she rushed to the comm and called Raptor.

"Azra? What's wrong?" Raptor exchanged glances with Andy.

"Heckyl passed out," she answered.

"Where are you? Do you know why he passed out?"

"Kitchen. He seemed hurt on his side but I don't know for sure..."

Andy looked up, "He had a stab wound... Can no one here be responsible and take care of themselves?" She sighed, "Raptor, please get him down here and we can check him out."

Raptor nodded. "Azra, I'm going to get Champ down there okay?" She touched the com on her blaster. "Champ, Azra needs you in the kitchen. Our guest needs to be brought to the infirmary."

Champ moo-ed a laugh. "Figured he was like aibou. On my way."

Raptor returned to Azra. "Sweetie, how's he doing?"

"It looks like he's breathing so he's alive?" She said with a deep breath.

"Can you see if he's bleeding? Or if he's injured anywhere?"

Azra moved Heckyl's jacket a bit to look at the side he had been holding, "He's bleeding on his side at least."

The kitchen door opened and Champ entered. He knelt and gently picked Heckyl up. "He'll be fine, Azra." He stood and headed for the infirmary.

Raptor met him at the door. "Lay him down here." She retrieved the scanner and ran it over him.

She gave Andy a worried look. "How was he when you met him?"

Andy sighed, "Taken over by an evil guy..." She shrugged slightly before pushing herself off the bed.

Raptor gave her a look. "You should not be out of bed." She returned to scanning Heckyl.

"If he was human, he'd be dead."

Andy walked past the bed Stinger was in and approached Heckyl. She pulled a chair up and sat down, "How bad is he?"

"Multiple severely broken ribs causing at least one lung puncture, internal injuries, serious concussion along with the stab wound and blood loss." She paused, rescanning his chest. "He appears to have some damage to his heart as well."

Andy looked at him a moment before nodding, "Stitch up his stab wound. I'll heal him when you're done." She closed her eyes and started gathering up energy, hoping she could help him.

Raptor frowned at her. "You can't even stand. You should not be trying to heal him." She got a suture kit and started stitching the injury. "I don't know if we can use any of the blood onboard. Can you tell if his blood is different?"

"We'd need to test a blood sample," Andy said with her eyes still closed. A clone appeared that took a swab of the blood on his side and headed to the other room. A few minutes later she came back with a bag of blood, "This should work."

Raptor nodded, taking it and attaching an IV to Heckyl's arm. "Stitches are done. Are you sure you're okay to do this?"

Andy let the clone disappear before she opened her glowing eyes, "I'll be fine." She held her hands out and started trying to heal up the worst of the damage first. After about twenty minutes she let her hands drop and she blinked at Raptor sleepily, "He should be almost entirely healed. His ribs are in place but not fully healed yet so he'll need to be wrapped and be careful, but everything else is looking well enough."

Raptor sighed. "Go lie down." She went to get bandages.

Suddenly a portal appeared, Kiba stepping out into the infirmary. "Hi- What the hell happened to you?"

Andy gave him a tired smile, "Long story short, this is Heckyl, was possessed by Snide. Freed him but after Snide hurt us. Then I got shot."

"You've been busy." He crossed to Heckyl's bed. "So it was true. Snide grabbed him again."

Andy looked up at her friend, "So you know where he belongs? I had a feeling he wasn't from here."

"I met his team, who are worried sick. This isn't the first time Snide has grabbed him either. But he's never ended up out of universe before. I'm glad I can send him back."

Andy nodded, "Me too." She looked back at Stinger who was sleeping before looking at Kiba again, "How's Hammy?"

Kiba grinned. "Last time I saw her she was happy. Apparently not all the children on your planet are idiots."

Andy chuckled, "Good. I miss her..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, "Can you help me a second?"

He nodded. "Back to bed?" He gently helped her climb in. "Go to sleep. I'm going to take Heckyl back."

Raptor walked back in. "Kiba!" She held bandages and quickly wrapped Heckyl's ribs. "You're not injured, are you?"

Kiba laughed. "Nope. Just going to take our wayward ranger home. I'll be back soon." He summoned the portal and whisked Heckyl away before disappearing.

Soon, Azra came in and noticed Heckyl was gone. She looked at Raptor in worry, "Where is he? Is he okay?"

Raptor nodded. "Your mom healed him, then Kiba showed up and took him home."

"Oh. Okay..." Azra nodded. "Well, that's good. I knew they could get him home."

Raptor put her hand on Azra's shoulder. "Your mom is sleeping, but she's going to be fine. Your dad should be waking up soon."

Azra looked at them and then moved to a chair between their beds.

Raptor turned and left the infirmary quietly.

"Azra?" Stinger blinked his eyes open and gave her a soft smile.

She smiled at him, "How are you feeling?"

"Better. How is she doing?" He sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Raptor says she'll be okay, but she was healing Heckyl so she needs to sleep. Also, I guess Uncle Kiba came and took Heckyl home?"

"Really?" Stinger chuckled. "Figures Kiba would know. Maybe he should start a business transporting wayward heroes home?"

Azra looked over at Andy, "How does she stay so calm when helping people? Heckyl passed out and I just panicked."

He gave a short laugh. "I wish I knew. I panic too. Maybe it's a medic thing." He carefully stood and went over to Andy. He watched her sleep for a moment, then bent and kissed her softly.

Azra watched and smiled. "Hey dad?"

"What, munchkin?" He looked over at her.

"If you're feeling okay, can you help me figure out something nice to do for mom? I don't know what though... Maybe cook her something?"

Stinger gave her a grin. "I think we can do that."

Azra nodded, "Thanks. Should we do it now for when she wakes or wait until she's better?"

Stinger thought for a moment. "I bet she'll get better faster if she has something nice when she wakes. Come on, munchkin. Kitchen is calling our name."

Azra smiled and followed him. She sighed, "Normal food like dinner or a dessert food? Or both?"

Stinger laughed. "S'mores. Your mom claims they are medicinal."

Azra chuckled, "Does she actually like them? I thought she just made them because of Kiba."

Stinger began gathering the ingredients. "She uses Kiba as an excuse to eat them."

Azra laughed, "What's your favorite dessert? Is it s'mores too?"

Stinger sighed dramatically. "Guilty as charged."

"I like when Spada makes cakes," Azra smiled.

"We do seem to all have sweet tooths don't we?"

She looked at the ingredients, "What can I do?"

"You're making them. I'm supervising." He sat down at the table. "You do remember how, right?"

"I put these in here to heat them?" She pointed at the microwave while holding a bag of marshmallows.

"Right. Not the whole bag though. Just enough for us."

Azra nodded and put some on a plate and stuck them in. She grinned widely as they expanded.

"Alright, now take them out carefully."

She pulled the plate out slowly and then laid out graham crackers and laid chocolate on them. She then put the marshmallows on them and squished them down with more graham crackers. "Good?"

"Perfect. Let's go see if she's awake."

Andy opened her eyes, hearing a noise in the room. She noticed Stinger was no longer in bed but smiled when he entered the infirmary.

"Hey beautiful. Feeling better?"

"I mean, I still haven't healed myself, but I'm at least not too tired anymore," she admitted.

Azra followed him in holding a plate, "Want s'mores?"

Andy's eyes widened and she grinned, "That would be great. Did you make these?"

Azra nodded looking proud at her work.

Stinger gave Andy a kiss. "All by herself. And it was her idea."

"Oh you're so sweet, baby," she smiled.

Azra held out the plate, "I still feel bad about what I said."

Andy shook her head, "Come here." When Azra was closer, Andy hugged her even though it stretched her wounds. "Don't feel bad. I told you, I get it, you were mad. And I'm sorry I said what I said. But let's forget about it and eat these?"

Azra looked at her a moment before grinning.

Stinger reached over and grabbed one, biting into it. "Delicious."

Andy took one and started eating, nodding her approval.

Azra then followed their lead and started eating one slowly. "I remembered how to make grilled cheese today! I made some for Heckyl."

Andy smiled, "I'm proud of you. And I'm glad he had something to eat."

Stinger ruffled Azra's hair. "I get the feeling maybe she'll be a chef like Uncle Spada."

Azra shrugged, "Maybe. Taking care of animals would be fun too."

Stinger chuckled. "You don't have to do only one thing."

"Yeah, like Aunt Hammy is a great ninja, and a teacher, and she loves to sing," Andy reminded.

"Just don't be like Uncle Kiba okay?" Stinger grinned.

Azra laughed.

Andy smirked, "He's going to be upset to find out he's missing out on s'mores."

"Why do you think I said to leave some marshmallows?" Stinger laughed. "Who knows when he'll show up."

Andy smiled, "He said he'd be back soon, we'll see though."

Stinger nodded. "I better get up to the bridge." He kissed both of them and left.

Andy looked over at Azra, "Are you okay?"

"I think so, just a lot going on today, you know?"

"I get it. But if you want to talk about anything you know I'm always here to listen."

Azra smiled, "Thanks mom. I'll let you rest some more."

Andy nodded, realizing she was getting tired again. She soon drifted back to sleep.


	26. A Year of Celebrations

Valentine's Day:

Andy wakes up, smiling over at the still sleeping Stinger. She kisses his cheek before getting up to get dressed. She then heads to the kitchen to start on breakfast. Her and Azra start eating before Stinger eventually strolls in.

"Morning beautiful. How are my girls today?"

"Morning," Azra and Andy said in unison.

"Good. There's food up there on the stove and coffee is brewing for you," Andy smiled.

Stinger grinned, getting a plate and cup before joining them at the table.

"Are you two going on a date tonight?" Azra looked between them.

Andy looked at her in confusion, "Why?"

Azra raised an eyebrow, "Valentine's day?"

"Oh. Right," Andy chuckled. "I didn't realize that was today."

Stinger laughed.

"Well... Do you want to go on a date?" Andy glanced at Stinger. "What kind of planets are we near?"

Stinger thought for a moment.

"Even if there's not a good planet nearby, you could still have a cute dinner here?" Azra suggested. "But it's not like there's a lack of planets to visit."

"What do you think, love?" Andy smiled at Stinger. "And am I the only one who forgot about Valentines or did you forget too?"

"I didn't forget… just didn't know what you wanted to do." Stinger turned red, crossing quickly to the sink.

Andy and Azra chuckled.

"Well, let's see what's around then we can figure it out. I'll meet you on the bridge after I clean up the dishes," Andy suggested.

Stinger nodded rapidly. "Yeah. Sounds good." He quickly headed out of the kitchen. After reaching the bridge, he cornered Champ.

"I need help, aibou and fast."

Champ looked at him a second, "What do you need, aibou?"

Andy looked at Azra, "Any ideas of what I should get him?"

Azra shook her head, "He's hard to shop for, isn't he? You've known him longer."

Andy laughed, "Yeah, he is. I always struggle with this kind of thing. You are so easy to shop for. Hammy is pretty easy. Kiba just needs s'mores. But Stinger? Impossible."

Azra laughed, "Well, jewelry or flowers are popular for Valentines from what I've read."

"He's not really a flowery person."

"We could go shopping and look."

Andy smirked, "You just want to get me to buy you things."

Azra shrugged but laughed, "Use buying me things as an excuse to go shopping so he's not expecting anything?"

Andy smiled, "We'll see. I'll let you know."

She headed down to the bridge to see what planets were nearby.

Stinger looked up with a guilty grin from a catalog. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Still wondering about the planets. Azra wants to go look around so I might take her for a bit."

"Roma Ten is a shopping planet. We're in orbit."

"Oh good. I'll take her down there. What do we want to do later? A date? Are there any good restaurants on Roma Ten?"

"One of Spada's chefs runs one. I already called. We have a table for two at eight."

Andy approached and wrapped her arms around him, "I love you." After resting her head on his chest a minute she pulled back with a smile, "We'll probably get lunch down there so you'll have to remember to feed yourself."

"You know I did live quite a few years before I met you or the others. I think I can handle lunch."

He grinned and kissed her. "I love you too."

"I'm surprised you survived that long with how often you forget to eat," she smirked.

He rolled his eyes, then smacked her butt playfully. "Smartass. Have fun."

She laughed before heading out of the room.

Later, when Andy and Azra came back to the ship, Stinger was in the voyager bay.

"Mom bought me a bunch of clothes!" Azra smiled as she pulled multiple bags out of the voyager.

"With how fast you grow, you can't fit into them from one month to the next," Andy analyzed. "It makes sense to buy a few sets a bit bigger." She looked at Stinger, "Did you have fun?"

"If you call filing reports fun."

"Totally," Andy nodded with a chuckle. "Too bad Raptor isn't here to push your work off on."

Stinger chuckles ruefully. "Stop rubbing it in. Are you ready to go?"

"Let me just go change really quick. Be back in ten."

Ten minutes later, Andy came back wearing a new blue dress. She had a matching purse but still had her kyuranger jacket over top the outfit. "Ready?"

Stinger whistled. "You look amazing. I'm going to have to fight the other guys off." He held out his arm.

She chuckled, "Thanks. I _may _have also gotten myself a few things while we were out."

"Of course." He grinned. "You're underdressed." He handed her a jewelry box.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow and took the box. Her eyes lit up when she opened it. Inside was a round necklace with a silver back, a turquoise circle in the center with a ring of dolphins inside. "It's beautiful," she smiled up at him.

He picked it up and put it around her neck. "You're beautiful."

When he was done, Andy reached into her purse and held out a box for him, "I got you something too."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Andy nodded, "Well, it is Valentine's day. I wanted to get you something to show you how much I love you." She looked at the box a moment, "I hope you like it."

He opened it, his eyes going wide. Inside lay a leather charm bracelet. He picked it up, chuckling softly at the kitten charm next to the scorpion and dolphin. "I love it."

"Do you want me to help put it on you?" After he handed it over and she was latching it on his wrist she smiled, "You really love it?"

He leans over and kisses her. "I really love it."

"The jeweler who makes the charms has shops on multiple planets, so if you ever want to add a charm it won't be too hard to find a place to get them."

"I'll keep that in mind. Let's go."

Andy nodded and climbed into her voyager. After Stinger followed, she flew them off toward their date.

Andy's birthday:

Andy noticed Stinger wasn't in bed when she woke up. She sighed and made her way to the kitchen.

Azra was standing at the stove cooking, "Happy birthday!"

Andy chuckled, "I should look at a calendar more, shouldn't I? I didn't realize." She pulled some plates out, "You'll be 5? So... Am I thirty already?"

Azra chuckled, "Yeah, I'll be five this year. I thought you had a good memory."

Andy shrugged, "Even if all my other problems are gone, with everything I've been through on this ship, I can't keep track of all of the details." She chuckled.

The two looked up when the door opened, Stinger entering the room. Andy smiled, "Morning. Azra was already cooking when I got here. Kind of nice having someone who actually likes cooking."

"Hey! In my defense, I like cooking. I just don't have the time." He walked over and kissed her. "Happy birthday, beautiful."

She smirked, "I think you just got spoiled having Spada here and never got past it. And thanks."

Stinger chuckled. "So what do you want to do?"

Andy shook her head, "I have no idea. Whatever you two want to do is fine."

Azra shrugged, "I don't have any plans."

The three turned when they heard the kitchen door open. Standing in the doorway was Hammy, "Happy birthday Daka!"

Andy's eyes lit up as she rushed to Hammy and hugged her. "How are you? When did you get here?"

"Just now, and I'm good. It's been a while so I figured I'd come visit a day or two." She turned and noticed Azra, "You're so big! You're a full blown teen now."

Azra rolled her eyes but got up and hugged Hammy.

Andy glanced at Stinger, "Did you know she was coming?"

Stinger gave her a mischievous grin. "Maybe…"

"So, do we have any actual plans or just hanging out?" Andy asked him.

"I don't have anything," Hammy answered. "If he doesn't have plans we can just spend some time catching up."

"No plans." Stinger shook his head.

Andy looked thoughtful for a moment, "Girls day? Painting our nails and catching up?" She looked at Hammy and Azra who smiled and nodded. She smirked at Stinger, "Want your nails painted?"

He gave her a horrified look.

"Well, maybe I'll just have to paint them when you're asleep sometime," Andy laughed.

"Don't you dare… I'll spank you for real."

Andy smirked and sent him a thought, '_I think you want to.'_

He turned red, quickly excusing himself.

Andy chuckled before turning to the others. She then started washing up the dishes. "So, how's Kiba? Have you seen him lately?"

Hammy frowned. "Not for a few months."

Andy sighed, "I hope he's not in any trouble."

Hammy nodded. "I hope so too. The last time I did see him, he was recovering from a concussion. He told me it was nothing to worry about."

Andy rolled her eyes, "Sounds like him." She finished up the dishes, "Let's go to one of our rooms? I'll go grab a few things, you two pick which room."

Later that night, the three entered the kitchen again, noticing Stinger cooking. Andy raised an eyebrow, "Thought you didn't have time for cooking?"

"Work was light today, so I figured I'd make dinner for you guys. Cake's almost done."

Azra's eyes lit up, "Cake?!"

Andy chuckled, "You can't eat the whole thing though, you have to share."

"With you of course, it's your birthday. But do we have to share with them?" Azra joked.

Andy laughed and sat at the table. After eating, Andy and Stinger headed to their room. "Thank you for cooking tonight."

"Your welcome, beautiful. Now it's time for your present." He pulled out a large box.

"Love, you didn't have to get me anything," she smiled.

"I love you. How could I not get you anything?" Stinger kissed her. "Hope you like them."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Them?" She opened the box up and looked in, smiling at what she saw. There was a light blue kimono with cherry blossoms and on top was a necklace and earring set that had flowers with a blue center. "They're beautiful." She smiled, "Thank you."

Stinger grinned. "Really? I wasn't sure you would."

"Yeah, it's wonderful." She got up and changed quickly, spinning around, "How does it look?"

His eyes widened. "It looks even better than in the pictures. Probably because the model is so much prettier here."

She blushed, "Really?"

He grabbed her, spinning her around and dipping her. He then gave her a hard deep kiss. "Absolutely."

She grinned, "Am I going to get this reaction every time I wear it? Because if so, I should wear it daily."

Stinger laughed. "Definitely."

Azra's Birthday:

Andy knocked on Azra's door, "Time to wake up. I have breakfast ready."

When Azra entered the kitchen she saw Andy and Stinger at the table with a big cake, "Happy birthday!"

Azra's eyes widened, "Thank you!"

"We're going to one of your favorite places today," Andy smiled.

She looked confused for a moment before Andy added, "Eshana."

"Swimming with the dolphins!" Azra grinned.

Stinger nodded. "Evian is very anxious to see you. She said she had a very special present for you."

Azra sat down with excitement, "When do we get there?"

Stinger checked navigation. "About 4 hours."

"But until then, we have breakfast and cake," Andy smiled. "Plus double checking we still have a swim suit that fits you or else we'll have to alter one."

Azra nodded and started eating.

A few hours later, they arrived to Eshana. When they landed the voyager, Evian was there to greet them.

"Welcome, friends. And a very happy birthday to you, little Azra."

Azra gave a nod, "Thank you."

Evian smiled. "Before you visit the dolphins, I wish to give you your present."

Azra smiled, "Thank you very much."

Evian withdrew a small object and gently placed it in Azra's hand.

Azra's eyes widened, "A kyutama?" She looked at it carefully, noticing the periwinkle color and a swan on the front.

"Where did you get another kyutama?" Andy looked at Evian.

"We have had this for as long as yours. It embodies my mother who had the gift of understanding animals."

Azra smiled and repeated, "Thank you." She glanced down at it again, "I really appreciate it."

Andy looked at Stinger a moment before smiling at Evian. "I'm excited to see what Azra can do with it."

After talking a few more minutes, Evian headed back toward the village while the other three headed toward the beach. Azra ran ahead and Andy looked at Stinger again, "I wonder why they didn't give that kyutama to Shou when they gave him the Iruka one."

Stinger shrugged. "Maybe whatever it does wouldn't have helped us?"

Andy sighed, "I know she's only a year away from being an adult, but she _is_ only five. I hope she'll be fine having a kyutama."

Stinger smiled. "Evian trusts her. Good enough for me."

Andy looked out at Azra who was already in the water, "I just worry about her, you know? She's my baby. And she's growing up too fast."

Stinger laughed. "_You_ picked a baby from a planet that shapeshifts and grows fast."

"It's not like I knew!" Andy chuckled, "Next time I'll have to do some research before I adopt anything. Between her and Shishi, who knows what I'd pick next."

Stinger kept laughing. "That's why I worry every time you go somewhere alone."

Andy rolled her eyes, "Well, they weren't what I expected, but I love them anyway. I don't get how Balance managed to adopt a normal cat though. I hope Treasure and Kaitou are doing okay. And you know, the thieves too."

Stinger nodded. "They're probably fine. The one I worry about more is Kiba."

"Yeah, even when he's trying to be good he's getting into trouble somehow." Andy slipped her dress off revealing her bright blue swim bikini. She started heading into the water, watching Azra, who was now changed into a dolphin. When Stinger was back at her side, she looked up at him, "I wonder if maybe we should adopt again. Jark Matter barely has been active. And it would give us a chance at a baby growing at a normal speed."

Stinger considered her words for a minute. "Maybe. You'd have to research before we even considered it."

"Would you want another baby?"

Stinger shrugged. "I'm not against it. But I tend to just let things happen. If we come across another situation like Azra's, I would accept it."

Andy nodded, "Well, it's not like we're totally old yet, we still have plenty of time to consider it." She pushed herself further into the water and started swimming out to where Azra was.

Stinger floated nearby, but chose to watch instead of interacting.

They swam for a few hours, having lots of fun with the dolphins. Finally, though, they headed back to the Orion, and Azra just kept thinking of what fun things her kyutama would be able to do.

Hammy's birthday:

The Orion flew into orbit of Andy's home planet. "It's been too long since we've been here."

"All the kids are still probably so small," Azra laughed.

Andy rolled her eyes, "Well, you probably won't see them anyway."

"Are you ready?" Andy looked over at Stinger.

Stinger chuckled. "Let's go."

After they landed, they approached the house, Andy knocking once before opening the front door. "Hammy?"

"In here." Her voice came from the guest room.

Andy walked down the hall and looked in to see what she was doing.

Hammy was applying a cool compress to Kiba's forehead. He appeared to be sleeping.

Andy sighed and headed in, whispering, "What happened?"

"He showed up yesterday as a surprise. He apologized saying he had caught a cold or something. He gave me my gift and went to bed early. This morning I found him like this."

Andy frowned and scanned him over, noticing he had a high temperature. She worked on lowering it and trying to treat any symptoms she could find. After a little bit she turned to Hammy, "He still probably won't be totally normal, but he should be feeling a lot better." After a moment she smiled, "Happy birthday by the way."

Hammy laughed and stood, hugging her tightly. "I missed all of you so much."

"Let's head out to the kitchen and catch up. We can check on him in a bit."

Hammy nodded and followed her.

After a bit they heard a noise in the guest room. Hammy and Andy looked at each other before heading to see what it was.

Kiba looked up blearily from the floor. "Andy? What are you doing here?"

"Hey," Andy smiled. "It _is _my sister's birthday, after all. I figured I should come visit." She held a hand out to help him up, "You okay?"

He took it with a sheepish grin. "Yeah. Surprisingly I feel better too." He narrowed his eyes. "Let me guess, your doing?"

Andy shrugged, "Maybe."

He chuckled. "Thanks. Not sure what I caught, but it wasn't fun." He looked at Hammy. "I'd kiss you but I don't want to get you sick."

Hammy smiled, "I'm just glad you are feeling better."

"Ok, We've heard all about her students, come tell us what you've been up to," Andy decided.

Kiba grinned. "Fighting, causing trouble for the bad guys. Annoying my dads. The usual." He followed them into the kitchen. "Hey, you've grown a lot." He waved at Stinger and Azra.

Azra laughed, "Yeah, I hear that a lot."

"In less than a year now she'll be an adult. It's crazy," Andy smiled fondly.

Kiba nudged Andy with a laugh. "Told you, you sure know how to pick them."

Stinger tried to cover his laugh with a cough. "What bad guys have you been causing trouble for?"

Kiba gave a half smile as he sat down. "Shocker. Zangyack. A few other smaller jerks."

"Well I'm proud of you, you're still alive," Andy smirked.

Kiba chuckled ruefully. "Barely. The reason I was gone so long was I got hurt pretty bad in one of the fights." He sent a thought to Andy. _'Still not healed yet actually. Don't tell Hammy please.'_

'_Why didn't you come to me sooner? And you know I'm going to heal you up later.'_

'_Because this is the first time I've been able to portal in two months. I almost died. And I know you won't let this go.'_

'_Where was Daiki or Tsukasa?'_

'_Same story. They're home being taken care of now.'_

'_I wish I could portal to other places to help you.'_

'_I know. Let's just make Hammy happy right now. I'll tell you everything later.'_

"Well, while you've been beating up bad guys, we've been surprisingly peaceful lately. Going a lot of places to learn about different animals, and a few other places to teach her things that _aren't _about animals," Andy smiled.

"For _my _birthday, I got a kyutama! I haven't gotten to use it yet though. We've not really had a reason and we haven't tried training with it yet. But Evian said her mom could communicate with animals so hopefully something fun like that," Azra grinned.

"You were an itty bitty newborn, it feels like yesterday, and now you have a kyutama?" Hammy looked surprised. "I'm glad you have one that seems to fit your personality though. I can't wait to hear about it."

Kiba grinned. "Very glad to hear it's been quiet for you guys. And you, young lady are lucky."

"How's Asuka?" Azra wondered.

"Getting big just like you." He looked at Andy. "She has an amazing bedside manner for being a cat."

"Well, look at her mom," Andy smiled.

A bit later, Andy went outside while Hammy and Azra were cooking.

"Pongi for your thoughts…" Stinger wrapped his arms around her.

Andy shrugged, "Wondering what we'll do when Azra is an adult. Is she going to go live somewhere or stay on the Orion? Will she start dating? If she's not with us, what are we going to do if Jark Matter isn't doing anything and we don't have someone to teach?"

"Take a deep breath. First off, why don't you ask what she intends to do before panicking. Secondly, we were discussing adopting again remember?"

Andy took a few moments, "I'm just worried that she'll end up in trouble and we won't be able to help her. Though, unless she goes off with Kiba somewhere, she'll be in our universe so we could try to find her."

Stinger chuckled. "I don't think that will be a problem. And aren't I the one who's supposed to be worried about her dating?"

"It's just... Yeah her people are adults at 6, and if people on her planet are the same age and date, they'd have equal footing. But if she dates someone from another planet, they will have so many more years of life experience and I'm just worried it's going to cause trouble."

Stinger sighed. "Yeah, I see what you're worried about. But we don't know if she even wants to date anyone. She may decide to go back to her planet and date. No use worrying until we have something to worry about."

Andy nodded, "You're right. I'm just trying to plan ahead, because with her, things happen so quickly. If baby Avery had made it, he'd only be like 8 or 9 and we'd still have years to think of that stuff. She's only 5 but she's really about 16."

Stinger kissed her cheek. "I know she grows fast. That's why we should enjoy our time with her now. Stop worrying about the future and enjoy the present."

Andy gave a soft smile, "When I was young, I never thought about the future. I was going to grow up and be a ninja and fight for my village. There was no question. And then I became a medic and between deciding to join the Kyurangers and seeing how short life can be, it's been almost impossible to think of anything but the future."

Stinger turned her to face him. "Listen to your wise old husband. Worrying about the future doesn't make it change. What will happen will happen, so just relax and enjoy the present. Let the future take care of itself."

Andy nodded, "Sorry. I always end up overthinking things when I come home."

Stinger wrapped her in a hug. "Understandable."

"We should probably see if they need help inside..."

"Think Hammy's burned it yet?" Stinger chuckled.

"With Azra there, it'll be fine." Andy smiled, "Maybe we should see if Spada could train her for a while if she keeps enjoying cooking."

"Not a bad idea." Stinger gave her a smile. "What were you and Kiba conspiring about? Noticed you two talking without us again."

"A bit about his adventure and why he was gone so long. If I don't get a chance to talk with him later, I'm dragging him to the ship when we leave," Andy smirked. "He just doesn't want to worry Hammy."

"The being sick or something else?" Stinger's eyes narrowed.

"Something else," Andy admitted. "He'll be fine though."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Problem child strikes again huh?"

"Yeah. I just wish I could help him more, you know?"

Stinger gave a little chuckle. "Wouldn't be you if you didn't."

Andy smiled, "We better actually go in now."

Stinger wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they headed for the door.

After eating and playing a few games, Andy looked at Hammy, "Thanks for the food. Though it was your birthday."

"Azra did a lot of the cooking," Hammy admitted. "Thanks for visiting. Though you know you are always welcome. This _is _your house too."

Andy laughed, "It might be my house but my home is the Orion. This place always feels distant now."

Hammy gave a soft smile, "You've built a family on the ship, it makes sense." She pulled Andy in for a hug before hugging Azra, "You be careful."

"I always do," Azra smiled.

Hammy hugged Stinger before turning to Kiba, "You staying or heading out?"

"Think I'll go with them for a few days." Kiba smiled. "I'll be back soon. Just want to discuss something."

Hammy nodded, "Well, you're welcome back whenever you want." She smiled before pulling Kiba in for a kiss.

Kiba returned the kiss. "If you get sick, it's on you." He laughed and winked at her.

"I'll risk it," Hammy kissed him again.

He was out of breath when they finally parted. "Wow… I needed that."

Hammy smirked before whispering, "There'll be more of that when you come back."

Kiba's eyes went wide and he took a deep breath, whispering back "I'll remember that."

Hammy smiled before turning back to the others, "As always, call me if you need anything."

Andy nodded, smirking as she looked between Kiba and her sister. "Come on then, Kiba. Unless you've decided to stay?" She thought to him, _'You can come make out with her all you want when you're healed. You better not make me drag you.'_

He grinned outwardly as he sent back _'Don't worry you don't. I'm just trying to get the strength to portal.' _His inner voice was laced with pain and exhaustion.

'_Walk to the voyager with us, I'll help you.'_

He went over to them, waving goodbye to Hammy. When she entered the house and closed the door, he dropped the act and leaned heavily on Andy.

"Come on, I'll heal you a bit now if you do want to portal or you can ride in the voyager with us," Andy offered.

"On second thought, no portaling. Gods only know where I'd end up." He flashed a weak grin at her. "Think there's enough room?"

Andy smirked, "If not we'll make Azra turn into something tiny."

He gave a soft laugh, then winced. "I'm sure she'd get a kick out of that."

Andy smiled and helped him into the voyager.

When they got to the ship, they headed to the infirmary. Andy took a few moments gathering energy before starting to heal Kiba.

He closed his eyes, sighing in relief. "Sorry for this. I am not running into situations intending to get hurt. But almost every time you see me, I need healing."

When she was done she dropped her hands, "You know I don't mind helping you. Especially when you didn't do something completely idiotic to cause yourself to get hurt." She smiled softly.

He chuckled. "So taking on a former Zangyack commander as a distraction to let hostages get rescued isn't _completely_ idiotic. Good to know."

Andy laughed, "Well it's my level of idiotic, cuz I'd do the same thing. Just don't do anything more idiotic than I would do."

His eyes twinkled. "I'll keep that advice in mind. You know I lied to Hammy about being sick huh?"

"Well, you did have a high temperature so it was convincing to her anyway," Andy answered.

He opened his eyes to look at her. "I did want to ask you and Stinger something."

Andy nodded, "We can head to the bridge then if you want."

He slowly got off the bed. "Let's go."

"You okay?"

"A little tired, but I trust you healed me well enough." His pallor was striking and the way he leaned on the bed made his words less than believable to her.

Andy sighed, "Lay down and take a nap. I'll try to heal you more and then you can talk to us when you wake up. Okay?"

He took a deep breath, climbing back on the bed with a small nod. He was asleep within seconds.

Andy spent the next twenty minutes healing him more. She then left a clone sitting by his bed in case he needed anything before she headed to the bridge.

Stinger looked up as she entered. "You look worried. Something wrong?"

Andy shook her head, "Just the usual worrying about Kiba. He did say he wants to ask us something though but he really needs rest."

Stinger snorted. "Hope it's something simple."

Kiba blinked his eyes open and yawned. Then he sat up and swung his legs off the bed.

Andy's clone opened her eyes when she sensed movement. "Morning."

"I slept that long? Huh. Good morning to you. Are you two up yet?"

She nodded, "I'm making breakfast if you want to come eat."

Kiba smiled at her. "I'll be there in ten." He climbed fully off the bed and headed out the door.

The clone vanished. Andy glanced at Stinger, "Kiba's up. And your coffee is ready."

Stinger chuckled. "Have a feeling I'm going to need it."

Kiba walked in a few minutes later, getting himself a cup of coffee and sitting down at the table.

"Have a proposal for you guys."

Stinger raised an eyebrow as he sipped his coffee.

"Let me have Azra for a couple of days next year." Kiba waited for the response.

"For what?" Andy looked up.

"Survival training. Survival camping as it were." Kiba took a drink of his coffee as he waited.

"Yeah, you'll have to ask her," Andy started plating up the food.

Stinger chuckled. "Get her away from the books."

Kiba gave a laugh. "Where is Munchkin?"

"She was in the training room a bit ago," Andy answered. "Though I wonder how much you can teach her about survival."

"Hey! I'm still alive aren't I? And I spend a fair amount of time camping." He began to eat with a grin.

Stinger shook his head amusedly. "Only because my wife keeps saving your butt."

Andy chuckled.

Azra entered and greeted them with a smile before going up to Andy and getting her plate. Andy then sat down after her.

Kiba gave Azra a smile. "Hey munchkin. How would you like to go on a survival camping trip with me?"

Azra raised an eyebrow but just answered, "Okay."

Kiba chuckled and looked at Andy. "So _much_ enthusiasm there."

"She's probably wondering how she's going to help you survive," Andy joked.

Azra laughed, "It crossed my mind. I can't really heal. But I'm sure I could learn something from him if he does survive."

Andy smirked, "Definitely my daughter, right?"

Kiba threw up his hands. "Why does everyone think I am going to get into trouble?"

"I think I told you before, once you prove you cannot get injured for a long time, I'll believe you," Andy smiled. "You know we are mostly just joking though, right?"

He chuckled. "I know. And I know I deserve it too." He finished his food, placing the plate in the sink. "I need to get back to Hammy. But you," He pointed at Azra, "Be ready. The bare essentials. Maybe do bring a large first aid kit though." He grinned at Andy. "I thought I'd suggest it before you did."

Azra nodded.

Andy smiled, "I'll even make sure she knows how to use it all." She sighed, "Be safe." She then chuckled, "Have fun with Hammy."

Kiba flashed a grin at her. "I will. You guys be safe too." He waved his hand, then disappeared into the portal.

Halloween:

Andy laid three outfits onto the bed with a smile. She looked at Azra and Stinger, "What do you think?"

Azra's eyes lit up, "They're perfect! Thanks for letting us celebrate Halloween."

"It'll be fun. We should celebrate more Earth holidays," Andy grinned and glanced at Stinger.

He face palmed. "Really, beautiful? Not enough I dress up on Christmas, now I have to do this too?"

"It's Azra's last chance to go trick or treating before she's an adult. You don't want to miss out on your daughter's first Halloween celebration, do you?" Andy chuckled, "Kotaro is dressing up too, if that helps."

Azra looked at him with wide eyes, "You don't want to dress up with mom and I?"

Stinger sighed. "Only for you, munchkin."

They both smiled at him. Andy handed Azra her costume and then asked Stinger, "Okay, we can cut the cat tail off so you can just stick your tail out or we can empty the cat tail of its fluff and then put your tail in it so it looks like a cat." She watched Azra leave before she started to change into her own costume.

"Probably should do idea number two. Don't want to scare the locals."

"It's Earth, I'm sure they know of you anyway. But that's fine," Andy finished changing before taking out the filling in the cat tail and handing his costume over. "How do I look?"

"Like one of Shishi's kittens." He chuckled as he got changed. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Andy grinned, "You look cute as a cat though."

"Cuter than myself?" He laughed. "How do I look?"

"Seriously you look cute. Though you are always cute," Andy pulled him in for a kiss.

He kissed her back. "Wonder what Kotaro's going as?"

Andy shrugged before heading out into the hall. They met Azra in the voyager bay.

"You look so cute my little kitten," Andy hugged Azra who just rolled her eyes.

After landing on Earth, they climbed out of the voyager and noticed Kotaro and Jiro approaching.

Kotaro was dressed as a pirate and Jiro was dressed as a ghost.

Azra eyed Kotaro wondering if he'd always been that cute.

Andy raised an eyebrow at her before smirking.

Stinger glared at Kotaro.

"Hey," Kotaro greeted.

Andy smiled, "Hey lil bear cub. Hey Jiro," she smiled at the ghost, wondering how well he could see through the holes in the sheet.

Stinger frowned at Azra's back. "Hey."

"How are you, Aniki?" Kotaro looked him over a second noticing the frown.

"I think he's just grumpy he had to dress up in a costume," Andy smirked.

Kotaro nodded and laughed, "Well, let's go then. There's some good houses nearby that Jiro wants to stop at."

"You just knock and they give you candy?" Azra asked.

Kotaro grinned, "Free candy is the best candy. Don't worry, everyone is nice."

Azra nodded before glancing back down at the ground in front of her.

Andy grabbed Stinger's hand as they walked and smiled at him.

Stinger gave her a half smile, eyes locked on Azra and Kotaro.

Andy rolled her eyes and gave him a light smack on the arm.

"What?" Stinger jumped and gave her a questioning look.

"You know what," her eyes darted at Kotaro and Azra before looking back at him, "Calm down."

"I am calm." He grumbled. "It's just her reaction bothers me."

She walked a bit slower making sure to put more room between them and the younger ones. "She's almost an adult, she's going to start having crushes. And he's probably one of the best people she could pick to have a crush on. Just because she might like him doesn't mean it'll turn into anything."

"He's family. And she's five!" Stinger hissed under his breath.

Andy started laughing, "What all did you tell me when I was worried about her dating? Don't worry about it. Yeah she's five, but six is a legal adult on her planet. She's basically a sixteen or seventeen-year-old in terms of development, he's only about twenty-two. That's the same age difference as us." She sighed, "Plus, yeah he's like family to us, but he's not been around her much. We've barely seen him the last five years, it's not like he's really family to her."

"Maybe not… but he's her uncle in everything but blood." Stinger shook his head. "You're right though."

Andy shrugged, "It's not like we can control who our hearts fall for, and we can't control hers either. We'll just keep an eye on things and see if anything happens. He's a good kid, he's not going to take advantage of her or anything. I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Stinger kissed her. "Where would I be without you to pull my head out of my ass when I need it?"

"Uhh I'm pretty sure you'd have been dead by now, honestly," Andy raised an eyebrow before giggling.

He grinned at her. "Probably. We better catch up."

Andy nodded and started walking a little faster. She then realized the kids had already stopped at a few houses and were starting to fill their bags with candy. "I wish we could have taken her when she was even younger," Andy looked at a few young children running with their parents.

"Don't fret over the past." Stinger squeezed her hand.

Andy watched Azra knock on a door and get more candy. When Azra turned back she noticed Stinger and Andy were there so she ran up to them, "Look! Only six houses and we have a ton."

"Are we really going to let her have all this?"

"I'm sure she'd share if we ask," Andy winked at Azra.

Kotaro and Jiro came up from another house, "Having fun?"

Azra nodded but stayed quiet and smiled at him.

"Well, come on then, there's more houses up here," Kotaro pointed up a hill before grinning.

Stinger rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I'm going to sit down. You guys have fun."

"Aw, too tired old man?" Andy stuck her tongue out at him making the others laugh.

"Maybe…" The look Stinger gave Andy was mischievous.

Andy smiled softly, "Want me to stay here with you or stay with them?"

"I don't care." Stinger settled himself on a nearby bench.

Andy sighed and looked at the other three, "I'll stay here with him, you guys go ahead. Meet us back here within half an hour though."

They nodded and Kotaro gave a small salute before turning to head up the hill. Andy moved to sit and leaned against Stinger, resting her head on his shoulder.

He kissed her head. "What are you thinking about?"

She shook her head, "Just watching the kids having fun," she looked out at a bunch of kids in bright costumes.

He chuckled. "It does look fun doesn't it?"

Andy nodded, "I wish my planet had something like this. Though I'm sure Hammy would steal all my candy."

Stinger stifled a laugh.

"Seriously though. She's wonderful most of the time but if I had something she wanted she would just take it. She finally got in trouble enough times to learn to just ask me for it instead," Andy smiled as she thought back on her memories. "We were still really little then though."

Stinger sighed, playing with her hair softly. "She was the only one on the team I was a little afraid of."

"I miss her. I hope her and Kiba are doing okay," Andy sighed softly. "Avery would always steal my stuff back for me as well as some of her stuff as payback."

Stinger cracked up at that and he took a minute to recover. "I'm sure they are both fine. And your brother was very brave."

"He was four years older than her and six older than me. He could kick her ass if he had to, but with his ninja skills being years ahead of us, she never caught him," Andy smiled. "We weren't always the closest because of the age difference. I was closer to Hammy except when she was being mean. But he was always really good with me."

Stinger sighed as he thought of his own brother. He gave Andy a hug. "Think the kids need help?"

Andy looked up at the hill, "It's not been half an hour yet has it?" After another moment, she added, "If we adopted again, Azra would get to be a big sister, but she wouldn't get the fun of growing up with them. Though only child life does have some perks..."

She smiled as she noticed the kids at the top of the hill coming their way.

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "We'll deal with whatever comes together as always." He stood and pulled her up.

Azra ran up to them, "Look!" Her bag was completely filled.

Andy raised an eyebrow, "I wish I could go trick or treating and get free candy..."

"Like you said, we can share."

Kotaro smiled as he and Jiro approached, "Jiro has plenty to last him a long while. Hopefully my uncle rations it out to him."

"But I want to eat it all now, Aniki," Jiro laughed under the sheet.

Kotaro chuckled and rolled his eyes.

Stinger fought a smile. "Believe me, not a good idea."

Kotaro noticed the sun setting, "Well, I better get him home."

"I'm not a kid you know," Jiro answered.

"You're still younger than me, so I'm treating you like one," Kotaro smiled and put his hand on Jiro's head.

"Thank you for letting me trick or treat with you," Azra grinned.

Kotaro nodded, "It was fun and I'm glad you enjoyed it." He looked at Andy and Stinger, "I'll see you guys in another month or so for Christmas, but if you need anything let me know."

Stinger ruffled his hair. "Stay out of trouble."

"You too."

"Be safe," Andy gave him a quick hug before heading toward the voyager.

"I wish all planets had Halloween," Azra commented.

"That would be fun. The costumes are exciting," Andy smiled.

Stinger snorted. "If you like that sort of thing."

"I think it's fun anyway," Andy answered. "And the costume has a tail, so that's fun too." She smirked as she remembered, "I did find another costume I want to show you later."

Stinger's eyes narrowed. "Oh really…"

She winked at him with a grin.

He smirked. "By all means, show me. I might just enjoy this holiday after all."

"There were a lot of good ones, but I stuck with the cat theme..." Andy chuckled before climbing into the voyager that Azra was already sitting in.

Stinger raised an eyebrow as he climbed into his. "I can't wait."

Stinger's Birthday:

Andy woke and kissed Stinger's cheek before heading out of the bedroom. She went to the kitchen and started cooking breakfast and making coffee.

She smiled when she noticed Kotaro enter the kitchen, "What brings you here?"

"It's Aniki's birthday, I figured I'd come visit. Plus, there's not been a lot going on so I thought I might hang out for a bit with you guys and Champ."

Andy nodded, "Well, food is almost done. Knock on Azra's door then wake Stinger," she smiled, "If you can."

Kotaro nodded.

He knocked on Azra's door as he passed down the hall, and he was halfway down when she opened the door. She noticed he was down there, "Kotaro?"

He turned with a smile, "Hey, Andy said breakfast is ready. I'll be there after waking Stinger."

Azra nodded and headed to the kitchen. Andy had plates out on the table already when Azra entered.

Kotaro knocked on Stinger's door.

Stinger opened it and grinned when he saw him. "Thought we weren't going to see you for another month?"

"I'm your birthday present!" Kotaro laughed. "Seriously though, happy birthday, Aniki."

Stinger gave him a hug. "Thanks. You make a pretty good present. Let me get dressed."

He closed the door and emerged ten minutes later. "So any news?"

"Just that our food is getting cold," he smirked. "There's nothing really going on at home. It's pretty boring actually."

"Tell me about it. I've been finding myself wishing for Kiba to show up." He laughed as they headed for the kitchen.

"Happy birthday!" Azra and Andy said when the boys walked in.

Stinger grinned. "Thank you, girls." He kissed Azra on the cheek, then dipped Andy and kissed her.

"We're making something spicy for dinner, but is there anything you want to do today other than that?"

Stinger paused, then shook his head. "This is enough for me."

"We could watch movies?" Kotaro suggested.

"Not Disney." Stinger chuckled.

Kotaro rolled his eyes, "Then pick something for us to watch."

After Andy was done cleaning up breakfast, she headed to the rec room where Azra was on the end of one couch while Stinger and Kotaro looked through movies. "You find anything good yet?"

Stinger grinned and put a DVD in the player.

Andy sat on the other couch, joined by Stinger, and Kotaro sat opposite Azra.

Music began to blare as a text crawl appeared.

At the end, Stinger got up and took the disc out. "It's almost like the writer imagined Jark Matter."

"Vader being Armage?" Andy glanced at him.

"There's a lot of Earth movies about bad guys in space," Kotaro answered.

"It's weird, but a lot more fun watching than living it."

Azra finally spoke up, "I think Disney would have been better."

Kotaro laughed, "Probably, but you know he doesn't like those."

"He likes some, he just doesn't want to admit it," Andy smirked.

Stinger hid a smile as he flipped through the DVDs, then loaded another one.

As the Disney emblem appeared, he chuckled at their dumbfounded looks as he sat down.

Andy glanced at Kotaro and Azra who were now smiling at the screen. She laughed as she cuddled against Stinger.

Stinger whispered. "I like keeping them on their toes."

Andy kissed his cheek, "What movie are we watching?"

"Aladdin."

"This one's your favorite, isn't it?" She smiled softly, "I remember watching this with you a few times already."

"Shhhh. Don't let them know that." He kissed her with a smile. "It's our little secret."

She kissed him back, pulling away with a smile.

After a while she got up and went to make popcorn. She brought back two bowls, holding one out for Kotaro and Azra to share and then one for her and Stinger. She sat back down and offered him some.

He grinned, taking a handful. "Remember when we introduced Kiba to Disney? Thought his eyes were going to pop out."

"You know, in some aspects he's a lot like Azra. Mind of an adult, by their bodies are still young," Andy analyzed. "But when it comes to Disney, he acts like the child he is."

Stinger laughed quietly and watched the screen. "By the way, how spicy is spicy?"

"I figured you can help me to taste it so it doesn't get too spicy," Andy smirked.

"Good plan." He chuckled and ate more popcorn.

Andy kept glancing over at Azra and Kotaro and had to fight from laughing when she noticed they reached into the bowl at the same time and their hands bumped, making them both pull their hands back and blush.

Stinger rolled his eyes. "They're clueless aren't they?"

Andy nodded, "Totally."

"Were we ever that way?" Stinger watched them wistfully.

Andy looked thoughtful a moment before answering, "I knew I liked you but I didn't think you'd like me being younger and since you were my commanding officer. But then once you did show interest it took so long to convince you I was staying and that I really wanted to be with you." She glanced over at them, "They don't have half the troubles we did, so hopefully things will work smoothly if they do want to date."

"Less baggage for sure. Kinda like watching another version of ourselves." He kissed her hand.

"And I was such an idiot."

"Yeah, I mean, his parents died and she's adopted, but that's about it. I'm really thankful they haven't had to deal with everything we did." She smirked, "You were an idiot. Sometimes you still are, but I love you anyway."

He blushed sheepishly. "I love you too. And I think my idiot days are _mostly _far behind me."

"I _am _glad that I don't have to chase you across the universe anymore," Andy smiled. "But like I've always said, I'll follow you anywhere."

"Remember the last time you said that? I about lost my mind."

"On your planet? Before we got attacked by a giant scorpion?" Andy chuckled.

"Yeah. After we'd both nearly gotten killed because of a stupid plan of mine."

"Yeah you did about lose your mind. But you weren't really in a good mindset anyway," she sighed. "I meant it though."

"I know. And I feel the same way." He gave her a soft kiss.

"Too bad we can't be Disney characters, and once we have one or two bad things happen, just fall in love and be rich royalty with no worries..." Andy glanced at the screen. "Though I probably wouldn't change how things are even if I could."

Stinger laughed. "If only…" He looked at her. "I love you forever."

"I love you forever too."

The movie ended and Stinger gave her a smile. "So what now?"

"We should start on dinner," she answered. "They can watch another one while we cook?"

"Good idea." He helped her stand and they headed for the kitchen.

"Did Kotaro tell you? He says he's going to hang out with us for a while, so I assume he's staying around until after Christmas."

Stinger gave her a smile. "No, he didn't. Hope he doesn't get too bored."

"Honestly, between Disney movies and Azra, I doubt he'll get too bored."

Stinger rolled his eyes as he got out ingredients.

"Maybe the thieves will be around soon and we can do a heist? I know I wanted to retire, and I'm glad things have been slow, but we need something happening. Now that Azra doesn't need all our attention, we need to figure out something to do other than stare at boring reports you have to still file."

"Maybe. We still have Kiba and his antics to liven up our days too."

"Yeah," Andy chuckled as she read over the recipe.

A bit later the food was done and Azra and Kotaro came into the kitchen, talking about the movie they were watching.

"It's spicy but it shouldn't kill you," Andy put plates down.

"Famous last words. The last time we made this she wanted more peppers."

"_You _were the one that put that many in in the first place, so that's your fault," Andy answered.

Kotaro took a bite, "Definitely spicy but better than last time."

Stinger chuckled as he began to eat.

"You wanted more spice?" Azra took. A gulp of water, "This is almost too spicy."

"Last time had way more peppers and I still wanted more," Andy answered with a laugh.

"Your mother is a bit insane." Stinger laughed.

Andy rolled her eyes and started eating. After dinner, Andy was washing dishes while Kotaro and Azra went back to their movie. She glanced at Stinger, "Champ has your birthday present."

"Should I be worried?" Stinger kissed her and headed to find his aibou.

Champ was on the bridge when Stinger entered, "How was your spicy food, aibou?"

"I'm not looking for medication, so I'm good. Andy said something about you having my present?"

Champ moo-ed, "It's in my room." He stood up and started to head out into the hall. He looked at Stinger, "You coming, aibou? Or should I bring it here?"

"Will I have to sit down when I see it?"

Champ shrugged, "Probably not."

"I guess I'll come with you then." Stinger followed him to his room.

Champ unlocked the door and opened it, heading in and looking around for a moment. Soon a grey kitten ran out from under the bed. "She thought since she has Shishi and Azra has Jewel, that you should have your own cat."

Stinger raised an eyebrow as he picked it up. "Really?" He gave a small smile. "She's sneaky."

"She even did research on the planet we went to and this should be a completely normal cat," Champ added.

Stinger laughed. "If it's not, I know who to blame."

"So what are you naming it?"

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"I think Andy said it's a girl."

"Hmm. I don't know yet." Stinger cuddled it as he headed for their room. "Thanks aibou."

"It's Andy's present to you, I just helped care for it for a couple days," Champ admitted before heading back to the bridge.

"Beautiful? Are you in here?"

Andy answered from her desk, "Yeah." She got up and turned around, smiling when she noticed the kitten. Shishi approached, sniffing the air at the new scent.

"You thought I needed a cat? Or is this a sneaky way of getting another pet?"

Andy chuckled, "While I do want more cats... Shishi is pretty much mine and Jewel only lives in Azra's room, so I thought maybe you'd like your own furry friend..."

He chuckled. "Thanks and I have the perfect name for her too."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"Daka." Stinger had a broad grin on his face.

Andy rolled her eyes, "That's going to get really confusing if you ever call her, but she's yours so if you want to name her that you can." She smiled, "Though you don't normally call me that so it won't be _too_ confusing."

"Exactly. It's not like she's coming on missions with us, so..." Stinger kissed Andy. "This has been a wonderful birthday. Thank you."

"You're welcome, love. I'm glad you liked it, and this little one," Andy pet Daka's head. "Want to watch more movies with the kids?"

"Is there another option?" He wiggled his eyebrows with a smile.

Andy chuckled and rolled her eyes, "There might be."

Stinger gave her a slow smile and put the kitten down. Then he gently cupped her face and gave her a deep kiss as he closed their door.

Nov 29:

Azra sighed and headed to the bridge. She noticed Stinger and Champ were talking so she waited a minute until they were done.

"What's up Munchkin?"

Azra took a moment before asking, "Mom seems kind of sad today but she says there's nothing wrong... Is she okay?"

Stinger checked the date and froze for a second. "This is a bad day for her, munchkin."

Azra frowned, "Why?"

Stinger sighed. "Several years ago, your mom was pregnant. Today would have been his birthday."

Azra looked sad and nodded, "I knew she had lost a baby, but I didn't think much about it." She sighed, "Should I say anything or just let her do her own thing?"

Stinger gave her a hug. "It's up to you, munchkin."

"Are you sad too?"

"Yes, I am. But it's worse on your mom."

Azra looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "I know you guys love me, I'm not questioning that, but did you guys only adopt me because you lost your own baby?"

Stinger shook his head. "Your mom would have adopted you even if we had twenty kids of our own. I'm not saying that it didn't probably play a role in it, but your mom wasn't going to let you be alone."

Azra nodded, "Okay. I've always kind of wondered..." She smiled, "Thank you for adopting me. I'm glad you two are raising me."

Stinger kissed her forehead. "No, munchkin. Thank you."

"I think mom's in your room, but if I see her later I'll say something," Azra decided before heading out of the room.

Stinger headed for the bedroom. "Beautiful? You okay?"

Andy was folding laundry but looked up at him, "I'm fine."

"Liar. Even munchkin picked up on it."

"Okay... I _will_ be fine." She looked back down and continued her chore.

Stinger crossed the room and took the laundry out of her hands. "C'mon beautiful. This is me you're talking to."

She sighed, "What is there to say that I haven't said before? I'll probably always be sad about it, so I'm just trying to move on."

"Doing a lousy job of it. Munchkin asked if we only adopted her because we lost him."

Andy's eyes started tearing up, "Really? I seriously am trying to get past it but it's just so hard, you know? I never want her to think we'd do something like that. Of course I wanted a baby, because I wanted kids, but I would have wanted her anyway."

"That's exactly what I told her." Stinger softly kissed her. "She just worries like you do."

"I'm sorry I'm sad, it's just hard sometimes when I get reminded of him."

"I know. I told her it's a lot harder on you than me. And you should never apologize for feeling sad, especially about this. Remember how long it took for me to stop apologizing?"

Andy nodded before turning to the closet. She reached up and pulled a box down and took something off the top, "You know, I still never thought of anything to rhyme with Azra. Though she grew so fast she didn't need a baby blanket long." She held out the blanket to him that had a rhyming phrase for Avery.

Stinger took it gently. "What should we do with this?"

Andy shrugged, "It's just been sitting in the closet. I take it out sometimes and look at it but it's not like we really need it."

Stinger smiled softly. "Keep it. You never know."

She nodded, "It's really the only thing we have of him."

He kissed Andy gently. "I love you."

"I love you too," she took the blanket back and put it away.

Kiba's birthday:

A portal suddenly appeared in the infirmary, a semi-conscious Kiba tumbling to the floor as it just as quickly vanished.

Andy heard a noise making her look up from the other room. She rushed out when she noticed Kiba, "Hey, what happened?" She grabbed his arm to help him into a bed.

"Apparently I have a bounty on my head in three universes. Some jerk thought he could collect long distance."

Andy sighed as she started healing him, "You really should just stay here or with Hammy. You'd be safer, especially if you have a bounty on you."

Kiba winced, then flashed her a grin. "Then what would all the bad guys do with their time?"

Andy rolled her eyes and just kept healing him.

"So what's new?"

"Not much. It's been slow. Kotaro has been spending some time here and I think he and Azra like each other but they haven't said or done anything about it yet."

Kiba started laughing. "Oh boy. Stinger must be loving that development."

"He wasn't happy at first but he's a bit calmer now. We'll have to see if he can stay calm if they do actually go on a date," Andy smirked. "That's about it... Oh, I got Stinger a kitten for his birthday."

Kiba raised his eyebrow. "A kitten huh? Never really took him for a pet person. Tell Munchkin to take video if he goes apoplectic. Give me something to look forward to."

Andy chuckled before dropping her hands from him. She grabbed the tablet and started typing things in. She looked confused for a second before grinning, "Happy birthday, Kiba."

He looked at her in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I have records for everyone on the ship, so I add reports when new injuries happen. Anyway, I was looking and your record lists today as your birthday. I probably got the date from the Shocker stuff I stole."

Kiba frowned. "Oh. Thanks I guess."

Andy smiled, "I'm sure Azra could whip a cake up really quick. We have to at least do something for it."

Kiba shrugged. "It's no big deal. Don't worry about it. I never knew about it before, so doesn't change much."

"It's the day my best friend was born. We are celebrating. Especially since you haven't celebrated before."

"I wouldn't say I was born. But if you want to celebrate, sure."

Andy smiled and grabbed her comm, "Hey Azra? Can you bake a cake?"

Azra looked up from her book and reached over to her comm, "Okay. Why?"

"Kiba's birthday."

Azra nodded, "Cake will be ready within an hour or two."

Andy looked back at Kiba, "So what do you want to do? Catch up with us? Watch Disney movies?"

"Honestly I have no idea. I'm still a little in shock." He slowly got off the bed and stared at the floor. "At least I'm not lying in the infirmary on my stomach like I used to be on this date."

Andy put her hand on his shoulder, "Hey, let's just go relax a bit. We'll just catch up and have some fun, okay?"

He gave her a crooked grin. "Wait till I tell you how we had to save Dad's ass."

Andy chuckled, "Is he ever not in trouble?"

Kiba shakes his head. "Pretty sure he was in trouble the minute he was born."

Andy chuckled and started heading down to the bridge. When they got there she looked over at Champ and Stinger, "Guess who just showed up."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, he landed on a bed in the infirmary?"

"Just about," she smiled. "Also it's his birthday so Azra is baking cake."

Kiba just closed his eyes in embarrassment. "She wouldn't let me leave."

"Hey, you get free cake and you got healed, you could stay for a couple hours at least," Andy answered. "It's been a while since we've seen you. Just consider you spending a couple hours as payment for the healing?" She smirked.

"Okay, okay." Kiba chuckled. "I surrender." He sat down and grinned. "Have you ever imagined Daiki getting caught not once, not twice but three times trying the same heist?"

"I bet you Balance and Naga could do it," Andy laughed. "So what happened?"

"This is the third time trying this particular one. Remember three headed dogs? Try number two."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "What is so important about it that he needs to keep going after it?"

"I wish I knew. He won't tell us. Anyway, this time his much vaunted invisibility set off every damn alarm in the place. Try opening a portal while fighting off the hell dogs and a moving laser system. I told dad he's on his own next time he tries."

"Wow," Andy shook her head.

"And you thought I was a trouble magnet."

"So anything else going on?"

"Except for the mishap that brought me here?" He shook his head with a frown. "Just spending a bit of time with your sister."

"How is she?"

"Relieved. School was out when I left. She said she was looking forward to peace and quiet."

Andy nodded, "And how are things going with you two?"

"Good. She does wonders at keeping me out of trouble."

"Well, I'm glad someone is keeping you from trouble," Andy chuckled.

"I know. And after today… she may have her work cut out for her."

Andy looked at him confused for a moment.

"The people who tried to bag me today can portal." Kiba grimaced.

Andy frowned, "Seriously, maybe you should stay here a while so we can help you out when more people come after you."

Kiba looked at her. "I'm tempted to take you up on the offer. But what happens if they manage to portal here? I don't want to put any of you in danger, especially munchkin."

Andy sighed, "There's currently four rangers on the ship, and there'll be more this month with Christmas. Azra has a kyutama which I'm sure can help somehow, plus she can shapeshift and we've trained her in a few different fighting styles."

Kiba raises his hands. "Fine. I just don't want anyone hurt on account of me, you know that."

Stinger looked at them. "Who's after you now?"

Andy winced, "Bounty hunters from three universes..."

Stinger closes his eyes in exasperation. "You really know how to get into trouble don't you?"

"In my defense, I must be pissing off the bad guys majorly to get this many people after me right?"

"I wonder who put the bounty on you in the first place," Andy sighed.

Her comm beeped and Azra's voice spoke up, "Cake is ready."

Kiba whispered in Andy's ear as he stood. "Shocker started it, then Zangyack and our old friends in Jark Matter joined in." He headed for the kitchen, laughing at a joke Kotaro was telling.

Andy sighed and sent him a thought, _'We haven't received any Jark Matter intel in months. If you do know anything or find a base, let me know.'_

'_You'll be the first. Got my wanted posters if you want to see them.'_

Andy couldn't hold back her laugh and Stinger looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.

When they got to the kitchen, Azra showed them the cake.

Kiba's eyes went wide. "Is that what I think it is?"

"S'more cake," Azra smiled.

Kiba kissed her cheek. "You're a sweetheart."

Azra started cutting the cake and handed Kiba the first slice.

Kiba looked down, appearing to fight back tears. "I've never had a birthday before."

"Well, happy first birthday party then," Azra grinned before passing slices out to Kotaro, Stinger, and Andy.

Kotaro smiled after taking a bite, "This is as good as Spada makes."

"Because he taught me how to make the best cakes," Azra answered.

Kiba ate slowly, enjoying every bite.

"Tastes just like a real s'more," Andy grinned.

He chuckled, putting his empty plate down. He reached into his jacket and withdrew a folded piece of paper. "Look at this."

Unfolding it, the first thing they saw was a 2,000,000,000 pongi amount.

"Damn, that's worse than most of the kyurangers," Andy looked it over.

"That's pongi. Shocker offered the equivalent to the Zangyack too." Kiba sighed. "You're looking at one of the most wanted men in three universes."

"Most people don't bother going after the Kyurangers, I'd think if they knew you were with us, most people in our universe wouldn't be a problem. We just need to show the other two universes that you aren't going down without a fight."

Kiba gave her a small smile. "You're right about that. But bounty hunters don't care. And I don't know how many there are."

He looked at Azra. "May have to cancel our camping trip."

"We can wait until they are gone," Azra answered.

"May be a long time. I've been jumping almost nonstop since I found this. Two weeks and they keep finding me, although today was the first time they got close enough to hurt me."

"It can wait, I have a long time to learn things," Azra smiled.

Kiba grinned. "Alright then. More cake?"

Christmas:

Andy smiled, "I talked to Shou, and you don't _have _to wear a costume this year. But you'll be the only one not in one so you can decide which one you feel is more awkward," she tossed a costume at Stinger.

"If I don't have to, I'm not gonna." Stinger tossed the costume back at her. "Make Kiba wear it... Punishment for healing yet to be done in the year to come." He laughed at the thought.

Andy chuckled, "Okay." She quickly changed into her outfit which was a dress that looked like a Santa costume. "What do you think?"

He walked over and kissed her. "I think maybe we should miss the party?" He gave her a smirk and a suggestive wink.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we'd be interrupted by people looking for us..." Andy smiled widely.

"Lock the door and train the security system on them." Stinger joked. He let her go and laughed. "We'll go to the party. But afterwards…" He gave her a hungry look.

Andy smirked, "Sounds like a good plan." She glanced at the time, "We should get going though."

After arriving, Andy spotted Hammy and Kiba. They were heading that way when Azra came up with Kotaro, "Look at the books I just got," she grinned showing them five books about Earth.

Kotaro smiled but stayed quiet.

Andy chuckled, "We need to give you a second room just for all of your books."

Stinger grinned, then burst out laughing as Kiba appeared scowling.

"What's up?" Andy greeted.

"A tree? I thought Naga didn't have a sense of humor." He held the offending costume in one hand.

Andy laughed. "You don't want a costume either?"

"Costumes are fine. But this?" Kiba eyes it like it was going to bite him.

Andy chuckled, "What did Hammy say about it?"

"She can't stop laughing long enough to say anything. Which says it all."

Andy laughed, "Well, it's not like you're being forced to wear it."

She glanced over and noticed Balance was missing. She raised an eyebrow as he snuck back in. Soon after, Spada brought the punch in and Andy pieced it together.

She whispered to Stinger, "Should we let Azra have punch if it has alcohol?"

"She's almost an adult. Let her decide."

Kiba put the outfit on the couch and looked at Hammy. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Hammy just chuckled and pulled him down for a kiss.

Andy warned Azra about the alcohol before getting her own glass of punch. Half an hour later, Andy and Azra were just whispering to each other and giggling hysterically.

Kotaro looked at Stinger, "They're really lightweights aren't they?"

Stinger laughed. "Yeah. You should have seen her when we visited Tsurugi. She had about three sips of the stuff he drinks and was so plastered."

Kiba eyed the girls as he walked up. "To be fair, Tsurugi's stuff is so strong it would make anyone smashed fast. I barely had more than her and I swear I was drunk for days."

"It seems alcohol from most planets is stronger than Earths, but I still have a decent tolerance," Kotaro analyzed.

He glanced back over and chuckled at Azra who now had four arms and had Andy wrapped up in them, "I can hug you double this way!"

Stinger face palmed. "This _is_ munchkin's first time drinking. And Andy doesn't drink much."

Kiba was trying to stop laughing. "I _have_ to take her to see Lucky. We can get drunk and she can freak him out."

Andy stood after she quit laughing and untangled herself from Azra's arms. After refilling her glass, she went and stood by Stinger, "She's going to be so hungover tomorrow."

Stinger nodded. "She wanted to try it."

As Azra approached, Andy smiled, "You should probably go to bed baby. You're not going to feel good, you'll need a lot of sleep."

Azra sighed, "But mom..."

"You're not six yet, so you still have to listen to us," Andy answered.

Azra nodded before wrapping her arms around Kotaro, "Thank you for the books." She whispered in his ear, "Did you know you're really cute?"

Andy pulled on one of Azra's arms, "Bed time. Come on."

Kotaro's ears turned red. "You're pretty cute yourself."

Azra grinned as she pulled away and followed Andy out of the room. Andy came back a minute later, "She's very huggy while drunk apparently."

Stinger fought a grin. "Really? We couldn't tell."

Andy giggled, "Sorry, I'm pretty drunk too. But not as bad as her." She noticed Kotaro was still red and giggled some more.

Stinger gave Kotaro a mock glare, causing Kiba to start laughing all over again.

"I _may_ be a little tipsy myself."

Stinger rolled his eyes at all of them. "Kotaro, relax. Kiba, sit down before you fall down. Beautiful, you're going to bed."

Andy rolled her eyes, "I'm not a child, you can't make me..."

Stinger playfully smacked her butt. "Wanna bet?"

Andy smirked but shook her head, "Are you coming to bed too?"

"Oh yeah." Stinger turned to the others. "Night all. Gotta take care of the happy drunk."

Andy smacked his arm but said night to everyone.

Once they were in the hall Andy laughed, "I wonder if Azra and Kotaro will date now that they at least have called each other cute," she smirked. "I think Azra tried to whisper but I don't think she did well being drunk."

Stinger chuckled. "No she didn't. Poor lil cub, I don't think I've ever seen him that embarrassed. As for dating, they do make a cute couple."

"They are so cute!" Andy squealed a little too loud. She then started giggling as she opened their door.

"You are so drunk. I'm starting to think we need a rule about spiking the punch."

Andy just giggled in response before sitting on the bed.

Stinger shakes his head and starts taking off her shoes. "You need to sleep."

"But what about our plan?" Andy smirked.

"Later. Sleep now." Stinger climbed into bed and waited for her.

Andy pouted but laid down on the bed, "I love you."

"I love you more." Stinger wrapped his tail around her, pulling her in for a kiss.


	27. Another Magical Encounter

The last thing Andy remembered was fighting Jark Matter. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking against the bright light. After looking around, she realized she had no idea where she was. There was a figure sitting at a table, his back facing her. She moved quickly and quietly, putting a kunai up to his throat. "Who are you?"

The man took a deep breath, "Don't worry, I'm a friend. You've met my team before."

"Team?"

"The Magirangers," the man in the blue and gold jacket answered.

Andy was quiet for a moment remembering back to the kyutama that brought them to her universe. "So where am I and why am I here?"

"You were taken to heal N-Ma. We found you unconscious and injured."

Andy pulled the kunai away from his throat, "I was fighting Jark Matter. How did I end up here?"

"Probably some kind of magic," the man answered. "They call me Hikaru by the way."

Andy moved around to his front, "I'm Andy."

A plant jumped up on the table making Andy raise an eyebrow. She just nodded when he started talking, "We need to get you home."

"Well, yes, but how?"

"I have a train that can take you there, as long as we can find a way to your world," Hikaru informed.

Mandora Boy looked over when there was a noise, "It's a Hades Beast, de gozarimasu desu!"

"Hades Beast?"

"They work for N-Ma," Hikaru stood. "I have to go help them take care of this."

"I'm going with you," Andy decided as she picked up her blaster off the table.

"You're still injured," Hikaru argued.

Andy rolled her eyes, "Hasn't stopped me in the past."

She followed him, finding the other Magirangers already morphed and fighting.

"I see our guest woke up," Urara commented as she dodged a hit.

"Hey!" Houka gave a wave after doing the same.

Andy watched them a moment before putting her kyutama in her seiza blaster and morphing. She took a few hits, but nothing major. After a while though, the Hades Beast fell forward in an explosion.

They all unmorphed and the Magirangers approached Andy.

"You don't look much older," Andy noticed. "Must be time differences between our universes."

"It's been about a year," Makito said. "Though we still never fully figured out how we ended up there."

"A kyutama," Andy lifted her own, "with that M symbol. It transported you there. I'm not sure how the kyutama was made but it disappeared."

Andy noticed the one in yellow holding his side, "Are you hurt?"

Tsubasa sighed and nodded, "I have some healing potions at home though."

"Healing potions?" Andy looked interested. "I have healing abilities; I can fix you right up."

"Let's get back home," Hikaru gave a nod.

After arriving back, Andy started healing Tsubasa as they all actually introduced themselves.

"So you guys are magicians? That must be fun," Andy smiled as she dropped her hands away from Tsubasa.

"It can be," Kai smiled.

"We all have different abilities though, like I can shapeshift," Houka smiled.

"My daughter is a shapeshifter," Andy grinned, "She causes a lot of trouble with it."

"I remember you have a couple robots? And someone had a tail? Where are you guys from?" Urara questioned.

"In my universe, Jark Matter was trying to take control of multiple planets. The Kyurangers rose up to stop them. Most of us aren't even from Earth. We only have two members from our Earth, the rest of us are from elsewhere. Yes, we have Champ who is basically a robot, Balance is a mechanical lifeform, as he likes to be called. We also have Raptor who is an android. Then there's four of us who are fully human that aren't from Earth, Naga who has some snake like abilities, a wolf and a dragon. And then yes there is Stinger, my husband, who has a scorpion tail."

The main five looked at her with amazement.

"We're just normal humans with normal lives," Tsubasa answered, "Outside of fighting Infershia."

"Says the one who fell in love with a ghost and had a black hole inside of him that was sucking in the world," Kai laughed.

Tsubasa frowned and smacked Kai's arm.

"You probably should be getting back," Hikaru finally spoke.

Andy nodded, "They're probably searching for me."

They got on the train, and Andy noticed a big weird cat. "Hi."

"That's just Smoky," Hikaru added.

"Talking cat, nice," Andy smiled. "My cat is tiny and then grows to tiger sized to fight with me. She also can heal a bit."

"Sounds nice," Smoky laughed.

Not long after, they found themselves on a desert planet. "This is the right universe, I believe, but I don't know how far to where you are supposed to be."

Andy looked through the window and noticed a giant scorpion approaching, "Any chance this can go into space?"

Hikaru shook his head, "I doubt it. I don't know how the pressure would react, as every world we go to is similar to Earth."

Andy sighed, "Well, if you have any magic to stop that scorpion, you really don't want to fight those things." She used her comm to call for Stinger, "Orion, come in. Orion, can you read me?"

"Andy?! Where are you? Where have you been?" Stinger's voice was quiet, but Andy could hear the undercurrent of frantic worry.

"I ended up in another universe... I'm back in ours now but we're in a train, stuck on Needle... How far are you?"

"You're on Needle? Shit, Andy... You get into the weirdest situations. We're about ten minutes from you."

She nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Well, send my voyager down when you get here so the Magirangers can go home."

"There's a planet called Needle? Who names these things?" Kai laughed.

Urara nudged him to get him quiet again.

Stinger laughed over the comm. "It's my home planet. You know, scorpions. Andy, I'm sending your voyager now. Please don't piss off my giant relatives, okay?"

"They're being okay right now," Andy answered with a chuckle.

"Well, good luck with Jark Matter," Makito smiled.

"Good luck with N-Ma and the Hades Beasts," Andy responded with a grin. She saw her voyager land. "Have a safe trip home." She paused and pulled a small notebook from her bag and wrote something down, "Here's the frequency for our comms, if you ever find yourself back in our neighborhood." She held the paper out to Hikaru.

After a quick wave she ran out into the sand, quickly making her way to her voyager. She watched Travelion disappear before she took off toward the Orion.

She climbed out of her voyager and noticed Stinger waiting for her.

He walked quickly over and embraced her hard, then gave her a deep kiss. "I thought I'd lost you." He whispered huskily in her ear, fighting tears.

"Apparently I was taken to heal their bad guys but I was saved before I even woke up. Then I helped them take out a beast and came back. Also, time seems to move different, how long was I gone here? I honestly don't know how long I was over there unconscious..." Andy pulled away from him slightly.

"It's been two weeks, Andy. Two weeks where there was no sign you existed." Stinger stepped back, though he kept ahold of one hand. "I was close to losing it."

Andy frowned, "I'm sorry love."

Azra entered the bay, "Mom?"

Andy gave a soft smile, "Hi baby. I'm sorry I was gone for so long."

Azra shook her head and approached for a hug. Andy hugged Azra with one arm while the other hand was still holding Stinger's.

A portal appeared, Kiba stepping out. "Sorry, Stinger. I..." He blinked rapidly as he took in the scene. "Andy? You're back?"

She nodded as Azra moved away, "Was unconscious for a bit then I was only there awake a few hours, but time moves different so..."

Kiba ran over and wrapped his arms around her, tears in his eyes. "I searched everywhere I knew. Every universe I could think of. I couldn't find you anywhere..."

"I'm sorry," she gave him a sleepy smile, "Well, this is the second time I've met up with them, so if I ever go missing again, go check with the Magirangers."

Kiba chuckled through his tears. "Definitely." He let her go with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about this."

Andy shook her head, "It's fine, Kiba." She blinked her eyes slowly before frowning. She scanned herself over a moment, "Apparently it was only about a day because my wounds from the Jark Matter fight aren't healed much yet. I should probably go try to heal myself..."

Stinger picked her up with a soft smile. "You just rest, beautiful." He walked out of the bay towards their room.

Andy rested her head against his chest and was asleep before he even got to their destination.


	28. Survival Camping

Kiba perched in a tree, trying to catch his breath. He listened for any sign of his pursuers.

Hearing nothing, he quietly made his way down to the ground and headed back toward the campsite. He had a call to make, then he would grab his driver and disappear.

A sudden pain engulfed him from behind and the world went black.

Azra climbed out of the voyager, "I'll check in at 9 am."

Andy smiled, "Have fun."

Azra headed in the direction Kiba said to go, it shouldn't be far. She heard noises soon after, so she snuck behind the trees. She found Kiba on the ground with someone standing over him with a blaster pointed at him.

She panicked momentarily but soon turned into a jaguar and pounced on the man, slicing through him with her claws. She noticed him stop moving and she changed back to normal to check his pulse. She took a deep breath when she realized he was dead.

She went to call the ship but noticed the comm busted when she pounced. She had to see if Balance could help her make something that could withstand her shifting. She moved to Kiba and checked his pulse and breathing. After realizing he wasn't dead but wasn't waking up just yet she took his jacket off and pulled his shirt up and started cleaning the wounds like Andy showed her to do. She hated the smell of blood but knew she had to help him. When she was done, she moved into a sitting position and kept watch.

"Azra?" Kiba's eyes were barely open. "You shouldn't be here."

"Well my comm is busted and I wasn't going to leave you," she answered. "I told them I'd call by 9 am so if they don't hear from me they'll show eventually. So we just need to stay safe until then."

Kiba coughs and tries to rise. "Good luck with that. This whole planet is teeming with hunters after my hide."

"It's not like I can leave, unless you can portal and I don't think you can." She moved to his side again. She took a deep breath and focused on trying to do what Andy described to her before and heal him but she barely managed to heal the smallest scratches. "I'm sorry I'm not made out for this, but I did try to dress your wounds."

Kiba gives her a tired smile. "If we can get to my tent, I have a comm. Unless they got to it first. My driver's there too."

Azra nodded and held out a hand, "Think you can walk? I could probably be a horse or something if you can't."

Kiba chuckled as he took her hand. "As interesting as that would be, I can walk. For now, anyway."

A bullet embedded itself in the tree next to him.

"Shit! Azra, run!" He pushed the girl forward.

Azra started running but looked back to see if he was still beside her.

"Don't worry about me!" He summoned his gun and fired several times into the trees.

Azra took a moment and turned into a tiny cat, running next to him.

He looked down and nodded. "Good idea."

Azra noticed someone standing near a tree so she ran up and became a jaguar again, clawing him up like the first guy. She then became tiny and ran back to Kiba.

He was leaning on a tree and raised an eyebrow at her. "Remind me not to ever piss you off seriously."

"How far to camp?"

"About two miles ahead of us." He tried to stand, but couldn't quite manage it. "Go without me. I'll only slow you down."

The cat shook its head before becoming a horse, "I'm not leaving you."

Kiba gave a short strained laugh. "You are your mother's daughter." He struggled to climb on her back, finally managing it on the fifth try.

"I wish I could help you more." She ordered, "Hold on tight." She started racing ahead.

Kiba heard shouts behind them. "I think they noticed us." He aimed his gun and fired into the trees, hoping to slow their pursuers. He could feel his strength waning and soon all his concentration was taken up with staying on Azra's back.

Azra stopped suddenly realizing there were a few people ahead of her. "Careful," she turned back into a human, slowly moving him to the ground. She grabbed her kyutama from her pocket and put it in her seiza blaster, "Please do something good."

She soon found herself covered in a periwinkle suit with long feathery wings on the back. She pointed her blaster ahead and started firing. She then grabbed her weapon, forming it into a spear before running forward to attack.

Kiba took a moment to whistle appreciatively before looking behind him. Several people were moving through the trees and he fired, making them duck. But his strength failed, the gun sliding from his hand as he passed out.

Azra finished taking out the couple in front of her before shooting at the people in the trees. She soon picked Kiba up and focused on flying toward the camp. She was thankful she knew how to fly already because if she hadn't she'd have landed face first into the ground.

After getting to camp and finding nothing useful there, she took them forward into the trees a bit more to not be out in the open. She put Kiba on the ground and then formed herself into a rock shape to hide him.

Kiba didn't know how long he was unconscious, just that it was dark when he opened his eyes. He was alone and he shot to his feet in a panic. "Azra?!"

"Shut up!" She whispered turning human again. "I was hiding you."

He gave her a small smile. "Sorry. Did we make it to the camp?"

"It was empty."

Kiba cursed. "They have my driver then. Not good news. I have to get it back." He started forwards before his legs buckled and a sharp pain erupted in his side.

Azra knelt down by him, "Let's just hide until mom and dad show up."

"I have... to get my driver back." Kiba panted, his eyes squeezed shut against the pain.

"We will, when it's daylight and we have backup." She reached into her bag and held a pill out, "Have this. It'll help with the pain."

He took it dry, scanning the tree line. "How long do you think it will be before they find us?"

She moved, becoming a bush, hiding him, "Just stay quiet and rest."

He sighed and slowly laid down, closing his eyes. "Can't let you get hurt. Your parents would resurrect me just so they could kill me themselves."

"I'm almost an adult, I can protect myself. At least better than you can right now," she whispered.

He gave a sleepy chuckle. "Maybe so. It won't matter to them if you get hurt because of me."

"I don't think they'd blame you if I get hurt," Azra answered, "Just rest for now."

There was no answer.

Kiba awoke just as the suns began rising.

He lay still, listening intently for the sound that had woken him. Realizing it was the sound of someone moving through the underbrush, he hissed "Azra! Wake up! We have to move!"

Azra jumped up, turning back into her human form. "What?"

Kiba slowly stood. "Movement in the underbrush. It's too early for your parents. Leaves only one other answer." He strained to see in the little light. "We need to move. Quietly."

Azra nodded before whispering, "Do you need help walking?"

Kiba shook his head. "Not at the moment. Let's go." He turned and carefully began to walk forward. He only got a few feet before they heard yelling. He raced back to her and grabbed her hand. "Forget quiet. Run!"

They ran, racing over rocky ridges and under fallen trees, hoping to get a decent lead over their attackers. They skidded to a stop as they realized they had ended up at a cliff.

"Sorry." Kiba panted as they looked over the edge to the flat land below. "At least it doesn't overlook the ocean."

He looked at her and opened his mouth again but whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the crack of a rifle.

The bullet slammed into him, sending him over the cliff edge as Azra watched in horror.

Azra took a moment before turning into a large bird, catching him on the way down. She slowly and gently dropped him onto the ground before swooping back up. She landed and quickly morphed, running forward shooting at the attackers. After a few minutes, she flew back down to Kiba. "How are you doing?" She knelt by him, hoping he was still conscious.

"Am I dead yet?" The question was breathy, blood spilling over his lips. He coughed wetly and struggled to keep his eyes focused.

"Stay with me, you're alive and you'll be fine," she raised her hands and tried to focus on healing him, blue light slightly flashing around her hands before going out entirely. "I never wanted to be a healer, but now that I do, I can't do anything. She tried to teach me how but I just can't..."

He shook his head with a strained smile. "Not your… fault. You need to… run. Before they come looking…" He closed his eyes.

"I'm not leaving you," Azra reminded. She sat, still morphed, waiting for more attackers or her parents to show.

"Champ, you have the bridge." Stinger looked at his watch again. It was way past time for Azra to have checked in and worry gnawed at him. "I'm going down there."

Andy ran into Stinger in the hall, "Has she called yet?"

"No. I'm going down. You coming?"

Andy nodded, "I'll grab my bag."

A few moments later she met him in the voyager bay. "Let's go."

They climbed into their voyagers and headed for the planet.

Kiba's breaths were coming slower, the pauses between getting longer. He'd long since lost consciousness, the puddle of blood beneath him slowly widening.

Azra ran her fingers through his hair, praying under her breath.

She shot up when she heard a sound behind her, but she noticed Stinger and Andy there. "Help him, please."

They looked at her a second, analyzing her armor. Andy then rushed to Kiba's side and started healing him.

Kiba's breathing started to improve, his eyes fluttering open to see Andy.

"Is she okay?" He asked, fearing the answer.

"She's fine," Andy nodded, "Just rest. We're going to get you out of here."

He shook his head. "They took my driver. I have to get it back. Get Azra out of here."

She looked at Stinger, "Get Azra back, I'm going to help him find his driver."

Stinger frowned, then nodded and took Azra to his voyager. They climbed in, disappearing into the sky.

Kiba sat up with a groan and reached into his jacket, removing a syringe of green liquid. He took the cover off the needle and was about to inject it when he saw Andy staring at it.

"What is that?"

"Something that will give me an edge. Found it in one of Shocker's labs. Notes say it was designed for me."

"I don't think you should take it. We'll get your driver and get you out of here without it. At least don't use it until I test it."

"You know I can't get ten feet without you helping me. And we don't know how many hunters are left. You can't fight if you're supporting me. This will let me fight." He stabbed it into his leg with a wince.

Five minutes later, Kiba's eyes narrowed. "Who are you? Are you my backup for this mission?"

"You don't know me?"

He slowly shook his head. "I'm on a mission right? There are riders I need to get their powers." He suddenly held his gun pointed at her. "Are you one of them?"

She shook her head, "I'm not a rider. I'm a ranger. My powers aren't compatible with yours. I'm here to help you find your driver."

"Someone...took it?" He shook his head in confusion.

Andy gently pressed the comm button on her blaster, keeping her arm down and relaxed. She hoped Stinger or Champ would hear and figure a way to knock him out. "Yeah, it was stolen. We need to find it."

"Fine. You had better be telling the truth." He began walking toward the trees.

"There are people after you. Bounty hunters. One of them probably took it," Andy followed him.

"Do you know where the camp is?" Kiba turned to look at her. His eyes were glassy, pupils wide.

"I think it's this way," she pointed and started walking in that direction. "The hunters will show up since they're after you, so we don't need to search for them."

He nodded, and turned away. He stood still, staring into the trees silently.

Andy stopped walking and sighed, trying to figure out how she could get through to him.

Suddenly she felt a hand grab her neck. She tried to spin around and hit them but they blocked and grabbed her arm. "Kiba!"

A shot rang out and the hands fell away.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Who is Kiba?"

"Sorry, just someone I know. Usually work with him." She looked down at the hunter, "He was quiet. I normally sense people before they get that close." She bent down and checked his pockets, "No driver here."

Kiba sighed. "Keep walking." He turned away and started forward without another word.

Andy followed after him, staying silent.

Suddenly, he stopped and crouched in the tree line. He looked out at the camp, eyes flicking back and forth rapidly as he strategized in his head. He waited for her to crouch beside him before asking "You know how to fight silently?"

She nodded, "I'm a ninja, I can do silent."

He raised an eyebrow, giving her a cold grin. "You're good backup. I'll be a distraction and go in shooting. You find the driver. Anyone tries to stop you, kill them. I'll make sure Shocker gives you a bonus for each kill."

Andy nodded again, "Sounds good."

He gave her another grin, then raised his gun and began shooting into the camp. He walked out of the trees methodically shooting anyone in front of him.

Once he was far enough away, Andy whispered into her comm, "He thinks he's with Shocker. Unless you can knock him out, stay far away."

She headed out, taking out a few people that got in her way. She checked the pockets of all the dead, looking for the driver. Finally, she found it, "Got it." She tossed it to him.

He caught it one handed. "Very nice."

A shot rang out, hitting him in the back. He gave no indication of feeling anything, just turned and shot a hunter who obviously hadn't been killed in his first attack. As the man slumped to the ground, Kiba turned to Andy. "Shall we go? I have to make my report."

She took a moment but nodded. Soon she heard another shot ring out, feeling it pierce her side. She winced, trying to stay upright.

Kiba quickly sighted the shooter and fired. The hunter tumbled backwards as he moved to her side and examined the injury. "Through and through. You'll be okay. Lean on me."

She tried to walk forward a few steps without his help. She considered making an invisible clone to try to sedate him but she didn't know if it would affect him if getting shot didn't. She wondered if Stinger could sting him to paralyze him. How could she get him to normal? Focus on his mind? She took a deep breath and prayed Stinger had come up with a plan before Kiba whisked them off to a Shocker base.

Kiba rolled his eyes and began to approach when another hunter appeared. He fired, but the hunter was faster. The bullet grazed Kiba's head and he dropped bonelessly to the ground.

Andy shot at the hunter before throwing a kunai at him. While he was avoiding the shots, he missed the kunai which struck straight at his heart.

After watching him fall she fell onto her knees, moving herself toward Kiba. She took a moment and called Stinger, "Please get here soon. Kiba's down." She held her hands up and started healing the worst of his injuries.

Stinger ran as fast as he could. He could hear the pain in Andy's voice and knew she'd been injured. Now Kiba was down too. He cursed. He had known it was a bad idea to leave them. But Azra had been too shaken to be left alone at first. He pushed down the guilt and anger and kept running.

Kiba cried out, his back arching. "Azra? Azra, it hurts."

"Kiba," Andy smiled so glad that he remembered Azra at least. "I know it hurts, hun. I'm taking care of you though."

His eyes fluttered open. "Andy? What happened?"

She took a deep breath, "I'll tell you all about it when you're feeling better. Just stay with me, okay?" She continued healing him.

"It feels like my blood's on fire. I'm sorry I didn't listen about that syringe." He tensed as another wave of pain hit. "Forgive me?" He tried to smile at her.

"As long as you stay you, you're forgiven," she spoke softly, trying not to let her pain show in her voice. "If I can't get you feeling totally better, I'll make an antidote to that serum if I can."

"I don't think I like the implications of your forgiveness, but I trust you." His eyes widened as a lance of pain went through his head. With a soft cry, he stiffened then passed out.

Stinger touched her arm. "Beautiful? Are you alright?"

"I'm more worried about him. I hate when he goes DeStruct or age regresses, because I never know what to say. I'm afraid I'll say something wrong and screw things up..." She sighed, hands still glowing as she pushed energy into him. "He seemed back to normal after waking up though..."

"Let's get back to the ship." He gently picked Kiba up, then paused. "Why was he thinking he was DeStruct anyway?"

"Cuz he didn't listen to me and did something stupid," she slowly pushed herself to her feet.

"Sounds like him." Stinger looked at her, then touched his comm. "Aibou, lock on to my signal and come get us in ShiShi voyager."

"Okyu." The bull responded.

Stinger gently placed Kiba on the ground and wrapped an arm around her. "Truthfully now. How are you?"

"Well, I was shot, so..." she looked down at the ground, "I could be better."

Stinger gave her a soft smile. "At least you're honest. I shouldn't have been gone so long, but Azra..." He sighed.

"She isn't the best dealing with injuries, so our problem child isn't the best for her to be around. Plus, she also had to kill hunters, she's never killed before."

"Yeah. she was pretty shaken. But she was worried about problem child more. Kept asking why you two hadn't come back yet."

"I found his driver finally. We were very close to ending up in a Shocker base..." She winced as she held her side, noticing her hand was now coated in blood.

Stinger swore and made her sit down. "Where is he dammit?" He reached for his comm just as ShiShi voyager landed.

Champ headed for them as soon as the back opened. "Aibou?"

Stinger picked Andy up. "Get Kiba and get us back to the Orion now!" He carried her into the voyager, gently sitting her in his lap as he sat down.

Champ placed Kiba next to them and headed for the controls.

As they lifted off, Stinger couldn't help watching Kiba's shaky breathing. "Idiot."

Andy lifted her head and looked at him, "Kiba _is _an idiot. But he's our idiot."

"How much longer can he push his luck?"

"He is an idiot, but at least he's not trying to get himself killed on purpose..."

Stinger snorted. "At least when he was doing it on purpose I could yell at him. This damn bounty business…"

"He'll be okay," Andy nodded. The voyager landed in the bay, rocking her slightly, making pain shoot through her.

Champ came back and picked Kiba up again as Stinger somehow managed to get to his feet without letting go of Andy.

They made their way to the infirmary and each lay their respective burdens down on a bed.

Champ headed for the bridge as Stinger sat down beside Andy.

She focused a bit of her energy into making a clone. The clone headed to the medicine cabinet and grabbed an orange vial. She filled a syringe and stuck Kiba with it before holding her hands up and analyzing any changes. Slowly the wounds began to shrink and his breathing evened out.

"You want to tell me what he did now?" Stinger glanced at his too pale face, noticing the tremors running through the rider's still form.

Andy told him about the green serum and DeStruct.

Stinger tried to keep his blood pressure from exploding. "Of all the stupid, idiotic things in the universe to do!" He paced between the beds. "I want to hit him so much right now."

"Please don't. He was just doing what he thought was right," Andy spoke softly, her clone still watching over Kiba.

"Using a Shocker serum that might have killed him? That still might? That was galaxy levels of stupid."

"He's getting better," Andy noted.

"I hope so." Stinger turned as Kotaro appeared.

"Azra is really worried. She wants to come down here. What should I tell her?"

Andy took a deep breath, "If she can handle seeing blood, she can come down." She glanced at Stinger, "Which reminds me, I don't know if I can control a second clone... Can you stitch me up?"

He nodded and went for the suture kit as Kotaro left. Returning, he began to stitch Andy's side while keeping one eye on Kiba. Right as he finished, Kiba began to convulse.

"Dammit!" He raced to keep Kiba from falling off the bed.

Andy pushed herself off the bed and moved to a chair next to Kiba. The clone took a blood sample and started analyzing it. She also checked his pockets, finding a second vial of green serum and went to test that.

Andy's eyes glowed as she gathered outside energy in to work on keeping Kiba's vitals steady. Soon, the clone returned and stuck another syringe into Kiba's arm.

The convulsions stopped in seconds. Kiba lay still, the rise and fall of his chest the only indication of life.

Andy let her clone disappear before continuing to help the injections work faster and helping to heal Kiba up. She glanced up when she heard Azra enter, but she looked back down again seconds later.

"Andy... I don't feel good." Kiba's eyes were clear although he wasn't completely conscious.

"I know, hun," she moved the hair from his face, "Just relax and let me help you feel better."

He nodded slowly, his eyes slipping closed again.

Twenty minutes later, Andy dropped her hands away and the glowing stopped, "It looks like he'll be fine."

Stinger let out a relieved sigh. "What the hell was in that serum?"

"It's complicated but a lot of chemicals that seemed to work similar to the chip," Andy answered. "Now I've formulated an antidote though, so if they use it against him, we can help him," she added.

"I'd love to get my hands on the scientists that created that damn chip." Stinger's voice was cold.

"He's really going to be alright?" Azra finally spoke up.

Andy nodded, "I'll keep an eye on him a few more minutes in case anything happens, but he seems steady and mostly healed by now."

Azra sat down. "I was so scared. And I couldn't heal him. I tried… but I couldn't." she began to cry.

"It's okay baby," Andy comforted. "I'd hug you if I wasn't covered in blood..."

Azra didn't answer, just rushed over and hugged Andy tightly.

Andy hugged her as tight as she could but she barely had any energy. "I love you. You did wonderful and look, now you can morph. You're a real Kyuranger."

Azra sniffed. "Really? I was worried it wouldn't do anything."

"Well, it would have done something. I'm a little surprised you morphed but it's cool. And I love the wings."

Azra blushed. "They're cool aren't they?" She looked at her. "I should let you rest."

Andy blinked slowly, "You don't have to go. I'm fine..." She smiled softly.

"You don't look fine." Azra sat down beside the bed. She sighed, looking at the floor. "You're not mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you baby?" Andy sighed, "Okay I'm not totally fine. I should try to heal myself..." she trailed off.

"I killed people." Azra didn't look at her, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Honey... I know how you are feeling. I felt the same way. But when it's bad people... it's a necessary evil. You need to kill them to stay alive and keep other good people alive." She took a deep breath, "It's complicated but I do understand how hard it is to deal with."

Azra stared at her knees. "I didn't even do it consciously. I just saw a man aiming at Kiba... Kiba wasn't moving... And I just reacted."

"It's just the flight or fight response. Your adrenaline peaks and you attack without thinking." Andy glanced up at Stinger for help because she didn't feel she found the right words.

Stinger knelt in front of Azra. "Munchkin, I know this is hard. But you saved his life. You kept your head and you kept him alive. I'm sure he would tell you the same thing. You fought to protect your family and that's what's important." He gave her a tight hug. "We're proud of you."

Azra sniffed and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm tired, Daddy."

Stinger gave a soft smile and gently picked her up. "I'm going to take her to bed. Stay out of trouble okay?" He teased Andy lightly.

Andy gave a nod before looking back at Kiba. She sighed and put her head down on her arm, resting against the side of his bed waiting for Stinger to get back.

Stinger quietly laid the sleeping Azra into the bed and covered her up. Giving her a kiss on the forehead, he slipped out of the room and returned to the infirmary.

Finding Andy asleep, he picked her up and moved her back to the bed. Then he sat down between the beds and settled in to wait.

It wasn't long before Kiba began to toss and turn.

Stinger gently put a hand on his arm, flinching as Kiba's eyes flew open. They were wild, not completely focused.

"Hey, calm down. You're safe on the Orion." Stinger could see Kiba trying to process the words.

"What happened? Where's Azra?" Kiba's voice was rough and he tried to sit up.

"She's sleeping. As for what happened… let's just say the next time you find serum in a Shocker base, don't fucking use it okay?"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "It was meant for me."

Stinger fought to keep his voice calm. "You are a world class idiot you know that? We almost lost you twice to it. And the first time was the scariest according to Andy."

Kiba's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you weren't **you** anymore!" Stinger's temper exploded. "You weren't our friend, you were Shocker's killing machine!"

Andy woke hearing noises. She finally focused on Stinger's voice. She spoke up, eyes still closed, "Don't yell at him." She finally opened her eyes and looked over at them, "What's going on?"

Kiba swore as he finally realized what Stinger was saying. "I could have killed you guys _again_."

He hung his head. "What the hell was I thinking?"

He slid off the bed slowly, not meeting either of their eyes. "Now I know why you said what you said about forgiving me. I- I shouldn't be here…" He took off out the door at a run.

Stinger hit the wall with a fist. "Dammit! Now I really screwed up."

Andy sighed, "Go try to find him." She reached over and grabbed her tablet, typing things in.

"If he's still on the ship." Stinger headed for the door.

He finally found Kiba in the voyager bay, huddled in a corner. "Hey. Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled like that. You scared us all pretty bad."

"Stay away." Kiba looked at him. "I don't trust myself right now. My head... It's not right. I don't want you to get hurt." He pressed a hand to his temple.

"I trust you. You won't hurt me." Stinger kept slowly approaching.

Kiba suddenly aimed his gun at the ranger. "I said stay away!"

Andy stared at the tablet, noticing Kiba was in the voyager bay. She tried to push herself up to go help him and slowly made her way down the hall.

Stinger held his hand out. "Kiba, give me the gun. I'll take you back to the infirmary."

Kiba laughed coldly. "Kiba's not here at the moment." He cocked his head and looked at Stinger. "So this is where he hides. Well, hiding is over."

Stinger froze. "What do you mean?"

Kiba twirled the gun in one hand. "I mean you all thought he was the real personality didn't you?"

At Stinger's shocked look, he laughed again. "Kiba is merely the face I hide behind in order to get close to targets. Have to act friendly to gain a target's trust after all. He's not real. I'm the only real one here."

Andy had entered, hearing his last few sentences. She laughed, "That's bullshit."

Stinger whirled to see her. He put a hand out. "Stay where you are, beautiful."

"Kiba" raised both the gun and an eyebrow. "And you think you know otherwise?" He appraised her for a minute. "The insecure healer who runs from her own problems to focus on the black sheep that she thinks she can save."

He chuckled. "You can't save him. He doesn't exist. Only I do. And I think this ship will be a nice addition to Shocker's fleet. You don't mind terribly, do you?" His smile was twisted, mocking.

Andy raised an eyebrow before the invisible clone that she made stuck him with a sedative. She had brought one down in case something like this would happen. Though she didn't _exactly_ expect this. She smirked, "Good luck with that."

Stinger grabbed the weapon as Kiba went down. "You couldn't have warned me?" He moved to her side, looking down at their friend. "What the hell happened?"

"Well, either DeStruct was fully brought back with the serum or Kiba just went insane," She shrugged. "Can you carry him to the infirmary?"

Stinger frowned and picked Kiba up. "He was acting like Kiba was a facade."

Andy chuckled, "And I've been inside his mind. I know him better than anyone else. Kiba is real, DeStruct just doesn't want him to be."

Stinger sighed as they walked toward the infirmary. "Tempted to jump to Shocker world to find that General. My tail is itching to sting him repeatedly."

Andy managed to keep up with his speed, the pain increasing in her side. "I'm going to try to get into his mind... but I don't know how things will go." She thought back to when she last took down DeStruct in his mind. "I'm putting the infirmary on lockdown, whether you want to be inside or not. But in case things go bad, I'm not letting DeStruct get out."

Stinger paused and looked at her. "I'm not leaving you or him."

He resumed walking, entering the infirmary and placing Kiba on a bed. "Restraints?"

"Definitely," she nodded as she sat down.

Stinger grabbed one of the sets and began attaching them. "These are the ones made for me. I doubt he has half the strength I do."

As he finished, he looked at Andy. "Do you think you can do this again?"

"I think so, I just hope I don't have to kill him again." She took a moment and brought energy in. She made a clone who started healing Andy. She made another clone who started analyzing Kiba's vitals. "I'm going to see how this goes... I love you."

Stinger sighed. "I love you too." He sat down next to her.

Andy took a deep breath before she tried to focus on his mind. She closed her eyes, searching for any sign of Kiba.

She glimpsed a bound figure, but was suddenly blocked by DeStruct.

"Congratulations! I don't know what you hope to accomplish but it's nice to have someone to talk to. Though I should shoot you for tricking me."

Andy shrugged, "Just thought I'd come see what was going on in here." She then smiled, "So I don't really know much about you. Why don't you tell me a bit?"

DeStruct laughed. "I'm Shocker's perfect weapon. I love my job. Riders aren't needed in any universe." He paused and looked at her. "I'm sure that's not what you want to hear though."

He turned and approached the bound figure, kicking it viciously. "You want to hear how I'm so guilt stricken and suicidal right?"

"No," she shook her head. "I wanted to hear what you said first. I said I wanted to know more about you, even if I don't really approve of what you do." She looked at him, "So what's it like working for Shocker? Do you have an apartment or anything? Or do you just camp out because you're always chasing riders?"

DeStruct cocked his head. "An apartment? Really? I live however I need to to get close. Shocker is going to rule everything and I just remove bugs in their way. Think of me as pest control."

He looked down again. "And he's the biggest bug of all." DeStruct materialized his sword and prepared to stab the figure.

Andy tried to not focus on it. She finally asked, "Why exactly do you want to get rid of him? And also, how did Kiba really come to exist?"

DeStruct paused. "He isn't needed anymore and keeps getting in my way." He stepped back and met her eyes. "The chip was damaged on a mission and he became... my default setting as it were. I was forced in here, unable to return to Shocker."

He sighed. "I'm going to have to make it up to the General when I return. He's going to be angry and I'd prefer not to die because he got too heavy with the whip."

"It must have been hard not being able to go home." She looked thoughtful for a moment, "I know the chip is what helped you and Shocker control him, but I didn't realize it somehow created a new personality. I wonder why it would do that instead of you just keep being you." She shook her head, "Sorry, I did a lot of research on it when I had the chance so I just find it interesting."

DeStruct smiled. "Shocker wanted to get the riders off guard. So I was programmed to appear non-threatening. When I had their trust, I eliminated them."

He raised an eyebrow. "And weapons don't have homes."

"Knives have sheaths; Guns have holders too. Weapons all have a place they belong when they aren't being used, even if it's not actually called their home."

DeStruct frowned, then brightened, "You're interesting. Too bad I can't get you to work for us."

"Sorry, it would take a lot of mind control for me to do that, and then I wouldn't probably be as interesting if I'm not really me," Andy noted.

He nodded, then returned to the figure's side. "You can't stop me so you might want to leave now." He placed the sword tip on the figure's chest and began to put pressure downwards.

"Hey, wait just a second," Andy said calmly, "I'm not telling you not to kill him, but I'm wondering if you actually can? When we tried to kill you before it turned into a looping nightmare and you just kept returning until I killed Kiba too. How do you know it won't do the same thing now?"

"Because I'm the core. He's the construct. Do you disappear if you destroy a hologram of yourself?"

She looked thoughtful, "I guess that makes sense. Though if you were programmed to seem non-threatening, won't there always be a part of the core that is like that?"

He stopped with a snarl. "Shut up! You're trying to confuse me!" He grabbed his head as the sword clattered to the floor. "I'm in control here!"

"I'm not trying to confuse you," she spoke softly, "As much as I want Kiba to survive, like I said, I'm here to talk to _you. _I'm just trying to help you think through any problems that could arise."

DeStruct picked up his sword again, but this time began approaching Andy. "Maybe I should just kill you first."

"That still won't help if what I said was true. Even if you kill me and kill Kiba, there's a chance the non-threatening good part that they programmed into you could somehow show up again." She took a deep breath, unsure what would happen if she got hurt while in someone else's mind.

"I have to go back…" DeStruct's voice trailed off as he suddenly dropped to the floor. The figure on the ground began to move slowly.

"Go back where? To Shocker?" She spoke quietly but loud enough for him to hear. She wasn't sure if he even could hear her though.

"Exactly what he plans to do." Kiba's voice was weak and pain filled. He struggled against the bonds weakly.

Andy moved to him and knelt down, working on untying the bonds. "Are you really you?" She sighed as she finished. "Sorry, I'm just confused right now as to what is going on."

Kiba chuckled humorlessly. "You're fine. He wasn't lying, just not telling the whole truth. Remember when I told you they started giving me shots when I hit puberty?"

She nodded and sat down beside him.

"They were trying to activate the chip. When it finally worked, it was like I was split into two people. One utterly devoted to Shocker and well... Me." He gave a snort. "I was forced to gain the rider's trust, then he would take over. The scientists gave him the serum to suppress me as much as possible except when needed."

"So you're the original and he's the secondary personality? Or...?" She sighed and rubbed her head, "This is so weird."

"I guess so. The scientists referred to me as the leftovers from before the chip activated."

He gave her an apologetic look. "I screwed up big time with that serum. You should leave before he wakes up. I don't have the strength to fight him. He's going to win and you have to be prepared to kill him."

He grabbed her hand. "And don't you dare use the revival serum. We can't be sure I'd be the one coming back."

"If I kill him now, in here, will everything loop again?" She sighed, "Other than he likes to kill people he doesn't seem _that _bad." She smirked a moment before waiting for his answer to her question.

"Pretty sure the answer is yes. And you need help if you like a sociopath." He chuckled again, this time a real one.

"I won't use the revival serum but I can't promise I still won't try to save you..." She gave him a soft smile. "I'm going to kill him and see if it loops. If it does, I'll take him down again and then end it..."

"I forgot how stubborn you are." His eyes start to close. "Good luck."

Andy stood and kissed his forehead, "I'm sorry if I have to kill you." She moved forward and threw a kunai down, hitting DeStruct right in the heart. She then waited to see what would happen.

DeStruct dissolved in front of her eyes without a trace.

"Wasn't there a body left over last time?" She spoke, half to herself. "And the body just came back to life." She looked around in confusion waiting to see if a new DeStruct would form.

After several minutes, she moved back to Kiba's side. He wasn't moving.

She focused a moment back to her clone noticing his body vitals were steady. She then started trying to heal the Kiba in his mind, hoping to help him a bit.

His eyes slowly cracked open. "What happened?"

"DeStruct vanished after I killed him and hasn't shown back up yet..."

"Huh… wonder if the serum has worn off?"

"I did give you an antidote for it... Though I'm wondering what happened to make him show back up while talking to Stinger?"

"I don't know..." He tried to stand but couldn't.

She held her hands out and healed him some more. "Your physical body is fine at least," Andy commented.

"Won't matter if my head's a mess."

"That's why I'm here to help," Andy smiled.

Kiba's eyes began to close. "Might be better this way…No more risk."

"Kiba, we don't care if we get put in a bit of danger. We just care about you and want you in our lives." She kept trying to push energy into him.

He didn't answer. His breathing was slowing though and Andy could feel herself being sent back.

Andy opened her eyes, looking down at Kiba. She sighed before standing up and releasing the two clones she had made. She then checked over him again to see how his vitals were doing.

His breathing was too slow for her liking, brain activity even worse. She shook her head at Stinger's look, fighting tears.

"Beautiful? What happened?"

"I talked to DeStruct a bit. Killed him I think. But Kiba's going down and I don't know if it's from DeStruct or me killing DeStruct." She frowned and went to the cabinet, pulling out the same orange vial from before and injecting him with more. "It could also be effects from the green serum or if I screwed this up, effects from this."

Stinger frowned as he watched Kiba. "He's not fighting, is he?"

She met his eyes and a few tears finally rolled down her face. She couldn't bring herself to talk, she just went back to scanning him over. After a few moments she continued pushing energy into him, trying to help the orange serum work.

Stinger angrily grabbed Kiba's limp hand. "Listen here you annoying problem child. Don't you dare give up on us. I refuse to let beautiful here believe she's unable to save you. We all have come too far for you to give up without a fight. Don't make me tell Hammy she'll be alone. Azra is already blaming herself for this. I told her you would be fine. You better not make me out to be a liar." He squeezed tightly, willing a response.

Andy's eyes were glowing as a blue light surrounded Kiba's body. She took any energy she could find other than her teammates and the Orion, her mind even going outside the ship and getting energy from the stars.

Stinger closed his eyes, about to give up when Kiba's hand twitched slightly. The scorpion nodded. "That's it. Fight, Kiba. Come back to us."

Andy didn't even stop to check Kiba's vitals again, she just kept forcing energy into him, hoping it would work.

Kiba's grasp on Stinger's hand grew tighter. His eyes slowly opened and he gave a smile before closing them again.

"Beautiful?" Stinger shot a glance at her worriedly.

"Hmm?" She didn't look over at him but made a clone to focus on actually scanning Kiba. His breathing had increased speed and everything else seemed to be steady. She kept pushing energy into him though, making sure he would stay alive.

Stinger sighed as he noted Kiba's color returning and his breathing evening out. "You're going to give me white hair. Glad you are back with us." He gently laid the hand onto the sheet and looked at Andy. "Are you okay, beautiful?"

"My clone healed up most of my wound. While I'm gathering in energy I'll be fine. I know I'm going to be exhausted after this though."

"Then sleep. He's as good as you can make him. It's up to him now."

She dropped her hands down but her eyes kept glowing, "Please stay with him and tell me if anything changes," she kissed him. "I'm going to our room, if that's okay."

He kissed her back. "I'll babysit. Go get some rest."

Andy nodded and headed to their room. The moment she was in bed the glowing stopped and she settled into a comfortable position. She felt like she could sleep for an eternity but she knew she might have nightmares after everything. She figured being in her room would prevent Kiba from seeing them and blaming himself. Her nightmares hadn't spilled over into his mind since the tumor so she hoped that had been just a side effect of the problems it was causing. She soon felt the pull to sleep and drifted off.

Kiba awoke sore but alert. He turned his head, grinning as he could see Stinger's sleeping form. He had been surprised to hear the scorpion's words filtering through the haze that had taken over. Had tried to ignore both the words and the energy he felt from Andy, but neither would let him. The energy had caused everything to return to normal, the words forcing him to finally let his regret disappear. "You guys just don't let go do you?" He whispered softly, jumping when Stinger answered. "Finally realized that huh? Knew you were a slow learner but damn..."

He raised an eyebrow as Stinger's eyes opened. "I suck at pep talks so just know if you _ever_ pull that shit again, I'll kill you myself. Got it?"

Kiba swallowed hard and nodded silently.

Stinger gave him a grin. "Good. Hungry?" He stood without waiting for an answer, walking out and leaving Kiba alone.

With a chuckle, he closed his eyes again to wait.

Andy slept well for a few hours before any nightmares started. Though she had slightly feared DeStruct, talking to him had helped her a bit. The whole situation reminded her of the last time though, remembering the times she had to kill Kiba. She saw his body before her, her stopping his heart, replaying over and over, occasionally moving to her stabbing him over and over. She kept tossing and turning, her body fighting the images in her head.

In the infirmary, Kiba's forehead creased. He could see vague images, none making sense until he glimpsed Andy. Then the images became crystal clear.

"Shit…" His dream self ran towards her. "Andy, wake up! These aren't real. Look at me Andy!"

She looked up at him through the tears in her eyes. "Kiba?"

"It's me. Your nightmares are bleeding through the link. You need to wake up."

Her eyes widened before she let out a sob, "I hoped the nightmare bleeding thing was more a problem with that tumor I had... I'm sorry you have to deal with this."

"Isn't that supposed to be my line? I'm the one that causes these after all." He gave her an apologetic smile. "Stinger left me to cook."

She glanced down at the dream Kiba a moment before everything changed and they found themselves in a room similar to the one in Kiba's mind, but the walls were turquoise instead of white.

"Kiba, I'd rather have a few nightmares than to lose you. You don't try to give me nightmares, so it's not your fault." She sighed. "I told him watch you and to tell me if things changed with you. He should have told me you're awake."

"To be fair, he _had_ just threatened me so he's probably not even thinking. On the other matter, since most of your nightmares are about my sorry ass problems, they are by extension my fault."

"Other than the straight up traumatic nightmares, like remembering Kojan, most of my nightmares are about you and Stinger. I think it just shows how much I don't want to lose you."

"Still not sure why or how I became so important to you guys." Kiba leaned against a wall and sighed. "Been an almost constant source of trouble and heartbreak."

She approached him and wrapped him into a hug, "We just really care about you. And the good times with you are worth any trouble we have to face." She pulled away slightly with a smirk, "plus I need to keep you alive for my sister."

He chuckled ruefully. "She's going to chain me to her when she finds out about this bounty on my head." He sobered. "You think our little adventure is going to make other hunters think twice? Or did I paint a bigger target on my back?"

"Hopefully the first. But like I said before, you can stay here and we'll help protect you. We have giant blasters on the ship, we now have five rangers on the ship, and of course, there's my healing which has managed to keep you alive more times than I can count." She smiled at him. "Don't worry."

He gave her a crooked grin. "Feel like waking up and keeping me company for real?" He grimaced slightly. "Restraints are a pain."

Andy looked around, "Right, I forgot I'm not awake." She chuckled, "I'll come get you out of them." She closed her eyes and focused a moment before she disappeared from the room. Andy opened her eyes and sighed, pushing herself up off the bed. She looked down and frowned, realizing she was still in blood soaked clothes. She took a quick shower and put on something clean before heading to the infirmary.

"Hi there. Feeling better? I have questions for you." Kiba gave her a smile.

She sat next to his bed, "A lot better now that I've showered." She smiled, "Questions?"

"What did I actually dose myself with? How stupid was I? I was under the impression we had gotten rid of _him_..."

"So I thought maybe it was something to control you without the chip... but now that I've talked to you and DeStruct, I'm wondering if it's what they gave you to activate the chip in the first place," she admitted.

He was silent as he thought. "I don't remember much of that period except almost endless injections that caused me to black out for days. I would wake up in the infirmary, the scientists gathered around. Then the last time it happened, I woke up in the studio and years had passed."

Andy nodded, "That's rough. I wish you didn't have to go through all that."

He forced a smile. "It's in the past right? Though this last time was like I was a spectator in my own head. Gave me the creeps. What happened to him anyway?"

"DeStruct? I don't know. I think he's gone though."

"As long as I don't use that serum again. I can't believe I was that stupid. Frankly surprised Stinger didn't punch me."

"I think he wanted to, honestly. But he cares about you and it would have been a punch backed with worry and love."

"Damn straight. Now enough talk." Stinger stood in the doorway. "Breakfast is ready. Unless you want it here?"

Andy glanced at Kiba, "Are you good to get up?"

"Think so." He rattled the restraints. "These might make it difficult though."

She smiled, "Right." She grabbed the keys and undid them.

He grinned and sat up, stretching. "Race you." His eyes twinkled as he hopped off the bed.

Andy rolled her eyes and smiled, standing up. She used her ninja speed, disappearing out the door in a flash.

"Not fair." Kiba ran past a chuckling Stinger. "I should have said no cheating."

Stinger watched him disappear and rolled his eyes, then followed.


	29. Energy Drain

Andy growled at the news, "I thought Jark Matter was about gone. They seriously are back to trying to take over planets?"

Azra looked over worried, "What do we do?"

"Go kick their ass," Andy answered before looking to Stinger, "Are we calling in any backup or just heading there? We have six people here, we can take them out if it's not a huge army."

Kiba grinned. "Who needs backup?"

Andy sighed, "I'm just saying, it's been a while since they've attacked. Who knows what they're planning or if they have any new technology. It'd be better to try to be smart and safe about it."

Kiba sighed. "You have a good point. Maybe we need a recon first?"

Stinger sighed. "That's not a bad idea." He looked at Kiba. "I assume you're volunteering?"

"The best ones to go would be Kiba and I for our invisibility. Azra wouldn't be bad either with her shifting," Andy noted.

"She's never been on a recon mission though." Kiba and Stinger had matching frowns.

"I don't mind staying back..." Azra commented.

"You always said the same thing about me," Kotaro commented to Stinger, "How can anyone get experience in it if you don't send them on missions?"

Andy sighed, "Okay, let's send her on an easier first recon mission. She's not insistent like some people around here... And I don't want her hurt if things go wrong, so Kiba and I will go." She looked at Stinger, "If that's okyu with you, Commander."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's okyu. Just be careful. Though given who I'm talking to…"

She smiled and looked at Kiba, "Just give me a moment to get my bag together." She quickly disappeared from the room. A minute later she was back.

Kiba gives her a smile. "Ready to cause some trouble?"

"We portalling?" She went over and kissed Azra's forehead before kissing Stinger. "And yeah, I'm ready."

"Fastest way right?" Kiba waves his hand and reaches for hers as the portal appears.

She smiled and reached for his hand before following him into the portal. She looked around and realized they were in a forest. "Did you remember to look at the planet map before we left? It's been too long since I've been on a real mission, I'm losing my touch."

"I memorized it." Kiba grins, before heading straight ahead. "Coming?"

She nodded and followed along.

Soon they emerged into a factory area. Kiba froze as he saw indavers guarding one of the factories.

"Looks like we found them." He whispered to Andy.

"Wonder what they are doing in there..." She looked out. "Even if we can go invisible, if no one goes through that door, we won't know for sure."

Kiba frowns. "Hold on. Let me see if there's another way in." He touched his phone, transforming and then disappearing.

Several minutes passed before he reappeared in front of her. "There's a door open in the back."

"Let's go then," she focused a second before becoming invisible.

He nodded and went invisible again, leading her to the open door.

Andy snuck in, noticing a ton of indavers inside. She noticed a few machines mass producing blasters. She thought out to Kiba, '_If they're making this many blasters, they're definitely gearing up for a massive attack. Or even multiple massive attacks.'_

'_But where? And when? We need to find out and then get the hell out of here.'_

She glanced around a moment, _'It looks like there's an office over there. I'm going to go check it out.' _She took a moment, _'We should see what's going on in the other factories too just in case...'_

'_I'll go look around. You be careful okay?'_

'_You too.' _Andy moved away from him, heading toward the office room. She noticed a few people talking inside. She stood right outside the doorway watching them.

The man at the desk seemed like he was in charge. "We'll get these weapons out, take ships to five planets at a time, then attack. They can't stop us all, they don't have enough people."

"I see why they are calling you the second Armage," another man responded.

A woman spoke up, "How many troops do we have ready to deploy?"

"At least two million," the man at the desk answered.

Andy's eyes widened before she sent the memory of what she heard to Kiba.

"Let us know when the attacks will begin," the second man ordered.

The man at the desk just nodded and watched the other two move out of the office. Andy tried to stay out of their way but the woman bumped her arm.

'_Fuck. Get out of here, Kiba!' _She readied her blaster before the woman turned and sent a punch out where she felt Andy. Andy jumped back and started firing, soon though, she was hit by the man's blaster and she was visible again. Indavers surrounded her and she knew she wasn't making it out. _'Get the intel to Stinger, now!'_

"_Working on it! There's a lot of indavers. All the factories are making weapons. I'm almost to the for... AHHH!' _

The link went dead.

Andy made one last effort and pressed her comm button, quickly yelling at it, "They're planning to attack multiple places at once! We're..." A blaster noise went off and the comm cut out.

Azra stared at Stinger with wide eyes. "Is she...?"

Stinger swore a string of curses, then hit his comm. "Champ, we need to get down to the planet now."

The Orion suddenly rocked from a blast. "Champ? What's going on?"

"Jark Matter ships just appeared and are firing on us. They hit the voyager bay."

Stinger ran for the bridge. 'Hang in there Andy. I'm going to save you.'

Kotaro took a moment, "Azra, just stay calm and try not to worry. She's going to be okay and so are we. I'm going to go see if I can help."

Azra just nodded before heading to her room. She paced the floor for a few minutes, hugging one of the plushies Stinger made for her, but after another shot hit the ship, she went to the bridge to feel safer by the others. She sat down and stayed quiet, watching them press buttons on the controls.

Stinger was giving orders. "Champ, get the bay accessible. Kotaro, blast the hell out of them with the cannon until the ammo gives out or they do."

Andy fought against the ties wrapped around her wrists. She watched Kiba being dropped into the cell she was in, unconscious.

He was on his stomach and she could see a small hole in the back of his jacket under his bound hands.

She tried to make a clone to get to him but she couldn't. She tried to pull energy into her but nothing happened. She frowned and looked up at the ties hanging her to the wall, wondering if they were causing the problem. She winced at the pain moving caused on the blaster hit she took.

"Andy?" Kiba raised his head, trying to look around.

"I'm here."

He tried to roll over, but couldn't. "Andy… I can't move."

She cursed, "Do you feel anything?"

He started to panic, his words frantic. "Andy, I can't feel my legs…" He tried to turn over again.

"Shh, calm down, Kiba. I'm sure I can help you whenever we get out of here," she tried to sound positive for him.

He took a deep breath and heaved his torso around until he was facing her. "That looks uncomfortable. Are you okay?"

She frowned, "Just some blaster fire... Also I can't make a clone or pull in energy..."

"Damn. Guess Jark Matter learned some new tricks." He pulled on the rope binding his hands, grimacing when it contracted tighter. "I can't get out of this."

He maneuvered his way over to the bars, using them to push himself to a sitting position.

She noticed blood on the floor, "Kiba... If you can manage to move well enough, you need to use a shirt or something to put pressure on the wound. Don't want you bleeding out."

"If I could get out of this damned rope... It gets tighter the more I pull." He looked down at his stomach. "I didn't know the bullet exited..."

"You're going to be fine. I tried to call Stinger so he should know we're in trouble..." she yawned.

"Andy? You okay?"

She blinked at him a moment, "I'm just really tired... I'll be fine. Maybe I should nap. Could be more useful if I rest."

Kiba frowned. "Do you think that's a good idea?" His hands moved behind his back.

"It's not like I can get us out of here..." She tried to pull energy in again, her eyes flicking blue for a moment as a clone appeared. It only made it a couple steps before fading away. "Nope, can't get us out of here... I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I think I know what's going on though." He nodded at the ties binding Andy.

"I think those are draining your energy. I heard a rumor a few months ago, but thought it was bullshit." He grimaced for a moment, then his hands appeared in front of him.

He grabbed onto the bars and dragged himself to a standing position. "Let's see if I can get you out." He let go of the bars and managed a few steps before falling.

"Kiba, quit moving. You could injure yourself worse," Andy sighed. "Can you make a portal and drag yourself through?"

He rolled onto his back and shook his head. "Too weak. And I wouldn't leave anyway. Have to get those ties off… before you...die..." His voice trailed off and his head lolled to the side.

Andy winced, trying to move. She watched his breathing and was glad it was steady for now. She knew the blood loss could be an issue though, that was the biggest worry right now. She hoped the team would get there before Kiba lost too much. She rested her head down on her chest, dozing off for a moment.

Stinger rubbed his temple as he waited for Champ to answer the comm. Kotaro had been a good shot, destroying several ships before the others had fled. But worry gnawed at his stomach. Neither Andy or Kiba was answering their comms and Andy's last transmission had chilled his blood. They needed the voyagers.

"Aibou? I put the fire out, but I'm still fixing the door. It may still be an hour or so."

Stinger silently cursed. "Thanks, aibou. Keep at it." He closed the channel and sighed in frustration.

Andy slightly rolled her head to glance at Kiba before resting her head again. Her wrists stung as she hung by them, her legs not able to support her anymore. She was glad Azra hadn't come, she didn't want her to be hurt or to have to see them like this. She figured at this point she'd probably go before Kiba did, even though she was still conscious, she felt herself getting dizzy and she just felt so tired. 'At least I'll die painlessly if I'm asleep...' she thought to herself.

"Andy...?" Kiba's voice was weak.

"Hmm?" Was all she managed to get out.

"What do you think it's like? Being dead, I mean?" He slowly raised his torso and slid back to the bars, leaning against them and pressing a hand over his stomach.

She tried to talk but couldn't. She wasn't sure he'd hear her if she thought out to him but tried it anyway, _'You'd think we'd know having died before... I think it'd be nice... No more pain. Avery and my parents... maybe my baby is there and I could finally meet him...'_

'_You're lucky...I'm probably going to hell. Even if I don't, I don't have anyone waiting for…me.'_

'_I hate to say it, but at this rate I'll be there waiting for you...' _

'_Still won't let me win a race…' _ He chuckled through the link. _'Still cheating… and I thought I was the untrustworthy one. Sorry for volunteering… I-' _

She wasn't sure if he was still even conscious but she thought, '_Kiba... I'm so tired.' _

'_So...am I… I'm sorry... I can't stay...awake. You swear you'll be waiting?' _ His voice was almost childlike in his plea.

'_Promise... I'll see you on the... other side,'_ Andy tried to fight to stay awake, managing to blink her eyes open. She closed them almost as quickly as she fell asleep.

Kiba looked at her sadly, then his eyes closed and his body slid to the floor.

Andy found herself staring at a warm white light. She wondered if she was dying already. She started to approach it when she heard a voice behind her. She turned around trying to focus on it. She walked further away from the light, wondering what was going on. Finally, she found herself back in her body and she blinked an eye open. She thought she saw Stinger in front of her.

"You back with me, beautiful?" Stinger exhaled sharply as he tore the bonds from her hands.

She closed her eyes but answered, "So... sleepy..."

"I know, beautiful. Just stay with me. You can sleep all you want when we get back to the Orion."

Stinger looked over at Champ who was kneeling beside Kiba. As the bull shook his head, Stinger squeezed his eyes shut. He quickly took Andy in his arms as she fell away from the wall.

Andy couldn't bring herself to talk and didn't know if Kiba was even conscious but she sent a thought anyway, '_Stay alive. Just a bit longer. I'll save you and help you walk again...'_

Stinger carried her out to his voyager and quickly took off as Champ was placing Kiba in his voyager.

As soon as they arrived, he carried her to the infirmary and laid her down gently.

She had fallen asleep again but woke feeling Stingers arms leave her, "Kiba...?"

"Shhh. Don't talk." Stinger tried to ignore her question.

She shook her head, eyes still closed and repeated, "Kiba?"

"I'm sorry... Champ did all he could. He lost too much blood. He died on the way here."

"I promised..." she tried to think, her brain filled with fog. "Bring him. Sew his wounds. Put a transfusion..."

"Beautiful, he's gone. He had a fist sized exit wound in his stomach. He's almost completely dry of blood."

Stinger looked up as Champ entered, carrying Kiba's pale body and laying him down on a bed.

"Please..." Andy tried to open her eyes.

Stinger gave her a kiss. "Alright, beautiful."

He went and got a transfusion set and several bags of blood, then got a suture kit. He set the transfusion up, then sewed the wounds. Then he performed CPR, getting a faint pulse back.

"Champ, get the ventilator set up."

After placing Kiba on it, Stinger returned to Andy's side. "I did what you asked, beautiful. Get some rest."

She shook her head, "Have to help... Kiba..."

"You can't even stay awake. How are you going to help him? You have to rest."

She closed her eyes and searched for energy sources before opening her now glowing eyes, "I can help." She pushed herself off the bed and focused energy into Kiba. Blue light surrounded him as she put all the energy she could find into him. After a bit, she put her hands down and fell to the floor unconscious.

Kotaro and Azra looked at each other for a moment before looking back out the window.

"You saw that too, right?" Azra wondered.

Kotaro nodded before calling Stinger, "I don't know why but the three nearest stars just went dark."

Stinger looked at Andy with wide eyes as he picked her up. Had she just_ drained_ three stars of energy? He sighed and laid her back on the bed. It was sure going to be an interesting conversation.

He went over to Kiba and stared. Almost all traces of the injury were gone and he was fighting the ventilator even while being unconscious. He quickly removed the ventilator and watched the rider's breathing even out.

He looked back at Andy. What kind of power did she possess?

When Andy woke she thought she heard talking. She tried to focus on the voices, at least recognizing Stinger's, but was still having trouble hearing what was being said. She tried to push herself up and open her eyes but barely managed to move. She internally cursed, wondering how long she slept and wondering why it was taking so long to get her energy back.

"Your mom will be fine. She just needs to rest and get her energy back." Stinger ran his fingers through Andy's hair gently.

"What happened to them?" Azra wondered.

"From what Champ was able to deduce the ties they used to bind her were made to drain her energy and prevent her from drawing any in through her ability." Stinger gave Azra a soft smile. "We got to her in time, don't worry."

"What about Kiba?"

"Shot from behind. It hit his spine before exiting through his stomach, nicking an artery. He bled out. He was dead and yet your mom brought him back. Physically, the injury is gone. But he was without oxygen for quite a while."

"Will he be okay?" Azra worried.

Stinger sighed. "I honestly don't know, munchkin. Maybe your mom does. But we just have to wait."

Andy once again tried to push herself up, this time at least getting a bit further and getting her eyes open.

"Mom?" Azra noticed the movement.

Andy gave a sleepy smile to Azra as a response.

"As much as I love seeing those blue eyes, you need to go back to sleep, beautiful." Stinger pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

Andy blinked at him a moment before sighing and closing her eyes again.

Stinger grinned at Azra. "I finally win a fight."

Azra chuckled, "I think Kotaro is cooking if you want to come eat?"

He gave another soft kiss to Andy's forehead before taking Azra's hand. "Yeah."

They left the infirmary quietly.

Andy saw a blue figure in front of her, looking at it with confusion until she finally recognized Mariana.

"Where are we?" Andy wondered aloud.

"In the void between." Mariana smiled softly at her.

Andy nodded a moment, "Am I dying again?"

"That's up to you, my dear."

"What about Kiba? Is he alive?"

"His body is. His mind however..." She paused as the void was replaced by Eshana's beach.

"His mind is here, just like yours. He's frightened and does not know what to do."

"Which way is he?" Andy looked around for him.

"Directly behind you in the trees."

"How do we get out of here, either way?"

"You merely have to wish to return to your bodies. Or let go, if you wish to move on." Mariana disappeared. "Be well my child."

Andy walked toward the trees and called out, "Kiba? Kiba are you out here?"

"Andy? Help me, I can't move!"

Andy followed the sound, "Everything is okay. Calm down, I'm here for you." She finally spotted him.

He was propped up against a tree, one hand pressed against his stomach. "I thought you were gone…"

"Kiba... _you_ were gone. I healed your body up though," she sat by him. "We're, as Mariana said, in the void between."

He stared at her. "If you healed my body, then why?" He moved his hand to reveal a large wound.

She moved so she was kneeling by him and started trying to heal him, "You know your mind and body are connected and I normally have to heal you both ways if I'm in your dreams. Maybe I just need to help you heal your mind again?"

"Why are you here? Why aren't you with your loved ones?"

"Stinger saved me, but you didn't make it... I brought you back because I could gather energy, but I still don't have a lot of my own energy back." She answered. "Plus, _you _are one of my loved ones."

"I shouldn't have made you promise…" Kiba sucked in a breath slowly. "I'm just being a burden again… I should just let go…" His body became transparent for a moment, then solidified again.

"Kiba, listen to me," she took a moment and dropped her hands, staring at his face, "There's very few people I care about to the level I care about you. With both you and Stinger, when I threatened to kill myself if you did, I meant it. You didn't make me promise anything. I care about you and I'm not going to let you be alone in the afterlife. Either we're both going back or we're both moving on." She looked back down and started healing him again.

He lowered his eyes to her hands. "Why do you always fight so hard to save me? Other people would have learned my past...what I had done and either let me die or killed me themselves."

He closed his eyes, holding back tears. "I just want to be… I don't even know anymore."

"Kiba, look at me," she used one hand to keep healing him and the other to raise his chin, "You're my best friend. You're family to me, okay? I fight for the people I love and you are one of them." She sighed, "I know, living is so hard, but think about the good things, like Hammy, and how much you two love each other. Or Azra, who looks up to you. Or Daiki and Tsukasa who love you in their own ways. We have an eternity to be happy and together in the afterlife, but think about how many more people we could find to love while we're alive."

"I don't deserve any of you..." He went transparent again, longer this time. Andy's hand went through his stomach.

"Kiba, it doesn't matter if you think you deserve us or not. If you make us happy and we make you happy, that's all that matters," she moved her hand back out of him and tried to keep healing him. "The whole team cares about you. Hammy loves you so much, and is willing to let you keep living your traveling lifestyle. Stinger and I care about you, almost half as a brother, half as another kid. Azra looks up to you more than she'll admit, and wants to learn what she can from you. We all love you and just want you to be happy."

He slowly solidified and gave her a look. "You want a thief teaching your kid? Bad parenting…"

Andy chuckled, "She grew up around you, Balance, and Naga. And she's perfect." Andy's hands quit glowing before she wrapped Kiba into a hug, "I don't care if you're a thief. I don't care that you were DeStruct. I don't care what your past is. I care about the Kiba that I know and love. And that's you."

He hugged her tightly. "How do we get out of here?" He looked around worriedly.

"Wish to go to your body," Andy remembered what Mariana said.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, disappearing.

Andy took a few moments, moving to stare back out at the water. She finally closed her eyes and focused back on her body.

Kiba's eyes flew open and he sat up quickly. He looked over at Andy, holding his breath.

Andy blinked her eyes open slowly, still feeling kind of tired. She moved enough and looked over at Kiba, giving him a soft smile. "You okay?"

"Now I am." He laid back with a sigh. "How much do I owe you for the out of body therapy?"

Andy chuckled, "Just keep trying to not die."

He cracked up, laughing so hard he almost fell off the bed.

"Kiba?" Stinger stood in the doorway, watching the scene in confusion. He looked over at Andy.

"Did he finally crack?"

Andy smirked, "No, just laughing at what I said."

"It must have been pretty funny." Stinger moved to her side. "Are you two alright?"

"We had a mini vacation to Eshana," Andy nodded, "It was nice."

Stinger stared at her. "Did I miss you having a head injury?"

Kiba had calmed down, but Stinger's question set him off again. He did fall this time and abruptly stopped when he hit the floor. "Ow."

"You okay over there?" Andy asked, waiting to answer Stinger.

"Yeah. Floor is hard though. Maybe we should get carpeting?" Kiba started chuckling.

"Too hard to get blood out of carpet. We already have enough trouble with the rooms that do have it, we aren't putting it in here," Andy answered before looking at Stinger, "No head injuries."

"Then how did you visit Eshana?" Stinger sighed and moved to Kiba, grabbing an arm and heaving him off the floor.

Andy looked over at Kiba a moment, "Dying does weird things..."

Stinger frowned. "Obviously." He gave Kiba a little shake. "Did you get it out of your system?"

Kiba took a deep breath and nodded. "Think so. Sorry about that." He maneuvered out of Stinger's grip. "I'll be in my room."

He headed for the door and disappeared.

'_Are you okyu?' _Andy sent a thought to Kiba.

'_Perfectly okyu. Just need to sleep.'_ Kiba's mental voice was sleepy. _'I'll be fine in a few hours.'_

'_You better be. Sweet dreams, Kiba.'_

'_Thanks. Ask scorpion boy what the plans are for destroying those factories. I want payback for what they did to you.'_

'_I want payback for what they did to you," _Andy answered.

She heard a sleepy chuckle before the link went silent.

"Talking without me again?" Stinger raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well I wanted to check on him but he left the room, so it was the only way to," she answered. "It's not like I'm trying to block you from the conversation."

"I'm just glad he's back. When we found you two... Let's just say I hope it's not nightmare fuel."

Stinger's eyes were haunted.

"I'm sorry, love," Andy held her hand out for his.

He took her hand and squeezed. "Not sure what was worse. You just hanging there or him almost completely blood soaked." He shook his head to forget the memory.

"You know I'll help you if you do have a nightmare," she tried to assure. "As long as I don't have my own to deal with."

He kissed her knuckles. "You try to help everyone, but who helps you?"

"You and Kiba help me the most," Andy nodded.

Stinger smiled. "You hungry?"

She nodded, "A bit tired still, but I should be able to get up and eat."

He helped her off the bed. "I'll cook something easy for you."

"Did you eat?"

"Kotaro cooked earlier. I think there may be leftovers if you want those instead?"

"Whatever is easiest for you," Andy answered as she held his hand and walked down the hall.

He gave her a happy grin. "I just want you eating and talking."

"So they're making a bunch of weapons..." Andy remembered, "And they have a couple million troops. They want to attack multiple places at once so we can't stop them..."

Stinger swore. "A couple _million_? Shou and Tsurugi are going to_ love_ this report."

"There's a new guy in charge too. I guess they're calling him the second Armage. They didn't even call Kojan that, so you know he's bad news," Andy frowned.

Stinger clenched his other hand. "Great. What is it going to take to destroy Jark Matter for good?"

Kiba tossed and turned in the bed. He was exhausted, but his mind wouldn't let him rest. Every time he closed his eyes, he kept seeing Andy drained of energy and heard her words about the afterlife. When he found the person responsible, he hoped they had made peace with whatever god they worshipped. Because he would show no mercy.

He sighed and climbed out of bed. There was only one way he was going to get any rest. He waved his hand, walking into the portal.

He emerged in the empty infirmary and headed for the medicine cabinet. He chuckled at the lock, making short work of opening it. Removing a vial, he reached for a syringe. He jumped as he heard someone behind him.

"Are you supposed to be taking that?" Azra wondered.

"Your mom doesn't mind. She gives it to me when I can't sleep." He prepared the injection and moved to a bed before giving it to himself. "She can yell after I sleep." His eyes closed quickly.

Azra frowned and headed to look for Andy. She entered the kitchen seeing her parents sitting at the table. "Kiba gave himself some medicine."

Andy rolled her eyes, "What did he say?"

"It helps him sleep and you gave it to him before," Azra reported.

Andy sighed, "I need to figure a way to Kiba-proof that cabinet..."

"Why do you even lock it if you could need in it quickly?" Azra wondered.

Andy glanced at Stinger before answering, "Just a precaution. Don't want anyone to take too much if they think they need something."

Azra nodded in response. Andy looked back at Stinger, "So where were we?"

"Well, I thought Kiba could portal in and flank the troops, but now I'm starting to think otherwise."

Stinger gave Azra a look before continuing. "If he's messed up, then I think he should stay put."

"You remember how many times you snuck off the ship when we tried to keep you back?" Andy reminded, "He's going to be the same way."

"Dammit Andy! He just did what we were afraid of for years. What you just danced around a minute ago. He… I'm scared for him, beautiful."

"He's probably just having nightmares and needed a sedative. I'll go check on him in a minute," she sighed. "He seems to be in a decent mental state right now. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be alive. We could have gone either way from Eshana but we chose to come back. He wouldn't have chosen that if he was in a bad place. Believe me, I worry for him too, but I also know his mind and I think he can handle a fight."

Azra had been quiet, but now she spoke. "What did Dad mean just now? What are you not telling me?"

Andy took a deep breath, "You're almost an adult now, so we shouldn't hide anything from you, especially if you ask." She closed her eyes a second before opening them back up and speaking, "Kiba's been through a lot through the years, and we've been through a lot taking care of him. At a few points he was suicidal and took a whole bottle of pills... Another time he took too much sedative... That's why I keep it locked. Though that thief apparently can just easily unlock the door," Andy sighed.

Azra's eyes were wide in shock. "What would make him do those things? He's always so happy and funny around me…"

"A lot of times the happiest ones have a lot of stuff going on in their heads, and sometimes they aren't the best things. Trauma can cause you to question why you should even be alive. I hope you never have to deal with that level of trauma, but if you do, you'll understand." Andy sighed again. "Life is hard. It's _so_ hard. And when bad things keep happening, it makes it hard to see the good things in life."

Azra bolted for the door, running for the infirmary. She opened the door and went to Kiba's side.

"Uncle Kiba, wake up." She shook his shoulder.

He opened one eye and looked at her. "What's the matter?"

"You don't want to die now, do you?"

Andy shook her head and tried to see if Kiba was awake, '_Sorry if she bothers you... We might have mentioned your suicidal past... I hoped as an adult she'd try to understand but I'm not sure she does.' _

'_She's here. Don't worry.' _

He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "Hey munchkin. Why would you ask that?"

"Mom told me you don't always want to live and you took medicine to kill yourself... And I saw you take medicine and I was worried..." Azra answered with a slight panic in her voice.

Kiba gave her a soft smile. "Munchkin, if I was that way I would not have taken the medicine in front of you. Those times your mom told you about? There was a lot happening and I was in a very bad place. I wasn't with your Aunt Hammy at the time and felt very alone. I don't feel that way anymore… usually."

"...So you still do sometimes?"

He sighed. "Honestly, yes. When things remind me of my past or I get down. But your mom is always there to help me. She's my guardian angel." He looked at Azra. "I'm sorry I scared you. I just needed some undisturbed rest."

Azra nodded, "I'll let you get more sleep..."

"I'm okay. Where is your dad?" Kiba climbed off the bed.

"They were both in the kitchen," Azra answered.

"Alright. Nightmares gone for the moment, time to kick some ass."

Azra looked him over a moment, staying quiet.

"What is it, munchkin? And don't say nothing."

"You just always seem happy..."

He looked at her. "Would you rather me be sad? Your mom can tell you it's not a pretty sight. Do you remember the night all of us went camping?"

Azra thought back, "When I found out I was adopted?"

"Yeah. Remember what I told you about myself?"

"That you didn't have a mommy?" Azra seemed very childlike, reminding him more of her that camping night.

"Yeah. Those bad people I mentioned? They abused me and made me do things I normally wouldn't have ever done. I wasn't lying when I said I ran away. That's why I have nightmares. That's why you almost got killed on our trip. Because of me. So I try to be happy so I don't worry your parents. So I don't scare you."

"They always worry about you," Azra answered. "I hear them mention you a lot and wonder if you're doing okay when you aren't here. They both want you to actually be happy, not just for us," She sounded wiser now, more like her almost adult age.

Kiba grinned. "I know, munchkin. And most of the time, I am happy. But there are other times, times like earlier today when my past makes me forget everything good in front of me. That's when your mom saves me. She will never know just _how much_ she's saved me."

"She does like helping people," Azra smiled.

"Are you calm now? Or are you going to watch me like your parents?" Kiba gave her a smile.

"They probably worry about you enough for me too," Azra answered. "But if you need anything, you can come to me if you want. Though I'm way less helpful than Mom is."

"That's not true. You're a good listener. Even if I am human and not an animal." His eyes twinkled as he lightly teased her.

"Humans are a type of animal. Though they're much more complicated..." Azra admitted.

"Come on. I need a snack and coffee." He draped his arm around her shoulders as they left the infirmary.

Andy smiled as they entered the kitchen. She got up and washed her plate off before sitting back down. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. And before you say anything, I had no intention of being stupid. Just flashbacks do not help sleep." He got a cup of coffee and took a drink. "Now what's going on? Are we going to physically destroy those factories or nuke them from orbit?"

"I figured you were having nightmares. Though I wish you'd just ask for meds instead of picking the lock," Andy answered. "And we are still discussing the options. Then we need to call Tsurugi and Shou."

"I didn't want to bother you. Thought you were sleeping. And you should know a lock wouldn't stop me." Kiba gave her a smile as he began to make a sandwich. "And I bet good pongi both of them will have simultaneous coronaries."

"Nuking them from orbit would be safer for us. As long as there aren't any innocents near there," Andy answered. "But who knows how many ships and troops are off planet already."

"Nukes aren't as satisfying though." Kiba's voice had an edge to it, even though he still had a smile. "I'd prefer a fight, but it's up to you guys."

Stinger gave him a look. "I'm going to have a conference with them. Don't you even think of sneaking off before I get out."

Kiba rolled his eyes as he finished his sandwich.

Stinger got up and stood in front of him. "I mean it, Kiba. Don't do anything until I get out."

"You can't order me around you know. But I promise not to run off on my own."

Stinger sighed and left the kitchen without another word.

"Don't worry, even if we nuke them, I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances for a fight," Andy spoke up again.

"Maybe. But I want the guys that..." He trailed off and turned to the sink. He washed his dishes, then gave a salute to Andy and left the kitchen.

Andy rubbed her head for a moment before remembering Azra was still at the table. "You okay, baby? You've been quiet."

"Why are they fighting? Dad and Kiba, I mean."

"They aren't really. They just have different ideas of what we should do," Andy sighed, "Jark Matter is rising up again. I don't know what's going to happen next."

"Looked like they were fighting to me. And Uncle Kiba's voice wasn't nice when he was talking about fighting."

"Dad just was warning Kiba because he cares. Kiba just wants revenge which is why he wants to go fight."

"Revenge? Why? Is it because of what happened?"

"He wants to get the people who used the energy draining ties on me," Andy sighed and put her head in her hand, "He wants revenge for me. But I just want him to stay safe away from the fighting..."

"Doesn't Dad want to get those people too?" Azra scooted closer to Andy.

Andy nodded, "Most of the time, your dad tries to think of the best plans, and consults his superiors. I help out a lot too. But Kiba tends to just want to run straight in without much of a plan. That's part of why he gets hurt so much."

Azra nodded. "Explains a lot."

"Are you doing okay?" Andy looked up. "I know this is all a lot to take in at once."

"I think so. Just thinking. Isn't there a way to keep Kiba here?"

Andy snorted, "Kiba is a lot like your dad used to be. I could probably sedate him and restrain him and he'd still find a way to make it down there."

Azra rolled her eyes. "Okay, so that won't work. Then Dad's going to have to watch him close."

"Yeah, that's what we try to do," Andy answered.

Stinger reappeared. "Where is he?"

Andy shrugged, "I can find out though. What did they say?"

"They want information. Go in and grab anything that looks like it's important. Blow the factories and run."

Andy nodded, "Who's going?"

"Me, Champ and Kiba if he hasn't gone and done something stupid again."

"Kotaro and Azra can keep an eye on the ship. Do you want me to go? Or at least send a clone?"

"Are you strong enough for that? I don't want you straining yourself. That's why I omitted you."

"You know I hate staying behind... but I am still tired..." Andy frowned.

"It's up to you. Now _please_ tell me he's still on the ship."

Andy went and pulled up a screen, typing a few things in, "He's in the training room."

Stinger sighed in relief. "Can you get him back here?"

'_Hey Kiba? They have a plan. Come hear it?"_

'_Be there in ten.'_

"He'll be here soon," Andy informed. "And as much as I want to go, I'm tired and my head is starting to hurt. I don't want to put you in danger if I can't keep up."

"Alright. Then the three of us will go." Stinger sat down and gently kissed Andy's head. "Why don't you get some rest."

"Okay. You guys will be safe, right?"

Stinger chuckled. "Well, Kiba _is_ coming." He gave her a smile. "We'll be fine. Give him a chance to burn off his hostility."

"Who has hostility?" Kiba raised an eyebrow as he entered.

"You," Andy smirked. She then stood up, "You better come back safe."

Kiba grinned. "I'm as sweet as chocolate. Not a hostile bone in my body." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I intend to. Balance owes me money from poker."

Andy rolled her eyes, "You're ridiculous. Just don't forget, you have to come back safe, because I refuse to lose _any _race with you."

His eyes glittered a moment. "Same here, ninja girl." He turned to Stinger. "So what's the plan, you big grump?"

Andy kissed Kiba's cheek before heading off to her room. Azra headed to the bridge to see if Kotaro needed any help.

Kiba nodded as Stinger showed him the plan he'd put together. "Sounds pretty damn foolproof."

Champ met up with them and got the plan. He moo-ed, "Ready when you are, aibou."

"Got everything?" Stinger looked at Kiba.

"Yes,_ Dad_. Even have extra money for the phone if I need to call." Kiba snarked.

Stinger closed his eyes, praying for patience.

"Hey, just a joke. I have my explosives." Kiba put his hand on Stinger's shoulder.

Stinger opened his eyes. "Just be careful okay?"

Kiba nodded silently, then waved his hand and disappeared.

Stinger watched the portal disappear with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair and turned to Champ. "We better get down there before he does something stupid."

"Good idea," Champ climbed into his voyager and took off.

Stinger climbed into his voyager and took off after Champ.

Kiba met up with them near the place he and Andy had first emerged. "There aren't many guards anymore."

Stinger grimaced. "Is that supposed to be encouraging?"

Kiba shrugged. "Just reporting the facts."

Stinger nodded. "Sorry. Not sure why I'm so wound up."

"Let's get the information and get the explosives set," Champ spoke, looking around for any extra guards.

"Okyu." Kiba went invisible.

Stinger rolled his eyes and looked at Champ. "Remind me why I put up with him?"

Champ laughed, "He's a lot like you, aibou."

"That should _not_ be an endorsement." Stinger gave him a rueful grin and snuck towards the factory.

They made it inside easily and headed for the office Andy had marked on the map. There was almost nothing there and Stinger cursed softly.

"Okyu. Plant the explosives and let's get out of here." He touched his blaster's comm. "Kiba? You done?"

"Just about. Wait- shit. They have those damn goggles." There was the crackle of gunfire and a cry from Kiba, then the comm went dead.

Champ shook his head, "Let's go find him."

Stinger frowned. "We have to blow this place. I'll go. You set the rest of the explosives."

Champ nodded and set them, waiting for Stinger to return.

Stinger crept around the factory, freezing when he saw Kiba lying face down surrounded by indavers. He checked his timer, seeing the numbers count down. He was about to make his move when he heard a voice in his head.

'_Stinger? Can you hear me?'_

'_Kiba?' _

'_Yeah. You need to blow this place and get back to the ship.'_

'_I'm not just leaving without you,' _he looked back at the timer, more seconds wasted by talking.

'_Stinger! I'm not going to make it... I'm worse than when you found me before. Just go before they find you.'_

'_Kiba! I can't tell them you didn't make it,' he growled. _Counting twenty indavers, he knew he didn't actually have enough time to take them out. _'Can you portal at all? Even if an indaver slips through too?' _

'_No... too weak. Tell your ninja girl I'm sorry. Tell Hammy…' The link went dead._

"Aibou, we need to go!" His comm spoke up.

Stinger cursed, "I'm sorry, Kiba." He ran back to Champ and shook his head before heading toward the voyagers. Soon after, the place went up in multiple explosions.

When they landed on the Orion, Stinger just sat in his voyager.

"You're going to have to get out and face them, aibou," Champ opened the door to the Sasori voyager.

Stinger looked at him, then slowly climbed out.

Andy woke hearing Stinger enter their room. She saw his look, "Love?"

His eyes were haunted, tears beginning to spill onto his cheeks. "Andy…"

She froze, "No... how?" Tears started to well up in her eyes as she moved to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"He was ambushed… shot. I found him, but he was surrounded by indavers. I was going to try to get him but he… he mind spoke to me..." Stinger's voice failed and he cried into her shirt.

She tried to stay strong to comfort him but she started sobbing, hugging him tightly.

Stinger finally pulled away. "He told me he was too badly hurt to portal. The timers were going too fast and there were too many indavers… I had to leave him…. I'm sorry…"

She shook her head, trying to talk through her sobs, "It's not your fault."

"I could have tried to get him… instead I ran. I ran and the explosives went off…"

He shook his head. "The only good thing, I think he was dead before… whatever link we had cut off before the explosives..."

She wiped at her soaked face, trying to clear it off a bit. "I promised I'd be there for him. I'm supposed to die first so he isn't alone in the afterlife."

"I'm sorry...I should have tried harder." Stinger hung his head as he shook with sobs. "I killed him..."

"No... It's my fault... I should have gone on the mission."

Stinger raised his head. "You're still recovering. You could have gotten killed too..."

"Then at least he wouldn't be alone!" She grabbed tissues off the nightstand and tried to wipe her tears away, but they just kept falling.

"I couldn't deal with that… Losing him is bad enough. Losing you too? I'd get myself killed just to be with you."

"We thought we were going to die. We _knew _we were going to... And then you didn't see him, he was so scared. I don't want him to be alone and scared," She quit trying to wipe the tears away.

"How are we going to tell Azra and Hammy? Oh gods… he tried to tell me something for Hammy. But the link went de..." His voice broke on the word.

After a bit longer, she spoke again, "I've heard his last words a couple times. I know what to tell her." She rubbed his back as she took slow, deep breaths.

He finally quit crying, curling up on the bed as he fell asleep.

Andy wiped her tears away, finally, as she quit crying. She headed out, knowing she had to start delivering the bad news. Her heart hurt, but she knew there was always a chance he'd go and she couldn't save him.

She entered the bridge and looked at Champ before looking at Azra and Kotaro.

"Mom?"

She fought the tears and waved her hand, "Come here, baby."

Azra went to her, face confused. "Is Dad okay?"

"Dad's fine," she answered, "but your Uncle Kiba..."

Azra's face crumpled as she began to cry. "No…"

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she pulled her in for a hug. Andy glanced over at Kotaro who was looking at them sadly.

"Can I see him?" Azra looked up at her.

Andy shook her head, "If we had the body I would try to save him... but they couldn't get it..."

Azra gave a horrified whimper. "We can't even bury him?!"

"It's a harsh thing that happens in war," Andy wiped her eyes. "We can hold a memorial for him though."

Azra tried to stifle her tears. "Aunt Hammy? Have you told her yet?"

"Not yet, baby. I have to call her and a few others," Andy answered.

"How are we going to live without him?"

"Things won't be the same, but we'll try to get on with our lives. We have the good memories to remember him by," Andy let out a sob, wiping at her eyes once more. "Just remember he loved you and he's finally at peace."


	30. Enter Benny

Andy entered the hospital, seeing cots lined in the hallway. She found one of the nurses and started to help out where she was needed. After a bit one pointed to a room, "Can you go check on Baby Benny? He probably needs a diaper change."

Andy raised an eyebrow and entered the room, finding a baby who looked to be about a year old. She smiled down at him, "Hi there."

After taking care of him, she asked the nurse, "Why is he here? He's healthy."

The nurse gave a sad smile, "His parents died a couple weeks ago, and since then he's been living here. There isn't room in the orphanage."

Andy frowned but nodded, continuing onto the next patient. After a while, she heard Stinger call through her comm. She answered, "Here. Still in the hospital. Did you guys take out the indaver problem?"

"All the trash has been removed from the planet." There was an undercurrent of barely contained anger in his voice.

"Do you want me to come back? Or should I stay here and keep helping?"

"Stay if you want. I have to report in." He terminated the call abruptly.

Andy sighed and kept working. After a few hours she finally headed back to the ship, finding Stinger on the bridge.

Stinger smiled at her. "Any problems?"

"No, they still have a lot of patients though. I might go back tomorrow if we are still in orbit."

"Not to worry. Shou wants us to hang around a few days, see if everything stays quiet."

She approached and wrapped her arms around him, "I wish the timing was different... There's a baby who has been living in the hospital because the orphanage is full. His parents died a couple weeks ago... It'd be perfect for us to adopt him but with everything going on, I don't know if it's a good idea."

He paused and looked at her. "You'd be off missions again. But it might be good. Give a sense of normalcy to Azra."

"Azra still isn't going on a lot of missions. She could watch him if you need me for something."

"You think they'll let you take him?"

"It doesn't hurt to ask. And it would be one less patient for the nurses to care for," Andy commented.

"Okyu. See what they say." He kissed her head.

"Should we talk to Azra first? Or just tell her once we know?"

"Wait till we know." Stinger sighed. "Don't want to get her hopes up if it doesn't happen."

Andy nodded before heading out of the room.

The next day, Andy went to the hospital and talked to them. She then headed back to the Orion.

"Are you sure you want another baby?" Andy asked Stinger. "I don't want you saying yes just because of Azra or me."

He gave her a sad smile. "I want him. It'll be nice to have a baby that doesn't grow so fast. They aren't shapeshifters or anything right?"

"Normal baby. His name is Benny. He's about a year old. That's all I really know."

"Benny." Stinger looked at her. "And he's over the big hurdles. Sounds perfect."

"I'll go talk to Azra then... I hope she actually wants a sibling."

"It's not like she'll have to share a room or anything." Stinger cracked.

Andy smiled before kissing him. She then headed out of the room to find Azra. She found her and Kotaro in the kitchen. "How are you kids doing?"

Kotaro smiled as he cooked, "Good. Want lunch?"

Andy shrugged, "Sure. How are you?" She looked at Azra.

"I'm fine." Azra was quiet.

"So... Your dad and I have been talking about possibly adopting again for a couple years now... What would you think of having a little brother?"

She looked up. "Really?" She looked behind Andy. "Where is he?"

"There's a baby living in the hospital on the planet we've been orbiting. He's a year old. Normal human baby."

"You and Dad are going to adopt him? When?" Azra was getting excited.

"We'd like to. They told us we could take him. I wanted to make sure you would be okay with it though," Andy admitted.

"Of course. Can I come with you to pick him up?"

"Sure," Andy smiled. "We can go after lunch."

Azra kissed her and ran out of the room.

Kotaro smiled at Andy. "That's the most excited I've seen her since…" He turned back to the food without finishing the sentence.

Andy stood to grab plates, "I know things have been rough the last couple months. Especially for her. She hasn't dealt with death before him." She sighed, "Has she been talking to you about it at all? Or about anything?"

Kotaro shook his head as he put the food on the plates. "She still won't talk to me. Last night she saw an advertisement for s'mores and cried herself to sleep."

Andy frowned but slightly changed the topic, "So have you guys figured out what's going on between you?"

"We kinda decided to just be friends. Neither of us are ready for something serious."

Andy nodded, "Best not to rush into anything. And outside of her not dealing with his death, you two are both stable people, so things could come together eventually or they might not. It's good you two are friends though." She smiled a moment, "You're about the age Stinger was when we got together. Things probably would have gone slower if I didn't have to keep saving his ass."

Kotaro fought a grin. "Remember how much he used to blush if we even suggested the possibility of you two being serious?"

Andy chuckled, "I miss those days. He was a pain and life was far from simple, but it was less complicated than all of this. I'm glad he's past his stupidity though."

Kotaro nodded. "He may not be stupid any more, but I wish the anger wasn't back." He looked at her. "You didn't see him when he was looking for his brother, but trust me the anger is the same."

"He thinks the baby might help Azra. I think it might help Stinger," Andy answered.

"I hope so." Kotaro carried his plate to the table. "Didn't expect a baby though."

"We'd been talking about adopting for a while now," Andy admitted as she sat down across from him. "Though I feel this isn't a good time, that might be why it _is _a good time." She sighed softly.

"Things happen not when we want it to, but when we need it to." Kotaro chuckled. "Something like that anyway."

Andy nodded, "Yeah. This'll be good." She smiled and started eating.

After lunch Andy and Azra went down to the planet.

"Are you ready?" Andy smiled as they entered the hospital.

She nodded nervously.

Andy entered the room, and smiled down at the baby in the crib. After picking him up she showed him to Azra, "Meet Benny."

Azra gave a soft smile. "Hi Benny." She gave him a kiss, which earned her a smile from him.

"I'm going to be your new Mommy. And this is your big sister, Azra. I know we aren't who you are used to, but we love you already," Andy said quietly.

"We're going to have so much fun together."

"Let's take you to meet your new Daddy," Andy smiled before putting him safely into a carrier.

Once they were on the Orion, Andy found Stinger on the bridge talking to Kotaro and Champ. She took Benny out of the carrier and brought him over to Stinger.

"So this is Benny." Stinger gave her a soft kiss and smiled at the baby. "He's big for a one-year-old isn't he?"

Andy looked at the baby's green eyes and light blond hair and smiled, "He's a good size. A little chunky but healthy."

"Okyu. You have everything you need this time or do I have to do an emergency shopping trip again?"

Andy chuckled, "He's not going to grow as fast so we won't go through clothes as quickly. We still have the crib, just need to pull it into our room. The hospital gave us some supplies for him too. So we won't need much and don't need it right this second. It's not like with Azra where we weren't expecting her at all." She smiled at Azra, "I spent way too much right when we got you. I was so excited to have a baby, I bought you everything I thought we'd need."

"And believe me, it _all_ got used and more." Stinger gave her a grin. "Those were crazy days."

"I'm glad we don't have to have someone else watch him this time. Though she probably needs the distraction..." Andy sighed.

"Maybe we can go visit for a while. If it stays quiet." Stinger began to make faces at Benny.

"What do you two think?" Andy glanced at Champ and Kotaro.

Champ moo-ed his approval.

Kotaro looked at him. "He reminds me of Jiro."

Andy smiled. "I hope he likes it here. And us."

Stinger smiled. "Playtime's over. Back to work." He gave Andy a kiss, then headed for his office.

Andy frowned a moment before sighing and heading to their room, followed by Azra.

Time skip

"He's getting so big," Azra smiled as she watched Benny playing on the floor in the rec room.

"I can't believe we've had him six months already," Andy grinned as she watched him too. She then looked at Stinger, "And he's still just a baby." She chuckled.

He laughed. "As long as I don't wake up to find a kitten in the crib or an adult staring at me, I think we'll be fine."

Andy smiled, "I wonder if he'll like the beach?"

"All babies like the beach." Stinger stretched and reached for his cup. "It's been awfully quiet. Maybe we can visit Hammy finally."

Andy nodded, "Yeah, after our day at the beach though," she reminded. "Balance and Naga said they might come back soon, so that'd give us a bit more entertainment around here. Though I am glad Jark Matter is slow."

"Yeah. So when is our beach trip?"

"We are by a few beach planets. It's been a while since we visited Evian, we probably should go there for it," Andy answered. "I wasn't sure if we were needed anywhere soon."

"Sounds good to me. And no, we're not needed."

The next day, they landed on Eshana. Andy took a deep breath as she tried to push her memories of her last trip to Eshana, in the void between.

"You okay?" Azra asked.

"Yeah, fine," Andy nodded and gave her a fake smile.

Stinger looked at her quietly, then saw Evian approaching.

Andy gave a real, soft smile to Evian.

"Welcome," Evian smiled back.

Andy held Benny and held him up toward Evian, "This is Benny and it's his first trip to the beach."

Evian looked at the baby with a grin, "Such a cute child."

Stinger grinned at Andy. "Shall we introduce him to the dolphins?"

She nodded and noticed Azra had already taken off toward the water. Andy chuckled.

Benny smiled at the dolphins after he looked past his reflection in the water. After a while, Andy looked over at Stinger, "Can you keep an eye on him for a few minutes? I'll be back soon."

Stinger nodded and took the baby. "You okay?"

Andy sighed, "I don't know. I will be though."

Stinger nodded and turned his attention to Benny.

Andy headed back toward the tree line, finding a good tree to jump into. She sat down on a branch and took a moment to wipe the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"I wonder if things would have been easier if we just chose to move on... Though we wouldn't have met Benny. I wish you were here to meet him," she spoke aloud to Kiba, wondering if he could even hear her.

After a bit, she jumped down from the trees and started to head back toward the beach.

Stinger looked up and gave her a soft smile as Benny splashed in the water.

"Do you think it'll ever get easier? I think seeing Hammy isn't going to help."

Stinger sighed. "It does, but it takes a while. And with him...it might take longer. But take it from me, someday we'll be able to remember with a smile and not just tears."

Andy nodded sadly, before watching Benny and smiling. "I'm here for Benny but I feel like I'm mentally absent. I hope he knows I care, even if I don't show it as well as I could."

Stinger climbed to his feet and gave her a hug. "We're all still healing. I'm sure Benny knows you love him."

Andy hugged back, "And hopefully by the time he's old enough to notice, we'll be a bit more healed."


	31. The Void Between

Andy opened the door after hearing a knock. She looked at the woman in front of her, "Naomi? How can I help you?"

Naomi shook her head, "Hammy sent me. The village is under attack."

Andy cursed and looked back at Stinger to see if he heard.

He came to the door and looked at Andy, "You stay with Benny and call Azra to tell her to stay up on the Orion a while longer. I'll go see if I can help."

Andy sighed with worry before looking at Naomi, "Hammy is staying at the school to watch the kids, right?" After she nodded Andy answered, "Okay. I'll stay here. But when Stinger or Hammy gets back I'll come help you heal the wounded."

Naomi nodded and headed out. After a quick kiss, Stinger was out the door. She used to comm to call Azra, "Just stay there a while longer and hang out with Kotaro. I'm sure everything is under control."

Azra sighed, "Call me if you need me though, okyu?"

Andy gave a small smile to Benny before answering, "Okyu."

Andy played with Benny for a few minutes before heading back to the kitchen and pacing the floor. She glanced up, heart sinking as she looked at the calendar and noticed the date. It'd been a year since Kiba was gone. She hoped the date wasn't a bad omen.

After a bit, she heard Benny crying. Heading back into the guest room where the crib was set up, she froze, taking in the scene. A ninja was standing next to the crib, looking down at the baby.

"Stay away from him!" Andy ordered.

The ninja looked up with a smirk, "Or what?"

"Please, I'll give you anything you want, just don't hurt him."

"He _is _a pretty cute baby... but that won't stop my mission," the ninja answered.

"What's your mission?" Andy wondered, finally recognizing the ninja's clothing as one of the rival planets.

"To kill _anyone_ in the village," the ninja pulled out a blaster.

Time slowed down and Andy watched in horror as he put the blaster to Benny's head and fired. Blood and body tissue splattered the crib, staining the blankets dark red. It was barely seconds before a switch flipped in Andy and she got angry. She drew energy in as fast as she could, scaring the ninja as her eyes started to glow. Using just the energy she pushed the ninja back against the wall. Putting a hand on his body, she slowly cracked multiple bones in his body. She didn't care as blood splattered on her when she used the energy to make his eyes explode. His screaming was drowned out by the energy rushing around her. Finally, she stopped him entirely, closing her hand and crushing his heart.

She didn't even give the crib a second look before heading out to join the battle. She took down enemies quickly, completely draining them of their energy and letting their bodies fall straight to the ground. She wasn't even thinking, just taking down every enemy she saw. Finally, she made it to where Stinger was, and he watched in shock as the enemies all fell dead around him.

"Beautiful?" He took in her appearance and slowly started to move toward her. "Tell me what happened."

She noticed another enemy approach and she quickly made him drop to the ground. She tried to find the words, finally bringing the sadness back to her. The energy stopped flowing as she started sobbing and fell to her knees.

Stinger rushed to her side. "Beautiful, tell me what happened? Are you hurt?"

Andy shook her head, "Benny..." Her voice trailed off as she sobbed harder.

Stinger stared at her in shock, eyes beginning to well up. "Is he…?"

"They killed him!" She finally managed to get out before her stomach started heaving from her sobs.

Stinger froze for a moment, tears cascading down his cheeks. Then he wrapped her in a tight hug. He didn't speak.

She leaned into him, her head starting to pound from the crying. She finally managed to get a breath out and added, "Today's the anniversary of Kiba..." She lost any control she had on her sobs and continued crying.

Stinger squeezed his eyes shut, inwardly cursing. Outwardly, he just held her tighter.

Andy looked up, eyes blurring as she heard a shot ring out. She moved quickly and pushed Stinger over, taking the shot instead. She groaned in pain but pushed herself up to her feet to face the enemy.

She noticed Shocker troops mixed in with some enemy ninjas. She pulled out a kunai, standing between them and Stinger.

Stinger stood with a deep growl. "You guys don't learn do you?"

Andy rushed forward and starting taking down whoever she could.

Stinger began attacking, his tail and spear almost too fast for sight.

A single shot rang out and he suddenly froze, his eyes locked on Andy's as blood fountained from his head. He collapsed like a puppet with the strings cut and lay still.

Andy screamed his name before she felt something hit her head. She soon fell forward, world going black.

When she finally woke, her head was still pounding. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to focus on what was around her.

"Andy? Is that you?"

She looked at the voice and noticed Kiba. She blinked at him in confusion, "I'm dead, aren't I?"

He shook his head. "Not unless I am…"

He gave her an apologetic smile. "I'd hug you but…" He wiggled the manacles connecting him to the wall.

"You did die. Stinger saw you..." Andy looked down, "Are we in hell then? Because I don't know why we'd be tied up in heaven..."

"Shocker had people in the factory. They portaled me out and healed me. I've been here ever since. We_ are_ in hell but we aren't dead."

Andy looked up and stared at him for a few minutes. She felt like something was off, but between her wounds and heartbreak, she couldn't focus long enough to figure out what. She finally laid her head back down, wishing her wounds would take her sooner.

"How long?" The question was quiet.

"How long since you've been gone? A year." She spoke barely above a whisper.

Kiba exhaled sharply. "I knew it had been a long time but…" He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

Andy took a deep breath, but kept her eyes closed and didn't answer.

There was movement, then a shadow fell above her.

She finally opened her eyes and looked up, still staying quiet.

Kiba stood above her, his gun pointed at her head. "Sorry for you that is."

She took another deep breath, blinking her eyes at him a moment, "DeStruct."

"You remember me. I'm touched." His smile was twisted, his eyes gleaming.

"I'm glad you're alive. You can keep killing to your heart's content," Andy said.

"Really? Then I guess you don't mind if I kill your teammates…" He twirled his gun, moving away from her.

"Just kill me and get this over with," Andy begged. "I know you want to."

"Oh no. Shocker wants you alive. You don't get to die... Unless the General says so."

The cell door opened and a man in a black military uniform entered.

"Very good, DeStruct." He pulled a syringe out and proceeded to inject DeStruct in the neck.

"Thank you, General." DeStruct looked back at Andy, giving her the kyuranger salute mockingly before leaving.

"What do you want with me?" Andy wondered.

"Simple. The methods we use to heal aren't, how shall we say, the most beneficial to the patient. DeStruct is close to his limit."

The General leered at her. "Congratulations. You are now his personal healer. As long as he lives, you do." He sobered. "If you try anything, I'll punish him. Understood?"

"I don't think _you _understand. He's been dead to me for a year. I don't care if I live. I could just kill him. It wouldn't be the first time."

The General chuckled. "I can see why he likes you. Then do you care if your teammates die? You keep him alive, Shocker won't kill them."

He exited the cell, locking it behind him. "I'll let you think about it."

Her mind went to Azra. Of course she cared about her other teammates, but Azra just lost her family. She was Andy's only living child. She needed to keep Azra safe, so she would have to heal DeStruct. As long as they allowed her the supplies she'd need, that is. She rested her head down again, finally falling unconscious again.

Kiba stifled a cough as he worked on the cell lock. He cursed as he tried to control his shaking. Of all the people Shocker could have captured... _Of course_ it would be her. He was _really _getting tired of being the butt of the universe's practical joke. He visibly relaxed as the lock gave and he pushed it open slowly. "Andy? Please be awake." He crept forward, forcing himself not to cough loudly.

She didn't open her eyes, "What do you want?"

"Universal peace?... Maybe a few medicinal s'mores?" He joked half-heartedly.

She opened an eye at him, "Kiba?"

"It's me…" He couldn't hold it in anymore, coughing violently into his hand. When they had subsided, he gave her an appraising look. "You up for blowing this pop stand?"

"What's wrong with you?" She wondered.

He sighed. "Better question would be what's not wrong with me?" He began to cough again.

"How do I know you're really Kiba and not DeStruct?"

"Trust me?" He gave a chuckle. "Ask me something only I would know. DeStruct only has certain memories."

"I'll trust you. I don't even care enough right now, so if this is a trap, I don't care."

He stared at her. "That's not the ninja girl I know and love... Please say you are joking."

He grimaced as he heard a noise outside the cell. "Fuck it. If you aren't, I'll kick your ass _after_ we get out of here."

He grabbed her, quickly cutting her bonds and lifting her to her feet. "Follow me. Quietly... You do remember how to do that right?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded.

They crept out of the cell, Kiba leading her down several corridors. He pushed her against a wall as guards moved past them. When they were gone, he grabbed her hand and quickly sprinted in the opposite direction. Opening a door, he pushed her in and followed. As soon as he closed it, he began to slide down. "We… we'll wait here for the guard change. Then we run and hope like hell the General isn't tracking me."

"Why not portal?" She glanced down at him with a blank face.

"They implanted an inhibitor. It's only turned off when they give me a mission." He closed his eyes, willing his breathing to slow. "If I try, I get a nasty jolt."

"Where is it placed?"

"Spinal cord." He grimaced as his chest tightened. "They found out it was a problem, but the General ordered it to stay in. He just uses extra serum to keep the pain controlled."

She looked at him a moment, "Answer me. Where were we in the void between? What do you and Stinger call Azra? And what's our favorite spot on Hammy's planet?"

He gave a weak chuckle. "Eshana. Munchkin. And that giant tree on the Outlook." He looked at her. "Here's extra for you. You are a lunatic because you let Balance keep Treasure even after Shishi got pregnant. And Azra's still fascinated with the Gaia Library."

Andy didn't even speak again, she raised her hands though and started healing him.

"The General thinks the serum still works, but it doesn't. I've been playing along, sabotaging their plans when I can and trying to find a way to escape." He sighed. "I think I may have pushed my luck too far earlier though."

Her eyes glowed as she took energy from around her to heal Kiba. She even started draining the base's energy until she noticed the lights flicker.

"Ease off there, ninja girl." Kiba gave her a soft smile. "I missed the hell out of you."

Sudden yells in the hall made him lose the smile. "Shit. Guess it's plan B."

"Run like hell?"

"Yeah. To the left is the door outside. You'll come out of a cloak near the Outlook. Don't stop until you find friendlies." He drew his gun and grinned. "I'll lead them away and meet you at our tree."

"I have a better idea. Don't split up, let me handle them."

"I don't know if I like the implications of your plan…"

The yells got closer.

"Ah hell… hope you don't regret this." He flashed a grin at her and stood. He pulled the door open and fired into the guards standing there.

"Which way?" She asked as her eyes started glowing. She watched for more mooks, draining their energy as they approached.

Kiba swallowed hard, then pointed to the left. "Through there."

"Come on then," she ordered.

He gave a short laugh, stepping into the hall. He froze as the General suddenly appeared.

Andy frowned when she realized she couldn't drain his energy.

"You'll find I'm not susceptible to weak tricks like that," he laughed coldly.

Kiba raised his gun, preparing to fire.

The General laughed again and pressed a button on a remote.

Kiba stiffened and gave a strangled cry, falling to his knees in pain. His eyes rolled back and he went limp.

"If you come quietly, I won't kill him." The General looked at Andy, finger on the remote button.

Andy nodded, "Fine."

The General smirked and nodded his head down the hall, "Come along then." He ordered a few mooks that appeared to carry Kiba down the hall with them.

Kiba opened his eyes and sighed. He was hanging by his wrists, shirtless. The door in front of him opened and he sighed as the General entered. "Where's Andy?"

The General gave him a mocking smile, then snapped his fingers. Several mooks pushed her in, swords at her throat.

"Let her go." Kiba tried to get free. One of the mooks approached and slammed his fist into Kiba's stomach.

Kiba coughed, earning a laugh from the mooks. The General motioned for silence. "What am I going to do with you?"

Kiba sucked in some air painfully. "Let us go and I'll send you postcards from my travels?"

"You know you have to at least be punished before anything else," the General pulled out a whip.

Kiba cursed. "You have an unhealthy attachment to that, you know. You should try to talk out your differences before violence."

"This is so much more fun though," The General smirked as he cracked the whip into the air.

Kiba took a deep breath, steeling himself for the pain.

He bit his lip as the first stroke landed, fighting not to cry out. Soon though, they were landing so fast he couldn't hold back. He let out a cry, arching his back in a futile effort to escape.

As the strokes stopped, he sagged in exhaustion.

"That is why you don't disobey Shocker," the General laughed.

"Shocker can kiss my ass." He tried to sound confident, but his voice came out weak and strained.

Andy watched with conflicting emotions. She was angry at the General for all of the times he'd hurt Kiba, especially now. She was happy that Kiba was alive but she feared he wasn't going to be much longer. She was numb wondering if there was a chance that Stinger survived and thinking about what happened with Benny. She wanted to cry or scream but between the numbness and her fear that the General would take it out on Kiba even more, she stayed silent.

She watched the General stick a needle into Kiba's neck and inject the serum.

Kiba's pupils went wide and he sucked in a harsh breath. After a few minutes, he exhaled harshly and closed his eyes. His body shook, a combination of pain, fatigue and whatever the serum was trying to do.

Andy sent a thought to Kiba, '_I'm sorry I can't get you out of here...'_

'_That's… my line.'_ His mental voice was weak. _'He's going to be pissed when the serum doesn't work. You should run.'_

'_I'm not leaving you. Maybe you should pretend it works so you can survive and find another chance to escape.' _She sighed, '_I can feel his energy, why can't I drain it?'_

'_Believe me… I wish I knew. I'll try to pretend…' _

Kiba opened his eyes and bowed his head towards the General. "Forgive me. I once again forgot my place."

"Your punishment isn't over," the General smirked. "We'll see if you're really loyal to us after I get through with you." He raised his whip to start back on Kiba.

Andy closed her eyes, half trying to not have to watch and half to try something out. She drained some of the energy from the base, trying to push it through the mental link to Kiba.

Kiba struggled not to let the energy boost show as the General methodically lashed at him.

He couldn't control the whimpers of pain from escaping his lips though.

Andy took a moment and decided to try something risky. She kept draining the energy of the base, finally making the lights flicker until they went out completely. The room was drenched in darkness as Andy then drained the mooks around her, their weapons clattering to the floor. She kept trying to push energy into Kiba through the link before she grabbed a kunai out and headed for the general. Her eyes were closed but she could sense his energy and knew where he was. He started yelling about getting a generator on but it was cut off when she jumped forward and sliced his throat open.

She then sensed Kiba and opened her eyes, the glowing working as a flashlight. She cut the rope holding him up before supporting him, "Can you walk?"

"Not... sure..." He shook uncontrollably.

Andy helped him to the floor, before pulling more energy from any more mooks that approached. Her hands glowed as she tried to help heal Kiba.

"How the hell… did you do whatever you did?" Kiba coughed as he tried to stop the tremors.

He could feel her trying to heal him, but wondered if it was working. The serum was making everything fuzzy and he feared it would actually start to suppress him again.

"Do what? I just drained the energy from the base to make the lights go out." She pushed more energy into him making light glow around him.

"Didn't know you could do that." The tremors began to subside, leaving him exhausted. "We need to get out of here before the lights come back on. I doubt the General will buy my act after what just happened." He tried to rise, but couldn't summon the strength.

"Shh. He's not going to be a problem. Just let me keep healing you a bit longer."

"The guards..." He tried to stay awake but felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. "You have... To stay alive…" His voice trailed off as he passed out.

Andy shook her head but kept healing him, hoping she'd give him the energy to wake back up soon.

A few minutes had passed when she felt him move again.

"Kiba?" She asked, hoping to get him awake.

"I'm here… can't guarantee how long, but I'm here. We do need to get out of here though."

His words were punctuated by the lights coming back on.

"Come on then," she held a hand out for him. "I need to see if Stinger really died..." She looked Kiba over noticing how bad he still looked. Blood stained his ripped clothes, and he looked like he could drop over any moment.

"Stinger's…dead?" Kiba took her hand slowly. "I can't leave you guys alone at all can I?" He tried to joke, but his eyes showed how worried he was.

"He took a shot to the head before I got taken..." She closed her eyes a moment, "Come on." She pulled him up.

"He better be alive or I'm going to be very unhappy." Kiba summoned his gun. "How many do you think we have to take out to escape?"

She shook her head, "I don't know. But we'll beat them all." She grabbed out a kunai finally realizing her seiza blaster was still back at Hammy's house. She opened a door and looked out into a hallway, "You know where we are?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. "Two corridors away from the cloaked entrance."

He sighed. "Really wish I could just portal us out..."

"It's fine. Lead the way."

He flashed her a quick grin and crept into the hallway. "All clear so far." He headed to the end and poked his head around the corridor, then motioned for her to follow.

She followed along, finally spotting some mooks rounding the corner. She ran ahead and started taking some of them out.

She could hear Kiba's gun firing behind her, but focused on what was in front of her.

Kiba's lips curled as the mooks tried to get close. "Not today fellas." He fired a burst, not waiting to see the aftermath. "We need to speed this up don't you think?" He called to Andy.

She gave a nod and took a moment, draining the rest of the mooks of their energy before going ahead.

Kiba shuddered a little as he passed the bodies but didn't say anything. "Andy, wait up."

He turned the corner and stopped short.

A Shocker sub commander stood above a stunned Andy, leveling a weapon at each of them.

"What do you think you're doing, DeStruct?"

Kiba snarled. "That's _NOT MY NAME!_" He began to aim at the man when he felt the prick of a needle in his neck. He half turned, registering a white coat before he collapsed to the floor.

Andy cursed, kicking up and knocking the weapons from the sub commander's hands. She then jumped up and threw a kunai back at the white coat before using another to stab the sub commander. When the enemies were finally down, she moved to Kiba's side and scanned him over. "Can you move?"

"Unfortunately, no." Kiba growled in annoyance. "I really hate those white coated bastards. This puts a real crimp in our escape plan."

Andy quickly made two clones, "I'll carry you out of here if I have to..." They lifted him up trying to get to the exit.

There was a sudden movement behind them, then Kiba yelled.

She turned to see the white coat struggling with one of her clones, Kiba lying dazed on the floor, a depressed syringe half in his shoulder.

Andy cursed and knelt by Kiba. The clone took the white coat out quickly.

She scanned over him again, "Hey, you with me?"

"Ask me again later... If there is a later." Kiba was breathing hard, his eyes squeezed shut. "This really sucks."

"Don't worry, I'll help you..." She sighed as the clones picked him up again. "Do you have a comm on you?"

"Pocket. Unless they took it." His hand twitched towards his pants. "Guess whatever it was before is wearing off."

"Okay, do you want to try to walk or keep carrying you?" She grabbed the comm in his pocket.

"I'll try to walk." He pushed himself away from the clones, swaying slightly.

"Let me help you still," one of the clones commented, wrapping a hand around his waist.

Andy made sure he was keeping up as they finally made their way out of the base. Once they got to a good hiding spot, she used the comm, "Champ please come in. Have you heard anything from Hammy or Stinger?"

Champ's voice moo-ed loudly. "Andy? You're alive? Hammy's been worried sick."

"What about Stinger? Has anyone found him yet? I know he was injured..."

"He's being treated as we speak. Are you alright?"

"Physically okay," she gave a sigh of relief learning Stinger wasn't dead.

She then called Hammy, "Hammy? Where are you?"

"Patrolling by the Outlook. Where are you?" Her voice was semi frantic.

"Have you been home yet?"

"No. We just managed to repel the attackers. Why?"

"Just... I have good news and bad news. I'm by the Outlook too. Sending you my coordinates."

Ten minutes later, Hammy raced over the hill. "Daka?"

"Over here!" She was working on healing Kiba some more.

Hammy began to approach, but froze when she realized Andy wasn't alone.

Kiba blinked slowly at her, a smile slowly forming. "Hammy... Sorry I didn't call..."

Hammy sent a look at Andy. "How?"

"Shocker saved him but he's been stuck there since," Andy sighed. "That's the good news."

Hammy ran to Kiba's side, grabbing his hand tightly. "What's the bad news?" She was crying as she brushed a hand through Kiba's hair shakily.

Andy moved her hands and slid back away from Kiba. She tried to form the words but tears started forming in her eyes, "One of the rival ninja got in the house... Benny..."

Hammy tore her gaze from Kiba to look at Andy. "Oh, Daka…" She reached for her sister as her own tears began again. "I'm so sorry."

Kiba was puzzled. "Who's Benny?"

Andy tried to answer but she just kept sobbing into Hammy's shoulder.

He sighed and closed his eyes with a small grimace. "It's obviously been a horrible day for everyone."

Andy finally caught her breath and tried to wipe away some of the tears, "About ten months ago, we adopted a one-year-old baby..."

Kiba's eyes shot open. "No... Andy, tell me that's not Benny…" His eyes darkened. "Those ninjas were working for Shocker…" His fist hit the ground in fury and he pushed himself to his feet.

"I'm so fucking sorry…" He started to walk away unsteadily.

"Kiba, don't go." Andy pulled away from Hammy. "Let's all get to the ship..."

He stopped, but didn't turn. "I don't deserve to face you or Stinger. Don't tell him I'm alive. Let him remember me as a friend, not the one who helped cause his son to…"

Kiba broke into a run and soon disappeared into the forest.

'_Do you know how hard it's been without you? We still haven't gotten over your death. You aren't all of Shocker. You didn't do this," _Andy sobbed, _'We want you in our lives... All of us. At the very least stay and let me take out that chip so you can go wherever you want...'_

'_You should have let the General kill me...You shouldn't-' _The link went dead mid-sentence.

"You idiot!" Andy groaned before looking at Hammy, "Help me find him please."

Hammy nodded, helping Andy to her feet and heading the direction Kiba had taken.

Andy rolled her eyes when she found Kiba hanging from a trap in a tree. After getting him down they took him to where her voyager was parked and took him to the ship.

Hammy and Andy met Champ in the voyager bay.

"Can you carry our problem child to the infirmary?" Andy asked.

Champ's nostrils flared. "Andy? Are you alright? He's been gone…"

"Tell that to him," she pointed in her voyager. "I'm far from alright, but he's real and he's alive."

Champ hurried over and carefully lifted Kiba out. "Stinger's asking for you."

Andy nodded and started following him down the hall. She suddenly felt dizzy and took a moment to lean on the wall. She noticed Hammy looking at her with worry.

"Are you okay, Daka?" Hammy gently asked as she reached for her.

Andy winced as she finally paid attention to the pain in her body, "I forgot I got shot earlier..." She tried to keep going but swayed.

"Daka!" Hammy wrapped her arms around her waist. "Lean on me."

They made their way slowly to the infirmary, entering in time to hear Stinger's shocked squawk of Kiba's name.

Andy sat in the chair next to Stinger and just set her head down on the bed. "Hey."

"Hey yourself, beautiful. I'm not even going to ask." Stinger's fingers massaged her scalp. "I'm happy that you're alive though."

"Hammy? Restrain Kiba in case he's still being a dumbass when he wakes. He can't portal but he can steal our voyagers..." She looked up at Stinger a moment, "I thought you died."

Hammy gave Kiba's unconscious form a glare. "If he even tries, I will kick his ass." She moved into the side room to retrieve the restraints.

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "I thought so too. But I woke up here and you were gone…" He squeezed her shoulder. "I was terrified."

Hammy returned and gently tied Kiba down. "He looks awful." She smoothed his bangs back with a sad smile. "He was blaming himself again, wasn't he?"

"He somehow thinks it's his fault Benny died because the ninjas were working with Shocker," Andy complained against the bed. "They took me to heal DeStruct but it wasn't DeStruct it was Kiba..." She looked up and tried to give Stinger a small smile, "The General has been taken care of."

Stinger growled low in his throat, then winced. "You met the bastard then?" He gingerly touched the bandage around his head. "I guess I can scratch him off my list then."

"He was terrible..." She looked Stinger over, "I can heal you some if you want me to?"

"You look like you need to heal yourself first." Stinger kissed her head. "I'm not dying. Is he?"

His eyes flicked to Kiba's bed, worry evident in his voice.

Andy answered, "He shouldn't be..." She tried to push herself up and made her way to a chair by him. Her eyes glowed as she pulled in energy, making a couple clones. One got to work on healing her, the other went to see if they had the serum antidote she had formulated for him before. She scanned him over noticing the effects of the serum as well as some of the whip marks. She started healing him up some more. When the clone found the antidote, she injected him with it and Andy watched as a few of the effects slowly vanished. That clone moved over to Stinger and worked on healing him a bit too. Finally, she pulled her hands away and both clones disappeared. "He'll be fine." She used some energy to move back by Stinger and she then resumed her position of sitting with her head laying on the bed.

"Champ? Connect these beds together will you?" Stinger smiled at Andy. "More comfortable this way."

The bull did as requested, then returned to the bridge.

"Come on, beautiful. Climb in."

Hammy stayed next to Kiba, talking softly as she cleaned him up. She gave a grateful smile to Andy, then returned to her task.

Andy got on the bed and promptly fell asleep.

When Andy woke, Stinger was already awake, sitting next to her.

"Can't I sleep for a week?" Andy grumbled into the pillow.

"We need to tell Azra. Both the good news and the bad." Stinger sighed.

"Then can I sleep for a week?" Andy frowned as she pushed herself up. "I need to shower..." She noticed all of the blood streaked on her clothes and hair.

"We'll both sleep. By the way, Hammy had to go back to the school. But she said Kiba was quiet all night."

"I better send Naomi or someone to go clean in Hammy's guest room..." Andy sighed. "Because I know I can't handle it... And Hammy definitely can't." She fully got herself off the bed. After a shower, her and Stinger went to find Azra. They finally found her in the rec room with Kotaro, watching a movie. "Baby?"

"Mom!" Azra rushed to hug her. "I was so scared."

"I'm okay," Andy rubbed Azra's back a bit. "We have a couple things to tell you. Do you want to hear good news or bad news first?"

Azra pulled away uncertainly. "I guess the good news?" She looked over at Kotaro, who shrugged.

"So..." Andy took a deep breath, "It's a really long story, but it turns out your Uncle Kiba is alive."

Azra stared at her in shock. "Where? How? Can I see him?"

"He's currently restrained in the infirmary. You can go in there when we are done, okay?" Andy gave a soft smile.

Azra grinned and nodded at her in excitement.

"Okay... Bad news." Andy's eyes started tearing up.

"Mom...you're scaring me. Are you okay?" Azra's voice got panicky and she grabbed Andy's arm.

"So did Champ or anyone tell you the reason we were hurt was an attack from a rival ninja planet? One of the rival ninjas... killed Benny..." Andy tried to not start sobbing.

Azra's face went pale. "But you saved him right?" Her eyes were pleading.

"The way he died... There's just some things even I can't fix..." Andy finally started crying.

Azra burst into tears, running to Kotaro who wrapped her in a hug wordlessly.

Stinger wrapped an arm around Andy, blinking back his own tears.

Kiba cracked an eye open. When he was satisfied he was alone, he got to work on the restraints. Once free, he sat up and thought for a moment. If he was able to pull this off, nobody would know for a while. Decision made, he headed for the side room quickly.

After trying to dry her tears away, Azra moved back from Kotaro with a thankful look. She then left the room and headed to see Kiba. When she arrived she was surprised he wasn't in a bed. She looked around and finally found him in another room, "Uncle Kiba?"

"Azra? Hey, I... uh... How are you?" He quickly hid his hands behind his back as she entered.

"Glad to see you again," Azra answered, trying to avoid thoughts of Benny.

"Same here, munchkin. Could you maybe wait out there for a sec?"

She frowned, "What are you doing in here? Mom said you were restrained..."

"Had to use the bathroom. I'm just running a test. Don't tell your mom I got out, okay? I don't want a lecture." He shot her a smile that didn't reach his eyes and tried to close the door.

She stared at him for a moment, eyes narrowing, "What are you really doing? I'm not a kid anymore, I can tell when someone is lying."

Kiba's smile disappeared as he sighed. "Have your parents told you what happened? About... your brother?"

Her eyes teared up again, "Yeah, they told me he died..."

"I'm to blame for it. But I'm going to make sure I can't hurt anyone else." Kiba showed her the syringe and scalpel.

Azra started crying, "I don't want to lose you again. Please don't..." She shook her head.

"Munchkin, this time I've caused too much damage. Your brother wouldn't be dead if Shocker hadn't hired those ninjas. And the only reason Shocker's here is because they came after me. It's my fault. I can't change it, but I _can _make sure no one else gets hurt because of me. Just... go back to your room and remember that I love you. And I'm sorry." He forced the door closed and she heard the lock click.

Azra took a moment to think of something big, choosing a leopard, and rammed into the door. She finally clawed her way in, knocking him over. She then went back to normal before growing a scorpion tail and wrapping it around his arms. "What part of I don't want to lose you again, don't you get? We've been mourning you for a year now. Everyday things remind us of you and we get sad all over again. You're alive. If you weren't I know mom wouldn't be holding up as well as she is. I refuse to watch you break their hearts again. And Aunt Hammy just got you back too. She's been so lonely and sad ever since you died. You can make them happy again." Azra took a deep breath, "I think you're just reaching at straws looking for things to blame yourself for. So what? Shocker could have come here anyway. Rival ninjas are always attacking the village, so people die anyway. Yes, I am sad about him. He's my brother. Even if we've only had him a year. But I don't believe in any way that you caused it. And if my parents thought you caused it, would they let you still be here? Would they restrain you for your own protection? I don't think so. So I don't care if you want to keep believing that crap, I'm not letting you go through with it."

Kiba looked at her with wide eyes. "You are so innocent. And truly your mother's daughter. But you guys just can't accept that you are going to end up getting killed because of me… Better I go before that happens." He dropped his gaze to the floor.

"If mom has taught me anything, and being around here, it's that death happens. It can be unexpected or expected. It can be a complete accident. Isn't it better for you to be here to help prevent us from dying? I'd rather die by Shocker or a bounty hunter coming after you than to not have you in my life," Azra sighed.

Kiba's lips twisted and he sighed. "Fine. You might want to get your mom then…"

Azra grew her tail a bit longer so she could move but still keep it wrapped around him. She reached for the comm and called Andy, "Mom? Can you come to the infirmary please?"

"Be right there."

Kiba gave her a faint grin. "Did your mom teach you that lecture?" He blinked sleepily at her.

"No, it's just how I feel. Even though I'm sure she feels the same way," Azra answered.

He couldn't resist the laugh, even though the room was getting hazy. "Not sure how I ended up being a part of this crazy family…" He laid his head back as his strength vanished.

Andy entered the room and took in the scene. She shook her head, "Kiba, you keep wanting me to stay alive when things get tough, but you can't even do it. Good thing I'm here to keep saving your ass." She had Azra use the tail to carry Kiba to the bed.

"I already... got lectured." His eyes were barely focused.

Andy went to the cabinet and found a medicine to counter the sedatives. She filled a syringe and stuck it in his arm before raising her arms to keep watch on his vitals.

Azra looked worried but watched Andy work. After a few minutes though, Andy asked, "Can you go get your dad?"

Azra left and returned with Stinger.

"When he wakes up, you better give him a long ass lecture," Andy pulled her hands away when she realized Kiba's vitals were staying steady. "And we need to find some kind of restraints he can't escape from."

Stinger gave her a look. "What did he do now?"

"He tried to kill himself," Azra answered. She pointed at the broken door, "I got to him though."

Stinger's eyes hardened. "Think he's getting more than a lecture."

Andy gave Azra a soft smile, "He's going to be fine now. And we're going to make sure he doesn't try it again."

Azra nodded, "Think he'd want some s'mores?"

Andy chuckled, "He always wants s'mores. You can make him some for when he wakes up."

After Azra left the room, Andy went to Stinger, "I'm glad Azra caught him."

Stinger nodded. "You might want to liquefy the s'mores, cause I might break his jaw. Or his ass. Maybe both." He chuckled in exasperation. "Why didn't he just portal if he really wanted to pull this crap again?"

"Like I told Hammy yesterday, he can't portal right now. Best he could do is steal a voyager. I need to perform a surgery on him to remove an inhibitor chip, but I was waiting until he was awake and healed from everything else..."

"Maybe you should do it now. Then I can kick his ass without worrying I'm going to accidentally kill him."

"It's in his spine. He's going to have to be down a few days unless I focus on healing him for a few hours," Andy answered. "I need to run scans and see how hard it would be to get to."

"Perfect. Then he will _have_ to listen and get it through his thick skull once and for all."

"I care about him and just want him happy, but it pisses me off when he does this. He expects us to stay alive and not do dumb shit, but then he doesn't expect it of himself," Andy growled before making a clone who started getting supplies ready. The clone started up the scans, spotting the chip.

Kiba stirred restlessly, his head turning side to side as his eyelids twitched. He gave a small whimper and tried to curl into a ball. He couldn't because of the restraints and began panicking.

"Stop it. Let me go. Please let me go…"

Andy sighed and undid the restraints. She then checked his blood levels before giving him a bit of sedative to help him sleep. She then finished getting things ready for the surgery.

Stinger watched the scene silently, sitting down to wait.

She turned Kiba onto his stomach and made sure everything was perfect before starting the surgery. Andy looked at the scans to make sure she was in the right place before cutting into him. She had one clone monitoring his vitals, another healing him, as the real Andy performed the procedure. An hour later, Kiba was bandaged up and she finally let the clones go. She looked at Stinger, "He shouldn't get out of bed for a couple days. I need a nap, so please watch him and let me know if anything changes?" She tried to smile but it didn't reach her eyes.

Stinger nodded, eyes boring into Kiba's form. "I will." He walked over to her and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Try to sleep well."

She nodded and headed out to her room. She took a pill, hoping it would keep her knocked out where she wouldn't have nightmares. She soon fell fast asleep.

Stinger sat back down and stared at Kiba, wondering how long it would be until he woke up.

He didn't have to wait long.

Kiba's eyes flickered open and he sighed as he looked around. "Kinda hoped that lecture was a dream…"

Stinger smacked Kiba's arm, "It wasn't and you're about to get another one."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Just let me be. Wait... why am I bandaged up?"

"No, I won't just let you be. Do you know how hard it's been for all of us to lose you? Watching Andy and Azra crying because they miss you? The guilt I felt? Feeling it was my fault that I didn't do enough to save you? And then you end up being alive. And you just want to end it? They lost you once. _We _lost you once, we aren't going to lose you again to something so stupid as you killing yourself." He sighed and looked over to the infirmary desk, "It's been bad for all of us, but for Andy it's been worse. But she's been trying to stay strong, even through all of the pain. She's not going to be doing well for a while. She needs you to stay strong for her for once. She's always there even when you piss her off but what about when she needs you?" Stinger sighed again, "I don't know. I'm just worried about her. And about you."

Kiba opened his mouth, but the glare Stinger gave him shut it quickly.

"You're bandaged because Andy took out the inhibitor chip. You _can _portal out of here if you wanted but if we think you'll do something stupid we'll just follow." He looked away again, "I think Andy worries that you'd rather be off with Daiki or Tsukasa than being here with us. Honestly, I also think she's never as strong as she acts, she just doesn't want us to worry. Especially with you and how you blame yourself for everything. You need to grow up eventually. Yeah life is hard, yeah things can happen that suck, but what about all of the good things? Or are we not good enough for you?" Stinger looked back at Kiba, "You're family to us, that's why we care. There is _nothing _you could do that would make us stop thinking of you as family. We just lost one family member, we don't want to lose anyone else."

Kiba just stared for a moment, then very softly spoke.

"I'm the one not good enough for you guys… I get people hurt. I get people _killed_... I stayed away from Hammy so the bounty hunters couldn't hurt her. So what happens? They send rival ninjas to…" His voice broke as he fought back tears. "I _am_ responsible… why aren't you mad at me? Your son is… because of me. I don't want to be responsible for any more pain… My dads have a life, Hammy has hers. You guys have yours. They shouldn't include me…."

He reached for the IV, pulling it out as he tried to get out of the bed. "I should just disappear..."

He stopped, gasping as the movement jarred the stitches. "You don't need a murderer in your family…."

Stinger got up and pushed Kiba back, "I _am _mad at you. But not for any of the reasons you list. I'm _only _mad at you because you can't get it through your thick head that we want you to stay. You didn't cause my son to die. You didn't cause Hammy any pain, other than dying and disappearing. That's the _only _pain you cause us, so if you do disappear again, you _will _be hurting us."

Stinger sat back down, "Think of our family like a s'more. Andy's probably the graham crackers keeping us together. I don't want to say I'm a marshmallow but whatever. And you're the chocolate. It's just not as good without you."

Kiba remained silent, but had a tiny smile at Stinger's description. After a few minutes, he let out a small laugh. "You lecture just as well as your wife and kid. Thanks... You guys must think I'm a complete idiot. I fought so hard to escape Shocker, but the moment I get out... I fall apart. Is Azra upset with me?" He took a deep breath as he tried to reinsert the IV. "And you're totally a marshmallow."

Stinger gave a mock glare before smiling, "She's just worried like we are. I've been at the end of Andy's lectures enough myself, that's probably why. And you _are _an idiot. But you're our idiot."

Kiba chuckled wryly. "I bet you just channeled her. I'm sorry… just needed a metaphorical punch to the head. Even with my dads, family is still a strange concept to me, I guess." He sighed as he gave up on the IV. "At least it wasn't a literal punch." He stared up at the ceiling.

"Tell everyone they don't have to worry. I won't disappear. And not just because I can't handle a portal right now. I have a year to make up for." He gave Stinger a worried look. "Andy told me she didn't care if DeStruct killed her… that scares me."

Stinger cursed, "I mean, she thought I was probably dead, and she lost Benny... She was there and watched it happen. Knowing her she's blaming herself for not doing more to save him..." Stinger sighed. After a few moments he gave a small smirk, "A literal punch was very tempting..."

Kiba grinned. "I bet. Let me heal and then give it your best shot." His eyes twinkled as he threw the challenge out.

"I look forward to it." Stinger remembered, "Hammy had to go to the school but she'll be back, especially now that you're awake."

Kiba nodded as he took a deep breath and shifted on the bed. "You think she's going to lecture me too?" He gave a grimace. "Maybe I'll just pretend I'm asleep."

"She doesn't know what you just tried to pull, so you might get off easy."

Kiba sighed. "Don't tell her please... I don't want to hurt her anymore." He glared at Stinger.

"And _**you…**_ You almost got yourself_**killed**_trying to rescue me. I don't blame you at all. I told you to leave me. I had a hole in my chest, I knew I was dying. And we couldn't let those weapons get off planet. If Shocker hadn't shown up…" His eyes were haunted. "I was _**not**_ happy waking up."

Stinger sighed, "Yeah that must have been a shock." He then shrugged, "If I could have gotten you back, maybe Andy could have saved you."

Kiba shook his head. "The Shocker medics barely saved me. It was weeks before I was fit enough for their plans. And pretending to be DeStruct was hard as hell. Especially since every plan that failed was taken out on me. That damn serum made everything worse, especially since they kept adding some white serum to it. I don't have a clue what it was, only that I was almost robotic until it wore off. And they always added it before the General used the whip..."

"Andy took samples of your blood, maybe she can figure it out?" Stinger suggested. "And I'm beginning to believe there's not much she can't heal... She's almost scary sometimes."

"You need to revise your beliefs. She sucked the energy out of the Shocker troops as well as the power out of the base. And I mean all she did was look at the mooks and they dropped like flies." He shuddered with a grimace. "I was really glad she wasn't mad at me."

Stinger's eyes widened, "She did the same to the ninjas before she got taken... I thought it was just from her being in shock." He shook his head remembering, "Kotaro and Azra once watched three stars burn out when Andy was working on saving you. I've been wondering ever since how much damage she really could do."

"If the General hadn't had a shield...he would have ended up the same way." Kiba gave him a frightened look. "What happens if she loses control?" His eyes went back to the ceiling as he thought. Suddenly he frowned. "Has anyone gone to see what happened to the ninja that attacked Hammy's and…?" He shook his head. "Andy was there, she took the ninja out. But how? Normal or did she use her powers?"

Stinger shrugged, "She was going to get Naomi to clean it but I don't think she called her yet. Hammy has it blocked off but she didn't look in either..."

"Maybe I should take a look. I'm not as invested in it." Kiba sighed. "I think we need to know exactly what she's capable of, in case we need to stop her for some reason."

"Unless she's mad at us, I don't think she'll be a problem..." Stinger sighed. "I shouldn't go but you really shouldn't either. I'll go look before Naomi gets there..."

"You're too close to this. I'm not. I may see things you don't. And she's hurting. She may lash out at someone." Kiba pushed himself out of the bed and waved his hand, summoning a portal. "I'll be back. Make sure there's some of the good meds waiting for me okay?" He grabbed a handheld medical scanner before disappearing.

Stinger sighed and waited for him to return.

Kiba walked into the guest room and stopped. He closed his eyes as he adjusted to the smell.

He avoided the crib, going to the body lying against the wall. Raising the scanner, he gasped as the damage done to the man was revealed. He glanced at the man's face and recoiled at the lack of eyes in the body.

He rose with a deep breath. Stinger was not going to like this at all.

He waved his hand and returned to the infirmary. He didn't meet Stinger's eyes, just handed the scanner to him. Then he climbed back into bed, trying to block the image in his brain.

Stinger stared in shock for a few minutes, "She really did that?"

Kiba gave a heavy sigh. "Yeah. She did more than that…" He forced his eyes open. "Be careful, Stinger. She might be more dangerous than we know." He grimaced as he adjusted his position.

Stinger sighed, "She's had these powers for a while and she's only done good with them. I think it was just the shock of what she saw that made her snap. We just have to be careful to not make her snap that bad." He glanced at Kiba, "She has a good heart. I'm going to trust her until she shows me she's a threat to us."

"I'm with you on that. But if she becomes a threat, can you handle taking her out?" Kiba's gaze didn't waver from Stinger's.

Stinger ran a hand through his hair, "I'll have to. If she loses control, I know she'd rather die than to hurt any of us..."

"With her powers, she might hurt us anyway." Kiba squeezed his eyes shut suddenly. "Can I get some of those good meds now? I may have popped a stitch or two…"

Stinger nodded, getting up and looking through the cabinet. Finally, he found a vial of pain reliever. "This is what I found," he filled a syringe. "Do you want me to restitch it now? Or tell Andy why she has to do it later?"

"Kinda prefer not to give Andy any more reason to be pissed at me right now. You should do it."

Kiba rolled onto his stomach with a hiss.

Stinger quickly restitched the wound and made sure Kiba was fully comfortable again before giving him the medicine, knowing it would make him sleep. "Get some rest. If you need anything let us know," he moved Kiba's comm closer to him. "I swear if you do anything stupid I will sting you."

Kiba chuckled sleepily for a minute, then sobered. "Same for you. I think you shouldn't speak to Andy unless you have back up. I may not have a stinger, but I _can _punch the hell out of you."

Stinger nodded, "She's my wife though, she'd be suspicious if I never come back to our room. But I'll keep an eye out, okay?"

Kiba nodded slowly, his eyes finally closing.

Stinger headed to the bridge to talk to Champ.

After a while, Azra quietly entered the infirmary and set a plate of s'mores on the table by Kiba's bed. She then headed back to the kitchen to cook.

When Andy finally woke up, she headed to the kitchen and noticed Kotaro and Azra eating. She made herself a plate and sat down silently.

"How is Uncle Kiba? He was asleep when I went in a bit ago," Azra spoke.

"I had to perform a surgery on him so he'll probably sleep for a while longer. He's going to be fine. Your dad was going to knock some sense into him."

Azra and Kotaro shared a chuckle and grin, but didn't say anything else.

Stinger entered, smiling at Andy as he grabbed some food. He gave her a kiss as he sat down and started eating. Between bites, he looked at her. "I gave a good lecture to our idiot. You should have heard it. You'll be glad to know I didn't give him anything you have to heal. And I think I cracked his hard head finally. Wanna kiss a genius?"

Andy rolled her eyes and gave a small smile. She gave him a kiss before speaking, "I'm glad he's doing better." She looked up at Azra before looking at Stinger, "Where do we want to bury Benny? We have room in my family's plot, or we could take him to his home planet?"

Stinger smiled gently. "Hammy is taking care of it. We agreed to bury him in the family plot." He finished the food, and put his dishes in the sink. "By the way, Kiba did pull out his IV earlier. I gave him a shot, but he may need more. I'll be on the bridge." He walked back over to her, kissing her on the top of her head and walking out of the room.

After eating, Andy headed back to her room, lying in bed, staring at the crib across the room. Eventually she took another pain pill and tried to go back to sleep.

A couple weeks later:

Andy felt herself shaking a few minutes after taking another pain pill. She wasn't trying to overdose but after scanning herself over she realized she _had_ taken too many that day. She tried to get to the cabinet to find a medicine to counteract it, but she dropped the medicine to the floor, her hands shaking too badly. She tried to reach down for it, but got dizzy. She leaned against the wall, before sliding down it unconscious.

She found herself in a room, a voice speaking above her, "You've lost your way child."

Andy looked up and saw Mariana floating above, "I know... It's just so hard."

"I know, child. I know. Losing someone you love is hard, but you shouldn't give in to the pain so easily."

"I tried to fight it. I've been trying to fight it. I've been using the pills to fight it, they help take the sinking feeling of pain from my chest. They help me sleep, since I can't without having nightmares. I just wanted to use them as a tool to help."

"You need to find help from those around you. Those that are left," Mariana smiled softly. "And you need to let the anger go."

Andy suddenly found herself on one of Eshana's beaches. "Are we in the void between again?"

Mariana gave a nod, "You can choose to go either way, like before. But there's a couple people here for you to talk to."

Andy looked over and pushed herself up, running at Benny who was trying to run toward her. Andy wrapped him in a hug, tears streaming down her face, "Hi, baby. I've missed you."

She heard footsteps approaching and saw a couple standing behind Benny. Her eyes widened, "You're his parents, aren't you?"

The woman gave a soft smile, "So are you. He's lucky, he had two pairs of caring parents."

"We don't blame you," the man spoke. "Things happen."

She looked down at Benny, tears still in her eyes. He smiled up at her, "Mama!"

Andy kissed his forehead before looking back up at the couple.

"Thank you for taking care of him," the woman nodded. "We are glad he was taken in by you and your husband."

"It's been so hard without him," Andy admitted, wiping the tears away.

"He'll be waiting for you, whenever your time comes. Don't worry, he's happy."

Andy nodded and gave Benny a final hug, "I love you forever, baby Benny."

Benny hugged her back the best he could. The woman then smiled, "It's time to go Benny." Benny moved to the couple and each parent took a hand. They started walking away from her, slowly fading into the distance. Andy laid back on the sand, thinking about what had happened. She was still sad about everything, but she was happy knowing how his parents felt.

She laid there taking in the sun, listening to the water lapping against the sand.

"You can't stay here forever, child," Mariana spoke. When Andy sat up, Mariana was gone.

She still had Azra, and Stinger, and Hammy and Kiba. Plus, all of her teammates. "What did I tell you, Kiba? The longer we live, the more people we get to meet to love? I guess that means I need to keep living to find the love, right?" She closed her eyes and focused on going back to her body.

She opened her eyes quickly, finding herself in the infirmary, Stinger and Kiba staring down at her in worry.

Kiba spoke first. "What happened to keep fighting? You constantly throw that phrase at me, then you do this?!" He glared at her, the worry replaced with anger. "Why should I listen to you?"

Andy started breathing heavily, in panic at the sudden yelling, "I didn't mean too... I swear I didn't. I _have _been taking them a bit too much, but I tried to use a counter medicine when I realized I took too much..." Tears were forming in her eyes and she was still breathing heavily.

Stinger pushed Kiba away. "Stop it." He turned to her. "Breathe slow deep breaths, beautiful. We're sorry for jumping to conclusions. Just calm down and relax."

After a minute of slowing her breathing, she didn't look at either of them, "They help me sleep without nightmares... they help numb the pain... but I'm done taking them. I've already had some sense knocked into me..."

Stinger wrapped his arms around her. "It's alright, beautiful."

Kiba walked out without a word.

Andy sobbed, "He hates me now, doesn't he?"

Stinger shook his head. "Give him a little while. He went to talk to you and found you passed out. He freaked out and called me in a panic."

"I saw Benny..." Andy remembered.

Stinger looked at her but didn't say anything. He kept holding her for a few minutes, then pulled away. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She nodded, "Benny's other parents aren't mad at me... And he looked just as happy as ever. Plus, Mariana told me I was dumb but in her kind way." She glanced at him knowing he probably thought she was crazy.

"I don't know what you saw, but if it helped…" He sighed and sat down.

"I'm sorry," Andy sighed. "Everything has just been so hard lately... You can lock the medicine up if you want. I'd understand if you did." She laid back, "I've had a lot of bad things happen over the years that give me nightmares but this is probably one of the worst..."

Stinger looked at her sadly. "We're in this together, beautiful. And I trust you… a lot more than _him_."

She nodded, "My mind keeps replaying the scene over and over. There wasn't even much time to try to save him, it happened so fast."

Stinger stood up and gave her another hug. "I wish I'd been there. Maybe I…" He stopped speaking.

"I feel like I should have been there. If I hadn't left him in the other room, it might not have happened." She shook her head, "But they don't blame us... They're just happy he was loved while he was still alive," tears came to her eyes and she tried to wipe them away quickly. She took a moment and showed him the memory of their meeting in the void between.

Stinger sat down hard, tears threatening to fall. "How?"

"How what, love?" She spoke softly.

"How did this happen?" Stinger looked at her.

"I was on Eshana again... It's..." She took a minute to gather her words. "Limbo maybe? You can go either way, back to life or move on. Maybe it looks different for other people but Mariana seems to be my guide there. That's where I met them. I think they visited me from beyond..." She sighed, "I sound crazy, don't I?"

Stinger chuckled. "After everything we've been through, if you're crazy then so am I."

He paused for a moment. "I don't remember anything from the times I've... Wonder why?"

"I don't remember anything from when I died either. Maybe it's too good for our brains to process but the void between is more familiar so we remember it?"

"As good as any explanation." Stinger gave her a smile. "Feel up to eating something?"

She thought a moment before nodding. "You guys didn't tell Azra, right?"

"I didn't. It's possible Kiba has." Stinger frowned and helped her stand. "Then again, he's probably sulking somewhere."

"I just don't like worrying her, you know?" She headed out of the infirmary slowly, walking toward the kitchen.

"I know, beautiful. I'll get you some soup okay?"

Andy nodded and sat at the table, resting her head on her hand.

Stinger heated up some soup, adding some crackers and a glass of juice. He gently nudged her as he lay the tray down. "Here, beautiful. Hope this makes you feel better."

"Thanks, love," she picked up the spoon before glancing at him, "Have you eaten?"

"Right before... You know." He gave her a crooked smile.

"I'm sorry again, I didn't mean to scare you guys."

Stinger kissed her hand. "I know you didn't."

She sighed, "I've been so out of it lately... Has there been anything big going on that I've missed?"

"All quiet since the attack."

Andy nodded. After finishing her food, she sighed, "Should I wait for Kiba to want to talk or should I go find him?"

Stinger shrugged. "Not sure he's even onboard still. But with how angry and panicked he was, I don't think waiting for him is a smart idea."

Andy kissed Stinger before heading out of the room to look for Kiba.

Kiba rhythmically punched the swinging bag. His eyes were only partially focused, his movements slightly stilted. He gave no sign he heard the door behind him open.

"Kiba?" Andy spoke softly, "I'm sorry... And I understand if you don't want to talk to me right now, I just wanted you to know I'm sorry and that I really didn't mean to overdose or to scare you." She sighed when he didn't answer for a moment and headed back for the door.

"It's just… when I found you, I couldn't think. I kept flashing back to that damn cell… seeing you get weaker and weaker until you..." He hit the bag viciously, then hung on to it tight.

"You know, most of the time when I'm giving you those speeches about staying alive, I'm also trying to convince myself to..." Andy admitted. "But I'm not going out without a fight. It's not good that I accidently overdosed, but it did help actually. I was in the void again, and I got pointed on the right track... And then I also remembered what I told you before, we need to stay alive to meet more people to love. If I had let go when we were there together, I wouldn't have met Benny. So who knows who I'll meet next." She sighed. "I'm sorry I screwed up. You'd think as a medic, I'd be better at keeping track of how many meds I take..."

"I'm sorry for getting so angry and yelling. I shouldn't have done that." He kept his back to her, head on the bag. "Just don't scare me anymore okay?"

She noticed he hadn't turned around yet. She frowned, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Are _we _okay?" She sighed.

"_We_ are fine." He forced a smile as he turned to face her. "Though maybe _I_ should lock the cabinet and keep the key?"

"I told Stinger to, but he said he still trusts me," Andy admitted.

Kiba gave a chuckle. "I guess I have to trust you too." He let go of the bag and approached her. "You sure you're good?"

"I mean, I'm not 100% perfect, obviously. But I'm a lot better than I had been."

He gave her a tight hug. "If you ever do that again, I'll kick your ass." He whispered in her ear before he let her go.

She took a breath before asking, "S'mores and Disney movies?"

He laughed and wrapped an arm around her. "How can I say no to that? Meet you in the rec room?"

She nodded, "I'll go see if Azra and Kotaro want to watch with us."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll go shower real quick." He let her go and headed out the door.

When he reached his room, he showered and changed clothes. He rubbed his temple, the headache he'd had in the training room had gotten stronger. He sighed, reaching for a vial in the dresser drawer. Quickly drawing up a small amount of white liquid, he injected it and waited.

A few minutes later, he headed for the rec room.

Andy and Stinger were there as well as Azra and Kotaro.

Andy was resting her head on Stinger's shoulder, watching Kotaro put the movie on. Azra smiled when she noticed Kiba and held out a plate of s'mores.

Kiba grinned, grabbing one as he sat down. "Yum. So which one we watching?"

"Tangled," Azra answered. "Have you seen it?"

"Think I missed that one." He made himself comfortable and looked at the screen.


	32. Andy's Powers

A couple days later, Andy knocked on Kiba's door. She knew he was in there because she scanned for him on the ship. After no answer she unlocked it and entered. She heard the shower running, so she waited a couple minutes. She knew he never took showers that long so she knocked on the door, "Kiba?"

After no response, she opened the door slowly, Kiba?" She rushed to turn the water off when she noticed him unconscious on the floor. She shook him, "Kiba? Wake up. Come on." She scanned him over a moment before shaking him again.

"Huh? What?" He groggily looked at her. "Andy?"

"Kiba... What happened?" She held a towel out for him.

He wrapped it around his hips as he shakily stood. "Had a headache, so I took some medicine. Thought a shower would help. Guess that was a bad idea."

He maneuvered past her into the bedroom. "I'm okay now. I'll just take some more medicine and take a nap. No need to worry."

She spotted a vial on his table, the color wasn't of any medicine she normally kept. "I always worry about you. You should know that by now."

He shot her a grin. "Yeah, yeah. So why did you come here anyway?" He followed her gaze, quickly grabbing the vial.

"You didn't show for lunch. Just wanted you to know there was some leftovers if you wanted any. I knew you were here but you weren't answering so I came in."

"Thanks for that. Would have been bad to catch a cold due to my own klutziness." He looked at her. "I'll be there later. Right now I'm going to catch a nap. After I take some medicine." He pulled out a syringe and began to draw some of the liquid out of the vial. He was about to inject it, but stopped as he saw her face.

"Hey, it's okay. I liberated it from the Shocker base we were held at. It's what they were using for the pain due to the inhibitor."

"What did I tell you about taking stuff from Shocker? Who knows what it's doing to you?" She growled. "I can give you some pain medicine if you need it, but you shouldn't take that until we know it's safe."

He let out a sigh. "I've _been _taking it since after you removed the inhibitor. No ill effects yet." But he handed the syringe over. "Go ahead and test it. You'll see it's perfec-" He stopped, squeezing his eyes shut. "Ahhh! Damned headache won't go-" His face went pale and he collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Andy took a deep breath before kneeling by him. She scanned him over then called Stinger, "Can you help me get him to the infirmary?"

"Be there in five. What happened?"

"He's unconscious. I need to run some tests."

Stinger cursed, cutting three minutes off the time he'd given by running the rest of the way. He arrived to Kiba's room, quickly lifting him and racing to the infirmary. He laid him on a bed and stepped away.

Andy quickly made a clone, analyzing the white serum, while Andy tried to see what the damage was. She started healing him a bit while the clone worked. After analyzing it, the clone made an antidote to erase any effects it had in his system. She then gave him a shot of pain medicine before working on healing him some more. The clone vanished after injecting the shots. Andy kept working on healing him for another twenty minutes before looking at Stinger, "I think he'll be okay now, but I need to keep an eye on him to make sure there's no bad reactions."

"What was that white stuff? Was he using it?" Stinger worriedly looked at Kiba's pale face.

"Some shit he got from Shocker," Andy growled. "And yes, he was." She sat down next to Kiba's bed.

Stinger's eyes narrowed. "Next questions. _Why_ was he using it? More importantly, what was it doing to him?"

"He complained about a headache. So it would temporarily help, but it was making it worse in the long run." She sighed, "It was meant to go with the inhibitor chip."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "This must be the same stuff he told me made him feel robotic and hazy."

"Ok I don't have much room to talk, but at least take safe medicine if you want to drown out your feelings..."

"Normal medicine doesn't work as well…" Kiba weakly spoke from his bed. "And I wasn't originally taking it for that. Just ended up being a side effect… the headaches wouldn't stop…"

"Yeah, because even if the medicine temporarily helped the headache, it was actually making it worse in the long run!" Andy answered. "Plus, you have a medic as a best friend, just ask for help if you have headaches. Or any physical pain."

"Didn't want to be a burden. It's why I've been sleeping so much. The headaches have been almost unbearable since after you removed the inhibitor. I figured the serum was already being used by me, so it would be okay. Take the pressure off you to keep healing me." Kiba looked at her. "You heal me all the damn time, and with everything that happened… It did help dull my guilt though."

"Kiba. You are _not _a burden. I like helping you. And I didn't realize you were sleeping so much, seeing as I've been doing the same..." she sighed. "If I don't get to keep dulling my feelings with drugs, then you don't either. Unless it's an antidepressant. If you have actual physical pain, I can give you medicine and heal you. It's not a problem for me. I like helping people. I wouldn't be a medic if I didn't."

"The first time I had the headache, I _was_ going to call you. But I could barely see straight. I don't even know how I managed to use the serum. Only after I did, the headache disappeared. I thought it was okay… I'm sorry." He pulled the pillow over his face.

"We just worry about you and want you to not be in pain..." Andy answered. "I'll keep monitoring you to see how everything works and to see if the headache stays away."

"How much damage was there?" Kiba's lips tightened slightly as a dull pain lanced through his head.

She noticed his look, "You still hurting?"

He tried to answer, but couldn't as the dull ache erupted into a jackhammer. He groaned and grabbed his head, biting his lip.

Andy stood and raised her hands up. She scanned him over then tried to fix the pain in his head. She took a deep breath before drawing some energy from the air around her to push into him. After a bit, she looked outside the Orion, pulling a bit of energy from a nearby star. She stayed there pushing the energy into him, trying to fix anything she could find.

Stinger frowned as he watched her work. "I thought you fixed everything. What exactly is wrong with him?"

"Minds are tricky to begin with. Plus, he has been taking this serum for over a year. Plus, the green serum..." She frowned and made a clone who grabbed another of the antidotes for the green serum. "If there's green serum still affecting him, this will help. If not, it won't cause harm." The clone injected it. Andy kept pushing energy into him, trying to find anything visibly wrong. After a bit, his brain activity evened out. "I could see it was causing trouble but I wasn't sure how to go about fixing it. Let's see if this time it worked." She dropped her hands and her eyes quit glowing.

"I get what the green serum did. You said it was a suppressant for Kiba's personality right? Why then were they using the white as well? It couldn't have just been controlling pain." Stinger looked at the sleeping rider.

"I think, if it was making him robotic or hazy, it probably was blocking his emotions to some extent. Maybe making it easier to suppress his personality?"

"Like Jark Matter's mind control weapon? Like it made him more pliable? Less resistant to DeStruct…"

"Yeah," Andy nodded.

"I wish I could have gotten ahold of that General... I don't think you've noticed, but his back is more scarred than before. I noticed it during our sparring session last week. He got real defensive about it too. Could that have been causing him pain as well? I know he hasn't been sleeping at night either."

"He got punished a lot while there... The whip was the General's favorite..." Andy answered. "Definitely nightmare causing stuff. For being such a big Shocker General, he was pretty easy to take out..."

Kiba began muttering, his forehead creasing. He began to tremble and sweat, his hands clutching the sheet. "No… have to warn...let me go… let me GO!"

Andy sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on Kiba's mind, to try to help him through his nightmare.

She found herself in a Shocker med bay, the General was talking to someone who looked familiar to Andy. After staring at him a bit she realized it was the one they were calling the second Armage.

A white coat came up with a tray of syringes and started sticking them into Kiba.

Andy moved to his side, "Kiba, this is a nightmare. It's not real."

His pupils were blown wide, his wrists chafed from pulling at the restraints. "I have to warn them... I have to stop him from hurting them. Let me go!" He tried to recoil from the white coated figure as a hand approached, syringe of green serum visible. "No! Let me go!"

"Kiba, who do you have to warn?" Andy spoke softly. "This is a nightmare, it's not currently happening."

"My family… can't let Akashi hurt them… can't let them die…" Kiba's eyes were closing as the serum was injected. She noticed how large the dose was with a wince.

"Who is Akashi? Is it the Jark Matter guy?" Andy got a bit closer. She then took a moment to look at the Jark Matter man.

"He's...going to kill all of them…" Kiba's words were slurred and whispery.

"Kiba, this isn't real. It's just a nightmare." She moved closer and ran a hand through his hair to comfort him.

"I have to...stop them..." Kiba's eyes opened, boring into Andy's, but he still wasn't lucid. "They can't go to Ghazan…"

"What's at Ghazan?" If she couldn't wake him, she'd at least get information if she could.

"Jark… weapons factory… trap for the rangers... Don't go! Don't let them die!" Kiba strained to rise and began frantically trying to rip the imagined restraints loose. "LET ME GO!"

"Kiba! Wake up!" Andy yelled at him, trying to get through whatever was going on with him.

For a split second, his eyes cleared. "Andy? Where-?" Then he was collapsing into the bed, eyes closing.

"Kiba, it's a nightmare." She spoke, wondering if he could hear.

"Andy! The monitor is going crazy!" Stinger watched the brain monitor in alarm as the scan began dipping toward zero. "What _the hell _is happening to him?"

Andy quickly made a clone who started scanning Kiba's other vitals.

In Kiba's mind, she grabbed him and shook, trying to wake him. "Come on, wake up!"

Kiba gave a weak twitch, then lay still.

Andy focused on trying to keep his vitals still in the dream. She slightly wondered if she could slap him awake in the real world. She decided to wait off for a bit on that idea, and spent time focusing energy into both his real and dream bodies. Her eyes glowed as she went back to taking energy from the nearby stars. Light surrounded both versions of him, trying to figure out the problem. She realized it was from the huge dose of green serum he'd been given. If this was a memory though, then he did almost die. How could she save him though without having an antidote? She frowned and kept pushing energy into him trying to keep him alive.

She wondered if giving him more antidote in his real body would help him? The clone moved to grab the antidote and gave him a couple syringes full. The clone then went back to monitoring as the Andy in his mind kept pushing energy in.

Dream Kiba suddenly sucked in a lungful of air, groggily opening his eyes and looking at her. "Andy?" He paled as he realized where they were and began to breathe fast. "No..no..not here...please not here…."

"Kiba, it's a nightmare," she ran a hand through his hair again. "Just a nightmare. This isn't really happening right now."

"Really?" His eyes were terrified as they looked around. "I'm not back here again?"

She wrapped her arms around him, "You're safe and sound on the Orion." She then gave him a soft smile, "Everything is okay. You're safe and I'm safe. Okay?"

He looked at her for a few seconds, then nodded. "I feel awful. Can I sleep now?"

"Yeah, hun. Just focus on sleeping. I'll be by you in case you get another nightmare."

He gave her a grin that reminded her of when he regressed, then closed his eyes and disappeared.

Andy gave one final glance at Akashi before closing her eyes. She then opened her real eyes and let the clone drop. She looked over at Stinger, "He's going to be fine. Though I think I have some intel..."

Stinger looked at her sharply. "Intel? What the hell just happened? His monitor dropped so fast,_ I _almost had a coronary."

"Nightmare. It was a memory, he almost died in it, and his nightmares are connected to his real body..." Andy answered. "This seems like it happened about a year ago, so I'm worried to know how much they've done since then..." she took a deep breath. "I have a name on the second Armage. Apparently Ghazan is a massive Jark Matter manufacturing planet and something about it being a trap."

"Ghazan?" Stinger's voice rose. "Shit.**Shit**._Shit_. Andy, that's where we're headed. Shou wanted us to follow up some rumors about it. What else did you find out?" He began to pace, tail swishing.

"Akashi, the new Armage, was talking with the General. So Jark Matter might be in with Shocker. Kiba just seemed really insistent that we not go there."

"Why? Just because it's a possible trap?" Stinger shot a look at Kiba's sleeping form.

"I don't know. We can see if he remembers anything when he wakes. But we probably should talk to Shou before we go there."

Stinger touched his comm. "Champ, stop the Orion. Get Shou on video asap. I need to talk to him yesterday."

"Something wrong, aibou?"

"Yeah, there's something wrong. And if I'm right, Kiba just saved our lives."

"Understood. Orion setting orbit here. I'll let you know when Shou's online."

Stinger closed the channel and looked at Kiba. "He doesn't even know, does he?"

"I doubt it. He almost died after what happened, but it's somewhere in his mind, so if we can trigger memories we could maybe get more information. But I'm not sure we should do that... I don't want to remind him of more traumatic events."

"I don't want to either. But if it saves us, you know he'll do it. Traumatic or not, he'll do it."

Stinger sighed, walking over to him and clasping his hand. "I couldn't make out much, but I heard something about his family dying? What was he talking about? He sounded absolutely terrified."

"I think he meant us. He doesn't want us dying and he thinks if we go there we will."

"Must be bad then. Where was he, in this memory? You said the General was there."

She gave a nod, "Shocker med bay."

Stinger paled. "After they portaled him from the factory. Was this before or after he was healed by them?" He tightened his grip on Kiba's hand.

"I think after? I wasn't paying attention to what injuries he'd have outside of what I was focusing on..."

"So was it just panicking about the planet that brought on the scan drop? Or something more?"

Stinger brushed Kiba's bangs off his forehead. He was struck by how young Kiba looked while sleeping. Sometimes he wondered how it would have been if the regression had been permanent. Would Kiba have "grown" and become more stable without the years of trauma?

He'd never know, but the scorpion would have hoped so.

"Like I said, his mind and body are connected. If he starts dying in there, he starts dying out here. They gave him a massive dose of green serum, but out here, I gave him a big dose of antidote and it seemed to get through to him."

"Would you forgive me if I found the nearest Shocker base and nuked it? I'm so angry for him."

Andy's brow furrowed in thought, "Speaking of nuking... Does Ghazan have people on it? Or could we blow it...?"

Stinger released Kiba's hand and went to the computer. He typed quickly, then waited.

"We're in luck. Ghazan was abandoned not long after the kyurangers formed. It's why Shou wanted us to check, because there had been rumors of ships arriving and departing frequently."

"So hopefully we can blow it with no problems," Andy nodded.

"I'm going to recommend it. I'll be in the office if you need me."

Andy watched Kiba sleeping, seeing the steady up and down of his body as he breathed.

Azra entered, her hand in her jacket. "Mom? What happened?"

"He had some trouble with after effects of stuff Shocker did to him. He's going to be fine," Andy smiled.

"Do you think he'd like to have this?" She pulled a plushie out of her pocket.

Andy grinned, "I think he'd love it."

Azra approached the bed, placing the plushie in Kiba's hand. He clutched it to his chest as he turned over without waking.

Andy chuckled a moment before looking at Azra, "How are you doing? I'm sorry I've not been very helpful with things since Benny..."

"I'm okay. Kotaro and I have been spending a lot of time together." Azra smiled as she watched Kiba sleep. "I'm making dinner tonight. Should I bring it here?"

"Yeah, I told him I'd be here if he had a nightmare," Andy nodded.

"Alright." Azra kissed Kiba's cheek, then Andy's. "I'll be back soon."

She turned and left the infirmary quietly.

Andy closed her eyes, still awake and listening for any movement from Kiba.

Kiba opened his eyes slowly. He gave a sigh of relief when he recognized the infirmary.

She opened her eyes, "Sleep well?"

He nodded. "Thanks for the help. I almost forgot how it felt waking up there. Sorry if I scared you."

She shook her head, "I'm just worried about you. And I hate to ask, but do you remember any other details from that time? About what Jark Matter is planning? You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

Kiba nodded. "I know you wouldn't. A lot of my memory is hazy." He paused, frowning as he tried to remember anything. "I remember briefly seeing the plans for the trap they were setting."

He looked at her. "Hypnotize me."

"Hypnotize you? Really?"

"We need those plans. I saw them but they're buried up here." He touched his temple. "If you hypnotize me I can find the memory." He grabbed her hand. "Please, I have to do this."

"I don't know how to hypnotize anyone... but I guess I can try? Any suggestions?"

Kiba frowned. "I've never been hypnotized before. I honestly don't know."

She thought for a moment, "How about I give you a bit of medicine to get you a bit out of it, then start asking you things and see what you remember?"

He nodded, taking a deep breath. "Pretty sure some of it won't be nice."

"I'll keep monitoring you, and if you want, I can try to get in your mind too and see what you're seeing?"

"Alright. What do you want me to do?"

"Give me a few to set things up," Andy gave a soft smile as she hooked him up to a few monitors. She made a clone to focus on keeping track of them while she sat next to him. "I'll give you this. Let it kick in. Then I'll start describing things from the nightmare to put you back at that point and we can go from there. Is that okay?"

"You'll be with me? I don't think I can handle being alone there." Kiba tried to sound confident, but his voice was shaky.

"Yeah. I'll be right here with you, and in there with you too," she grabbed his hand to comfort him.

He closed his eyes, then nodded. "Let's do this."

She injected him and waited a few minutes, "How are you feeling?"

He frowned for a moment. "Sleepy. Is it supposed to do this?"

"The medicine does do that." She took a deep breath, "Try to remember the Shocker med bay. There was the General, Akashi, and at least one or two doctors or scientists."

He nodded, breathing deeply and accessing his memory. "I can see it. Why is it that I _know_ it isn't real, but I'm still just as terrified?"

"Traumatic events do that," Andy answered. She took a moment to focus on his mind, finding herself next to him in the memory. "Do you remember finding out about the plan? Was it in this room?"

Kiba shook his head. The med bay morphed into a strategy room. The General was showing an elaborate hologram to some sub commanders. "Here. This is the plan."

Andy tried to look closer, "Do you remember what it showed?"

"Once you set orbit, there's a tractor beam waiting to hold you in place. Then the scientists designed a laser to cut through the Orion. Whoever survives, I was supposed to kill. Don't go! Please don't go!" Kiba grew agitated. "I can't… I won't… Stop! Stop it…"

The room morphed again, this time a plain white one. Kiba began to show signs of being bound to a bed. A white coat appeared, syringe in hand. "NO! Get away! I won't help you! I won't!"

"Kiba, it's just a memory. It's going to be okay," she spoke softly.

The white coat injected him, then moved aside as the General appeared. "Can you hear me?"

Kiba didn't open his eyes, but nodded sluggishly.

The General smiled coldly. "These are your orders. If you fail the mission and cannot return to us, you are to end your existence. Is that understood?"

Kiba began violently shaking his head no.

"Doctor, give him more. Are you sure he will remember this time?"

The doctor frowned. "He won't remember the words. It will manifest again as an unstoppable urge."

He readied another syringe, injecting it into Kiba's neck.

"Leave him. We'll return later." The General motioned everyone out, then raised Kiba's head. "You will obey us."

The clone readied antidote to the green serum in case a repeat of before happened. Andy approached Kiba slowly, "This is just a memory. It's not real anymore."

The General disappeared, replaced by Kiba's safe room. His eyes opened and he looked at her. "I failed. I failed and I can't get back. I have to obey…"

"You're not with Shocker anymore. You don't have to obey. You have to live. You have to survive."

"I can't resist..." His gun appeared, the barrel at his head. "I can't stop… Andy!"

His finger tightened on the trigger, his face tear streaked. His eyes begged her to stop him.

"Andy… help me…"

Andy moved quickly, grabbing his arm and pointing it in another direction. "You are the only one who can control you. Shocker doesn't control you. I don't control you. You control you. You have to fight against the urges and stay alive."

"It won't stop. It keeps whispering in my head and it won't stop! I have to make it stop!"

He suddenly disappeared and Andy was forced out.

Andy opened her eyes quickly, both her and a clone holding onto each of his hands to stop him from doing anything bad. She wrestled the scalpel he had grabbed away from him. "Kiba. If it got hypnotized into you, I'm sure it can get hypnotized out."

Kiba was sobbing now. "Let me go… I need it to stop…"

Andy held onto him, trying to think of what to do. Finally, she grabbed a paralytic drug and injected him with it to get him to stop moving. After that she injected him with the green serum antidote and then a bit more of the hypnotic drug she used before. "Kiba?" She saw his eyes move. She wasn't sure if the paralytic drug would prevent him from being able to talk or not.

"Make the voice stop… I don't want to…" His words were slurred.

"Kiba. Listen to what I say, okay? There is no voice. You don't want to kill yourself. You don't want to hurt yourself," she spoke quietly but firm.

"No voice...don't want to kill. Don't want to hurt." He repeated slowly before his eyes fluttered closed.

Andy took a deep breath before scanning him over and sitting down to see what would happen when the drugs wore off.

A few hours later, Kiba blinked his eyes open with a groan. "Did it work? Did you get the information?"

"Yeah. Do you remember anything?"

"Not much. Just a feeling of terror." He closed his eyes, then began breathing fast. "That's not quite right. I remember a white room. The General... He was saying something. I can't remember it though. I feel like I should though. It has to be important then, right?" He opened searching frantic eyes and looked at Andy. "Why can't I remember?"

"Kiba, it's okay. Calm down, alright?" She rubbed his back gently.

His breath slowly evened out. His eyelids were drooping as he curled up in her arms. "So tired..."

Stinger quietly entered and took in the scene. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," Andy quickly made a clone which went out into the hallway to talk to him. "We went through some of his memories... They have a tractor beam to pull us in and a laser to take the Orion out. So we can't even get near it with the ship to blow the planet up." She glanced through the doorway a moment, "We were hypnotizing him to find it out. He'd been given a hypnotic command by Shocker to kill himself if he failed his mission and couldn't return. That's part of why he's been so suicidal this whole time. I tried to hypnotize him out of it, so hopefully things will be better now on that front at least."

Stinger's eyes flashed. "The General got off too easy. This whole time Kiba's been struggling because of what? A defeated asshole refusing to give up his prize weapon?"

"Sorry, I didn't really think of torturing him, you know? I just slit his throat with a kunai after turning the lights out. Again, way too easy for a high General. But then again, Shocker has never been that good, have they? With their key cards laying around for the self-destruct program..." Andy trailed off.

"Beautiful? What is it?" Stinger looked at her worriedly.

She shook her head, "Just a lot going on between Kiba and everything. I wonder what all Jark Matter has put self-destructs into. I know they have them on their ships..." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "You said ships are constantly going off Ghazan? We could take over one, then fly it in toward the planet to set charges and stuff, then fly off before blowing them? I'd say Kiba could portal us but I don't think he should go on that mission. Though I don't know if we could really stop him... Oh, and they wanted DeStruct to kill any of us that survived after the Orion got blown."

Stinger pursed his lips. "Tsurugi gave me the go ahead to do whatever it takes to destroy the weapons. Your plan is intriguing, but how do we grab a ship? And I think Kiba should be allowed if he feels up to it. It might help lay the demons to rest finally. And they would have had a rude awakening if what Kiba said was true about his faking all this time."

"If it lands on another planet, we could sneak in. Or Kiba and I can portal over. Then all we have to do is take out the crew," Andy said plainly.

"Then I say do it. If he's up for it, that is." Stinger sighed. "We can't afford any more weapons leaving Ghazan."

"We drugged him, so it'll still be a bit until it's totally out of his system. Plus, he was frightened, so I need to make sure he is going to be okay when he does wake up. I'll let you know when I know more," Andy's clone smiled and kissed Stinger before disappearing. Andy still had her arms around Kiba, rubbing a hand through his hair to comfort him.

Kiba's eyes flew open as he realized he was restrained. He began to fight in his disorientation, clawing at Andy's arms. "Let me go! I won't help you!"

"Shh. Calm down, hun. You're safe," Andy spoke softly.

"Andy? I thought I was trapped there again." He relaxed with a sigh of relief.

"You're safe on the Orion. Everything is okay."

"You guys aren't going to Ghazan are you?"

"We're trying to figure out a plan, okay? We'll let you know when we know what the plan is," Andy answered.

Kiba sighed. "I'm sorry." He looked at the plushie and cocked an eyebrow. "What is this?"

"It's from Azra. She thought you might want it," Andy gave a soft smile.

Kiba chuckled, then looked at her. "I feel...lighter somehow. Like I had a heavy weight on my shoulders and now it's gone?"

Andy just smiled with a knowing look.

He gave her a bright smile. "Can I get some medicinal s'mores?"

"Let's go make some s'mores then by the time we're done, maybe Stinger will be done with the plan. I had a good plan but I don't know if Shou and Tsurugi will agree to it."

Kiba gave her an exasperated look. "You guys are still going, aren't you? Dammit, Andy!"

"We can't keep letting them make weapons and ship them out. We can't blow the planet with the Orion because of the tractor beam, but we can take over one of their ships to take to the planet," Andy answered. "We're going whether you do or not, but Stinger says you're allowed on the mission if you feel up to it and want to go."

Kiba closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not letting you guys go alone. You should know that. And you're right, we can't let them get away with this. It's just...I don't want to lose any of you."

"I don't want to lose anyone either. And I'm going to do my best to make sure no one dies," Andy smiled. "It's a crazy mission to volunteer for, but if we can stop them we can save a lot of people."

"I'm all for that. And I think by now you'd have known that I'm completely insane." Kiba climbed off the bed and swayed.

"Hey, the meds are still in your system. Let me help you walk, okay?" Andy moved toward him. "We won't start the mission until you're all good."

Kiba nodded slowly. "I'm sorry you had to see me lose it in the med bay." He paused, a puzzled look on his face. "I vaguely remember being in my safe room? And doing something I have to apologize for…"

"You have nothing to apologize for, okay?"

Kiba looked at her. "Are you sure? It's such a strong feeling. Like I did something almost unforgivable…" He sighed. "I hate my head being such a mess. I can't even remember half my life."

"I know your head is a mess, but that's why I'm here to help you straighten it out," Andy smiled comfortingly.

Kiba gave a soft chuckle. "Let's go ruin our dinner."

Andy smiled and helped him stay steady all the way to the kitchen.

Kiba sat down at the table. "You think coffee is a bad idea?"

Stinger appeared behind him. "Mine or the stuff Andy calls coffee?"

Andy rolled her eyes, "If you want coffee I think you can have some. It shouldn't interact badly with anything you've taken," she thought for a moment.

Kiba gave a half smile. "Then give me the strong stuff. The sooner I'm awake, the sooner that factory goes boom."

Stinger brought a cup to him, and he bowed his head in thanks. Taking a large drink, he closed his eyes in appreciation. When he opened them again, he looked at Stinger and Andy.

"What's the plan?"

Andy looked at Stinger, "Are we calling in backup? What did Shou or Tsurugi think of my idea?"

"Tsurugi was a little reserved, Shou's crazier than you and loved it. One thing Tsurugi did think was good was the small team. Everyone is so spread out, it would be too long to wait. So he's agreed to the three of us going."

"Okay," Andy was quiet for a moment as she thought, "Do we still want to try taking over a ship or just have Kiba portal us to the planet?"

"I vote for the planet. Faster and less risk." Kiba absently tapped a rhythm on the table. "We can get in, get any intel, then blow it like we did before. With any luck, Akashi will be there and we can take him out."

Stinger nodded thoughtfully. "I agree." He looked at Andy. "How long till he's fit?"

"He should be fine soon. Do we want to do this tonight or head out in the morning?"

Stinger checked some info on his blaster. "I think tonight. Do it late so the guards are bored and not paying attention."

"Sounds good. Get everything ready, and head out in an hour?" Andy suggested before looking at Kiba, "As long as you're feeling okay?"

Kiba nodded. "I'm starting to feel normal now, so I think an hour will be fine."

"Okay. I'll go get my bag together," she smiled before kissing Stinger and then heading out the door.

Kiba frowned at Stinger. "Just for the record, I wish it was someone else doing this mission. I don't like risking you when Jark has a vendetta against you guys. But I also understand that we need to take this factory out as soon as possible. Just… don't get hurt okay? And don't let her get hurt either."

Stinger gave a humorless chuckle. "I know. And believe me I'll do my best on both counts. You know Andy though. She would run through machine guns if we needed help."

Kiba laughed. "Yeah. Wonder if she can catch bullets now and throw them back at the bad guys?"

Stinger bent his head, shoulders shaking. After a minute, he cracked "she'd probably be faster than a machine gun."

They looked at each other and burst into laughter just as Andy returned.

"What's so funny?" Andy wondered.

The men just laughed harder. Kiba had his head on the table, Stinger sitting down shakily.

Finally, they calmed down, Stinger shaking his head at her. "Nothing important."

Kiba wiped his eyes, then raised his head. "Now I really need s'mores." He began gathering ingredients, looking at Andy out of the corner of his eye and continuing to chuckle softly.

Andy rolled her eyes at them before grabbing out some plates.

After eating, Kiba turned to her, a serious look on his face. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him. I wish it was anyone else doing this mission, but I understand. I'm only asking for you not to do anything that causes you to get hurt or worse. I would not be able to handle it."

"Well, it's not like we'd get hurt on purpose," Andy answered.

"I know. But this whole mission feels bad to me."

"It's going to be okay," Andy gave a smile.

Kiba just sighed and headed for his room. He grabbed his driver, then returned to the kitchen.

"Are we all ready?" Andy looked around at both of them.

Stinger and Kiba nodded.

Kiba waved his hand. "Let's make them have a bad day." The portal appeared.

Andy nodded and followed him through it. They found themselves outside of a building and they quickly moved back to avoid being seen by anyone. "Should we try to go in invisible or go in guns blazing?"

Kiba thought for a minute. "It might not matter if they have the goggles that can detect us."

Stinger sighed. "Agreed. Let's just try to be quick. If all hell breaks loose, then we can shoot it out. We'll split up and meet back here in thirty."

Andy nodded and headed off to sneak into one of the buildings. She noticed the weapons, as well as a few indavers. She took out the indavers with kunai before setting charges. She then headed out to see about the next building.

Kiba slipped into a large warehouse, hiding when he glimpsed a large group of indavers moving past. When they were gone, he moved closer to the shipping containers, setting charges on each. He turned as he finished, then felt a sharp pain in his head and the world went black.

Stinger crept through the office, quickly grabbing anything that looked important. He froze, hearing voices. They went by and he let out the breath he'd been holding. Deciding there was nothing else to grab, he made his way to the door, only to be hit by an electric shock that made him pass out.

Andy pushed herself behind a door when she heard footsteps approaching. She soon heard voices talking about a captured Kyuranger. She became invisible and followed them, finding a large bunch of indavers standing around as Kiba and Stinger were tied up at the front by a malistrate. Her heart sank as she tried to think of ways to save them from such a large group of bad guys.

Kiba shook his head, trying to clear the haze. Opening the link, he shared with Andy, he sent _'Sorry, ninja girl. We weren't sneaky enough. You need to get out of here before they capture you as well. We'll figure a way out somehow.'_

'_I'm not leaving without you two,' _Andy answered before she started taking out the indavers in the back with her kunai.

There was the audible click of two blasters being readied to fire.

Andy spun quickly to see where the sound was coming from. She noticed the malistrate holding a gun in each hand, pointing one at Stinger and one at Kiba.

'_Dammit Andy! Run before they kill you too!'_

'_I'm not leaving you!'_ Andy started rushing forward aiming her blaster at the malistrate and firing. She froze, mind blanking out with worry, when she heard the two blasters fire. She noticed movement but her eyes focused on Kiba being hit with the shot.

Soon, her eyes were glowing and she used energy to throw back some of the indavers while draining others. She made her way to the malistrate, quickly pushing him back against the wall and stopping his heart. She turned to take out the last couple of the indavers but she stopped suddenly when she noticed Stinger laying by the wall. She noticed a hole in the wall where he had been thrown into it. Rushing to his side, her heart hurt when she realized she was the one who caused him to get hurt. She'd been the one to throw him against the wall.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself as she drained the rest of the indavers to heal Stinger. He had scrapes all over and some broken ribs. The glowing light from her hands moved around him as she pushed energy into him. She then moved to Kiba and did the same, healing the wounds given to him by the blaster. Before they could wake, she ran from the building.

Kiba groaned as he woke to Stinger frantically shaking him. As soon as his eyes were open, Stinger asked him "Where is she?"

"Andy? I told her to run before she was discovered. Why?"

"Look down."

Kiba looked at his shirt in confusion, suddenly realizing that while there was a bloody hole, there was no injury underneath. "She healed me?"

Stinger nodded. "My injuries are healed as well, but there's no sign of her."

Kiba swore. "She didn't get captured, did she?" He began to stand, eyes quickly scanning the bodies around them.

Stinger shook his head. "I don't know. Let's go search."

Kiba trailed behind him, giving a last look at the unmoving malistrate. He had a bad feeling that Andy wasn't captured, but had run for some other reason. They had to find her before the charges went off.

Andy ran as far as she could, finally realizing she had no idea where she was. It didn't matter though. She couldn't hurt anyone out here. If Stinger and Kiba didn't know what she had done, they'd freak out when they figured it out. If they did know, they probably should be afraid of her. She could have easily killed them. She threw Stinger into a wall, full force. It was surprising he wasn't more hurt. She had these powers for healing, but if she was going to hurt people, it was better if she was alone where there was no one to hurt.

"Andy! Andy, we need to go. The charges are going to go off! Andy!" Kiba's voice rang out loudly.

"Beautiful, talk to me. Are you okay? Why did you run after healing us?" Stinger's voice was pleading.

Andy was shaking, trying to fight back tears, "Stay away from me."

"Not happening, beautiful." Stinger's voice went soft. "Now come out, please."

Andy showed them both the memory of Stinger being hurt and the damage she'd caused him. She stayed quiet, not moving except the constant shaking.

Both of the men began laughing.

"Is that why you ran?" Stinger tried to catch his breath. "An accident?"

Kiba opened the link. _'I've caused more damage intentionally to myself. And aren't I the keeper of the regret crown? Come here before the damn charges go off.'_

Andy's emotions turned to anger at their laughing. Kiba could sense that when she answered, _'Who knows how much damage I'll cause the next time? I can stop your heart or drain your energy in an instant if I lose control of things.'_

'_Wasn't that similar to what I was constantly telling you with DeStruct? Why I kept insisting you should let me die because I could lose control? Hell I __**have**__ lost control. I almost killed Stinger after I used the green serum.. But you guys wouldn't let me go. So why the hell do you think we would? I know you wouldn't hurt any of us deliberately…'_

'_I was hoping you guys wouldn't find me,' _Andy admitted. He heard her sigh, '_You also didn't see what happened last time I lost control... I thought it wouldn't happen again, but it did and I hurt Stinger. Even if it was an accident...'_

'_You mean the rival ninja… we know what happened. Guess what? We don't care. And there's no way we couldn't find you, we're family.' _

She heard the charges begin to go off and a muffled curse through the link. _'Can we go home-'_

There was a massive explosion and the link cut off.

Andy cursed and went to check on them. She saw Kiba on the ground and rushed to his side to heal him. She noticed he'd been hit with flying debris and was bleeding. Light flowed around him as she pulled energy from the ground.

She glanced at Stinger a moment, "Are you hurt?"

Stinger shook his head. "Is he okay? We kinda need him to get off this rock."

"He's going to be fine," Andy answered. She shook his arm after the glowing stopped, "Kiba, wake up." She soon noticed him start moving.

"Anyone get the number of the voyager that hit me?" Kiba sat up and winced, then saw her. "So you came out of hiding. Glad to see you. What say we continue our discussion on the Orion?" He stood and shakily waved his hand, making the portal appear.

"Fine. And I only came out to make sure you weren't dead," she answered.

"Awww. In you go." Kiba pushed her into the portal before she could slip away. He followed, Stinger coming last as it disappeared behind them.

Andy found herself back in the kitchen. She glanced at Kotaro and Azra who were staring at the three who just appeared. Andy went into the hall and once Kiba and Stinger followed she growled at Kiba, "How did you find out?"

"Because I went to Hammy's after the surgery with a med scanner. Because we were worried."

Andy didn't even respond, she just headed down the hall and disappeared.

Kiba sighed, running a hand over his face. "I'm going to find her."

Stinger nodded. "Alright. I need to report to Shou."

As Kiba began to walk away, Stinger grabbed his arm. "Be careful. She's angry."

For once, Kiba didn't make a joke. He just nodded and followed her down the hall.

Andy was in a training room, throwing shuriken at some targets, hitting the center every time.

Kiba pushed the door open slowly. "Andy?"

"What?" She didn't turn and kept throwing her shuriken.

"Is it safe to talk? Or are you going to start throwing those at _me_?"

"What is there to talk about?" She still didn't face him.

"What happened on the planet? Or what happened just now in the hall, take your pick."

"I'm mad you went to Hammy's to look in the first place, but especially right after you had surgery. And if you were so worried, why did you not mention it to me?" She growled, grabbing out kunai when she ran out of shuriken and threw them into the few empty targets.

"I'm sorry. But we needed to see what happened. If we'd waited, the ninja's body would have been destroyed. And both Stinger and I decided what had happened didn't matter, because we trust you."

"You could have just asked," Andy answered.

"I think we saw how well that turned out in the hallway just now." Kiba slowly made his way into the room.

"Because you've known and not even mentioned it! Maybe I wouldn't have been as mad or upset if you had asked in the first place." She sighed before throwing another kunai, "Okay, you know what happened and I know you know. You don't care about it or that I accidentally hurt Stinger. Anything else you want to talk about?"

"Do we have to worry about you? I mean, more than usual. Like are you going to do something stupid that is usually reserved for me?"

"Don't worry," Andy moved forward and started pulling her weapons from the targets and putting them back in her pockets.

"You know, there's an advantage to your new ability." Kiba gave her an impish smile.

She sighed and turned toward him, "What?"

"Stinger and I don't have to fight anymore. We'll just point at them and let you loose. Like an attack dog, just without the three heads... Wait. Would that make you the universe's first attack dolphin?" He began to chuckle at her incredulous look.

"You're ridiculous," Andy shook her head.

"Sorry. Just wanted to see if I could get you to smile." He gave her a salute. "I'm beat. Think I'll get some sleep." He headed for the door.

"Sleep well," Andy answered before she went back to throwing shuriken.


	33. A New Baby

"See if you can help her," one of the medics pointed to a woman on a cot, "She isn't one injured from the battle, but she is sick and we can't figure out why."

Andy nodded and headed over to the teen. She gave a soft smile to her patient, "Can you tell me a bit about what's going on?"

She looked around to see if anyone could hear her before she spoke, "I'm pregnant, but there's something wrong. I keep shaking and feel awful. They say it's not the normal pregnancy symptoms."

Andy nodded, thinking the girl looked a little too young to be having a baby, but she smiled, "Are you excited?" She started scanning her over.

The girl frowned, "I don't want it. I..." She looked around again before whispering, "I was attacked... I didn't want it..." Tears started welling up in her eyes.

"Oh." Andy tried to give a sympathetic look. "I'm sure there's someone who can adopt it if you don't want to keep it. I'm going to scan you over now and take a look, okay?"

The girl nodded and Andy raised her hands. After a minute she frowned. She kept scanning to double check she had seen right. After she pulled her hands away she sighed, "I can easily fix what's making you sick, I just need a couple samples and I need to put the medicine together. The baby is almost fully grown, you'll probably be in labor within the next few weeks."

She nodded, wiping her tears away, "Thank you."

After gathering the samples, she went back to the Orion to start up the process of making the medicine. She headed to the bridge and looked at Stinger who was looking at his tablet. After a moment she spoke up, "I don't know if I could handle another baby again, but this patient I have on the planet is pregnant and doesn't want the baby. I know we haven't talked about adopting again, especially after..." She took a deep breath, "but I think we might be the best people to take care of this particular baby."

Stinger looked up. "Why us?" He laid the tablet down and stood, walking over to her.

"Because apparently it's part scorpion," she answered plainly.

Stinger blinked then stared at her. "Part scorpion?"

"At least has a scorpion tail, like you. It seems mostly human though. It's started producing venom which is why the mother is sick. It made its way into her system, so I made an antidote for her," Andy answered.

"She'll be okay right? We're more potent as babies." Stinger asked, his mind racing.

"She should be fine once I get this to her. I'm heading back there now," Andy answered. "Just wanted to throw the idea out there."

He nodded quietly. "I'll think about it."

Andy went back down to the planet and gave her the antidote. "If I'm able to, I'll stay around until he's born. You might need more antidote."

The girl nodded, "Thank you."

Andy helped out more patients before heading back to the Orion. When she saw Stinger again she commented, "The girl is doing better. Though I might need to make her more antidote, so if I can, I'm going to stick around to help her."

Stinger nodded. "You have your voyager. We just got orders, so we're leaving. It's only the next system over though."

Andy nodded, "I can just leave extra antidote with the nurses there if you need me on the mission."

"It's just a food drop. No big deal." He looked over at her softly. "I thought about it and if you want this baby, I think it would be wonderful. I know it won't replace Benny or ours, but it might help us heal."

"I'm kind of worried that I'm jinxed when it comes to having a son... I don't want anything bad to happen... you know? But I figure who better to raise a scorpion baby than a scorpion dad?" Andy gave a small smile.

"That's not a ringing endorsement, but I'll take it." He went over and wrapped his arms around her. "Everything will be fine. Azra is going to flip when you tell her."

"Since she doesn't want the baby, she doesn't want to name him. Benny and Azra came prenamed, and I named Avery, so this one is on you," Andy smirked. "We still have a couple weeks though, unless she goes into labor early."

"Thanks a lot." Stinger gave her a wry smile. "I'll think of something."

Andy kissed him before heading out to talk to Azra. She found her and Kotaro playing a game in the rec room. "Hey, how are you guys?"

"We're fine. What's up?" Azra looked up at her.

"So, I know things haven't really been normal since Benny died... I'm not trying to replace him at all, it'd be impossible. But there _is _a baby that is going to need a good home. I hadn't even considered adopting again, but this is an interesting case. What would you think of having another little brother?"

Azra's eyes went wide. "Another brother? I mean I hadn't thought about it..." She looked at the floor, then raised her eyes. "Can I take care of him a lot?"

"If you want to," Andy gave her a soft smile. "He'll be a newborn, so it'll be a little different than it was with Benny."

"Even better!" Azra's eyes danced as she looked at Kotaro. "I can get practice."

Andy looked between them, "Get practice? You thinking of kids already?"

Kotaro turned red and stammered "N-n-no…"

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Ok last time I checked you two were spending a lot of time together but weren't fully dating... Where are you now?"

Azra smiled, going to Kotaro and linking arms. "We decided to try dating."

Andy smiled, "I'm happy for you. But no kids yet, right? I think I'm still too young to be a grandma."

Azra laughed as Kotaro's blush deepened. "Not to worry, Mom."

"Okay, but you two get to tell Stinger you're dating," Andy smirked before getting back to her main topic, "So you would like to have a little brother? He won't be born for another week or two."

"Yes! And I know you and Dad will be happier too. As for telling Dad, I'll just make his favorite foods and break it to him gently." Azra chuckled at Kotaro. "He can hide in his room, just in case."

Kotaro rolled his eyes.

"I don't think he'd do anything to our lil bear cub, but dating his daughter... I think he'll get over it though," Andy smiled at them.

Azra kissed Kotaro's cheek and his eyes were soft as he grinned.

"Oh, one more thing about the baby. He has a poisonous scorpion tail so try not to get stabbed," Andy chuckled.

"He has a tail!" Azra bounced on the couch. "This will be fun!" She shifted into her own scorpion tail with a laugh. "We'll match!"

"I'm jealous," Andy chuckled.

"Maybe Uncle Balance can give you a tail." Azra quit bouncing and winked at her.

Andy smiled, "I'll have to talk to him about it."

"Finish our game?" Kotaro gave her a smile. "I'm still winning."

Azra shot him a mock glare. "Oh no you're not." She focused on the game, rolling some dice and cheering at the points given.

Andy watched them for a minute with a smile before heading toward the door, "Have fun."

She headed back to talk to Stinger again, "Azra's excited."

Stinger grinned at her. "Let me guess. She's waving a tail around again?" His eyes twinkled.

"Of course." Andy smiled before laughing, "I really need to talk to Balance about building me one."

Stinger's grin got bigger. "I was going to wait… but screw it." He grabbed her hand, leading her into the voyager bay.

"Balance? Bring out Andy's gift will you?"

Balance's eyes glowed brighter. "Okyu, Commander."

He slid a covered table out in front of Andy.

Andy's eyes widened and uncovered the table. She laughed as she noticed two things on the table. The first was a large dolphin tail fin, the second was a scorpion tail colored to match her kyutama. "These are really for me?"

"Happy early anniversary, beautiful." Stinger kissed her cheek. "Do you like them?"

"I love them! You're going to have to teach me how to use a tail and how to fight with it," she smiled.

He chuckled. "Here I thought you just wanted it for show. I guess I can't say no to you though."

"I want to do all the fun things you can do, so teach me all of it," Andy smiled. "Especially if we're going to be raising a little scorpion baby," she chuckled softly.

"Should I be regretting saying yes?" His shoulders shook as he laughed. "Your wish is my command. Put it on."

After Balance showed her how to place it on her, she swished it around, grinning.

"Okyu. Lesson One. Retract, then lengthen. Watch me." Stinger retracted his tail, then made it grow. "You try."

Andy tried a couple times before finally getting the hang of it. "This is fun."

Stinger's eyebrows went up. "Lesson Two. Swing it up over your shoulder, then shoot forward. Like this." He demonstrated at a reinforced wall.

Andy quickly got it, smiling at her progress.

Stinger gave her another kiss. "All there is to fighting. Keep it retracted for everyday use, then if you need it..."

"Thank you," she smiled up at him. "Now we can have a whole little scorpion family," she said excitedly.

Stinger rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Isn't there somewhere you need to be?"

Andy took a moment before remembering, "I need to go check back on my patient, don't I?"

Stinger laughed. "Might be a good idea, beautiful. And we have a quick food drop to make."

"Right," Andy nodded. "Well, I'll check on her and if you guys need anything, call me. If not, I'll just camp out or sleep in my voyager until you are back in orbit."

Stinger nodded. "We'll be back soon. _Try_ not to get into trouble while we're gone."

Andy kissed him before heading out of the room. She headed to grab her stuff and then ran into Azra and Kotaro on the way back to the bay. "Did you know they were making this?!" Andy smiled excitedly, knowing, and not caring, that she was acting like a kid on Christmas morning.

Azra laughed. "I had to give you a clue. They've been working on them for a while now."

Kotaro rolled his eyes. "You just can't keep a secret can you?"

Azra pouted. "I did better than Uncle Kiba. Dad threatened him if he said a word, so he's with Aunt Hammy until Dad lets him back here."

Andy grinned, "Now I won't be left out." She remembered her bag in her hand, "I'm going to care for my patient. The Orion is going on a food drop, so it might be a day or two before I'm back on the ship."

Azra nodded. "Stay safe." She gave her a hug as Kotaro gave her a salute.

"You too." She headed back down to the planet, making sure her patient and the baby were doing well.

After that, she helped with a few other patients before heading back to her voyager, practicing with her new tail.

Andy got a call the next morning from Stinger about a Jark Matter attack. "I'll be there as soon as I can." She headed to check on her patient one more time before leaving, but the nurses were surrounding her. "What's going on?"

"She's gone into labor," one mentioned.

Andy cursed. She quickly used her comm, "Stinger? I have to stay here. Please stay safe, okay?"

"I'm trying, beautiful. We got ambushed." There were sounds of the cannon firing, then a screech of static and the comm went dead.

Andy cursed before saying a silent prayer for their safety. Knowing it would take too long to get there and back, she started caring for her patient. Her worry was quickly pushed from her mind as she got into her work.

A few hours later, Andy was holding the newly born baby. She smiled down at him, trying to calm his crying. She stared at his little bit of dark hair and dark eyes, taking in every detail. His skin was a beautiful caramel color complemented by a chocolate brown tail. She was careful to not get stuck by it as she rocked him back and forth slowly.

After a while, she tried calling the Orion to see if anyone answered. "Stinger? Champ? Is anyone there? What happened?"

"Moo, Andy. We're alive. Orion is being repaired. It will be a few more hours before we can return." Champ's voice was calm.

"Are Stinger and Azra okay?"

Silence filled the channel, though she could hear what passed for Champ's breathing.

"Champ? Are they injured?"

"Azra was helping Kotaro and took a hit to the head. She's fine though. Just a headache. Aibou..." The robot trailed off.

Andy sighed, "I'll be there as soon as I can." She made a clone who watched over the patient and baby as Andy ran to her voyager to get back to the Orion. When she arrived, she headed to the infirmary.

Champ met her outside. "He's not here. He's... missing."

She froze, heart sinking, "Missing? Tell me what happened."

"We were ambushed. He went out in Sasori voyager to cover our escape. It took a bad hit and the last we saw, was tumbling out of control towards the planet. There's been no contact since."

"Did you try tracking his voyager? Is anyone out there looking for him?"

"No signal. Balance and Kotaro are running a search pattern. But the temperature drops too low to sustain life at night and he went down six hours ago."

Andy cursed. She made a clone to stay on the ship to heal Azra before running back to her voyager. She quickly flew off to search for any sign of Stinger.

Stinger coughed, eyes slowly blinking open. He felt something wet running down his face and touched it. His fingers came back red and he grimaced. Attempting to sit up, he gasped and froze as his ribs loudly protested. He peered out the voyager's cracked glass, noticing the lack of light.

"Just great." He gingerly reached for his comm. "Orion? Orion, come in." Static buzzed and he closed the channel with a curse. He could feel the temperature dropping, but couldn't remember why that worried him so much. "Maybe after I sleep, I'll remember?" His eyes slid closed, his head dropping to his chest.

After an hour of flying around, Andy spotted some orange in the distance. She flew quickly toward it and landed. Morphing so she would stay warm, she ran out to his voyager, pulling the door open. She noticed he was breathing shallowly and was unconscious. She moved to him and held her hands up, scanning him over before starting to heal him. "Stinger? Wake up, love."

Stinger mumbled incomprehensibly, but didn't wake. His skin was cold, but he wasn't shaking at all. His hair was heavily matted with blood and he remained unresponsive.

She thought for a moment, remembering the tail still on her. She picked him up carefully with the help of the tail and took him to her voyager. After closing the door, she turned the heat on and wrapped him in her jacket. She found her sleeping bag and covered him with that as well, before going back to trying to heal him. Her eyes glowed when she started taking a bit of the energy from the planet beneath them. After about ten minutes she tried again, "Stinger? Come on, love, you need to wake up."

"An..dy?" His voice was groggy, his now open eyes not quite focused. "How...?" He tried to move and groaned.

She continued to heal him, "Hey love. Your voyager crashed. Remember?"

"Ambush... Need to cover Orion's escape..." He was disoriented, his pupils dilated wide as he tried to remember.

"Don't worry. The Orion is safe. You are safe," she spoke softly as she kept pushing energy into him.

"You're not real… you're still on the planet. This is a dream... Not that I'm arguing." His eyes began closing again. "Just wish it was real…"

"Love, I am real," Andy answered. "I left a clone on the planet so I could come look for you. I need you to stay awake and stay with me, okay?" She tried to speak calmly.

"I'm not dreaming?" He forced his eyes open and looked at her. "Don't lie to me."

"You're not dreaming. Have I ever lied before?" Andy asked. She worked on healing his head wound once his temperature was a bit higher.

He gave a small smile. "I should probably. Stop asking that, huh?" He wrapped a hand around his ribs as he sighed. "The Orion is really safe?"

"They were doing repairs when I saw it, but yes," she moved to start realigning his rib bones and fusing them back together.

"Good...tired... Need to sleep." He started to drift off after he reached for her hand. "Don't disappear on me okay?"

"I'm not going to, love." She reached up and set the voyager to auto pilot back to the Orion before she continued to heal him, one hand over his ribs while the other was still being held by Stinger. She kept fusing the bones together before she moved on again, checking him for other wounds and making sure his temperature was still safe and steady.

Stinger sighed, still convinced he was dreaming. But he figured that it was better than having a nightmare before dying. He'd finally remembered the briefing about the nighttime temperatures and believed the Andy in front of him was just his body making it easier for him while he died. "Glad I'm not alone..." His eyes closed and he lay quietly against Andy's chest.

Andy ran a hand through his hair where it wasn't matted in blood. "Love, you need to stay awake with me, okay? We'll be to the Orion soon."

He frowned, his forehead creasing. "Tired...you're supposed to help me die easier, not nag me." His eyes remained closed.

Andy groaned as she pushed more energy into him, "I'm not here to help you die. I'm a medic, I'm here to help you live. And I'm your wife so I'm going to nag you all I want. Now stay awake, Stinger!"

His eyes cracked open. "Wish I could tell beautiful that my mind's version is just like her. The lectures... are perfect."

"I'm real, dammit!" Andy slapped his face. "Could your mind slap you like that? Get yourself together and stay awake."

His eyes flew open as he let out a loud "ow!" He looked at her, really registering her presence for the first time. "Beautiful? You're real?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" She sighed though, "Sorry for slapping you."

"You're forgiven. Was I really out of it that badly?" He tried to look out the glass, but squeezed his eyes shut. When had the stars become so damned bright?

"You told me I was supposed to help you die easier, not nag you. So I think you were pretty out of it," Andy answered before running her hand through his hair again. Her other hand kept trying to heal him.

"Shit...surprised you didn't hit me harder." He opened his eyes again. "What's our status?"

"Auto piloting to the Orion. The Orion is getting repaired as we speak. Your voyager is still on the planet wrecked, so we'll have to get that..." She updated.

He tried to nod and grimaced. "Alright. When we get back, I'll have to call Shou and let him know what happened. Anyone else hurt?"

"The only one who was injured was Azra, but she's fine and I healed her already."

He sighed and brushed his lips over her hand. "Thanks for saving me... again. Maybe we should have a running scoreboard and place bets."

She chuckled, "You're welcome. Though you _did_ hire me as a medic, so I'm just doing my job."

He grinned crookedly at her as they docked in the voyager bay.

"Come on, let's get you to the infirmary. Can you walk?"

He quirked his lips. "I'll try. And I need to call Shou, so maybe go to the office instead."

"I figured you could call him on a tablet from the infirmary. You need rest."

"I'm fine." He stepped out of her voyager and promptly started to fall as the room whirled around him. "Oops."

"You're not fine. Don't make me drag you to the infirmary, just come willingly, please," Andy spoke as she wrapped an arm around him.

"I surrender. I don't want another lecture." He stumbled toward the door.

Andy helped him walk there and got him into a bed. She then handed him a tablet.

He tried to remember Shou's comm code, finally giving up after the third wrong attempt. "Have Champ do it…"

Andy called Champ and gave him the order before trying to heal Stinger's head some more.

"Is my thick skull giving you trouble?" He tried to sound jokey, but the look in his eyes didn't match.

She rolled her eyes a moment before they started glowing, her reaching out to the nearby stars for energy. She tried to reduce the swelling in his head and help ease the effects of the concussion he had. She kept working for another twenty minutes before asking, "How do you feel now?"

He lay still, trying to answer her question. "Doesn't hurt as much anymore. Still hazy some, but not like when we were flying. I guess I dodged another bullet?"

"Hypothermia, concussion, and broken ribs. Though your temperature and ribs are better. I'll work on your head a bit more."

"Can I sleep? Or is it still too dangerous?" He yawned widely.

She kissed his forehead, "Get some sleep." She kept healing him, glowing light surrounding him as she pushed in all the energy she could. When she was done, she got a wet rag and worked on slowly wiping the blood from his hair. She then sat by him, holding his hand as she focused back to her clone who was holding a formula bottle to the baby's mouth, trying to get him to eat. Her real body smiled, happy that everyone was alive and safe.

Stinger blinked his eyes open to see Andy. "Beautiful. Thought you'd be with your patient."

"I have a clone watching over both of them," she smiled. "You think of a name yet? Because he needs one."

Stinger gave her a soft smile. "Scorpio."

"Scorpio," the clone smiled down at the sleeping baby.

Andy grinned at Stinger, "I can't wait for you to see him. He's so cute."

"When?" He slowly sat up, glad the room stayed still.

"The reason I couldn't come to the battle was she went into labor. He was born just a bit ago. You can meet him whenever we get back into orbit."

He smiled and kissed her hand gently. "Sorry you had to slap me. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Your body started shutting down with hypothermia. It's understandable you weren't fully with it."

"I was that bad? I thought I'd just hit my head and was hallucinating."

"Well you did hit your head so that didn't help either," she smirked.

He chuckled wryly. "Guess I'm still a trouble magnet huh?"

"Still nowhere near as bad as Kiba," she laughed before remembering, "Oh, what is the best material for a tail cover? Because we need to make one for Scorpio."

"There's a box of them in the back of the closet. Various sizes."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yeah. Never got rid of them." Stinger pushed himself out of bed. "I'm going to see if the repairs are done and if my voyager has been retrieved."

Andy smiled, "I'll go cook us something. If Azra or Kotaro haven't already."

When they got into orbit, Andy went to find Azra. "Want to come meet your little brother?"

Azra squealed, morphing her tail.

Andy chuckled and waited for Azra to follow her before meeting Stinger in the voyager bay.

"Ready?"

Stinger gave her a kiss. "Yes. Let's go meet him."

After arriving on the planet, the clone laid the baby down for a moment and disappeared. Andy entered and picked him back up, noticing a small smile from him. Andy held him out to Stinger.

Stinger took him gently, his eyes moist. "Welcome to the family, Scorpio."

Andy smiled and brought Azra over, "What do you think?"

Azra gave the baby a gentle smile. "He's beautiful."

Stinger looked at them. "Let's go home."

Andy nodded, "I'll be right back." She headed to the next room and smiled at the birth mother, "Thank you."

The girl smiled, "I'm glad he'll have a good home. Thank you for helping me."

Andy gave her a small hug, "You've helped us even more."

She then went back and met with her family before heading back to their home on the Orion.


	34. Kiba's Lost Memories

"Andy?" Daiki materialized in the infirmary. "Andy, we have a problem. I need you to come with me _now_."

Andy turned to the sound, "Okyu, one minute." She pressed her comm, "Stinger, can you come to the infirmary?"

Daiki fidgeted as he waited.

Stinger arrived. "What's up beautiful?"

She pointed at Daiki, "Apparently they need help, so I'll be back... eventually? Scorpio is sleeping," she nodded her head to the crib, "Keep an eye on him?"

Stinger nodded, then focused on Daiki. "Healing or fighting?"

Daiki smiled. "Healing. Don't think there will be any fighting, unless she hits one of the doctors."

Stinger raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything more.

Daiki turned to Andy. "Ready?"

She picked up her bag before nodding, "Ready."

Daiki waved his hand, the haze covering them. Then they were in the hallway of a hospital.

The rider started to walk down the hallway.

"What happened?" Andy wondered as she followed him.

"Kiba got hurt. Pretty badly. And the idiot treating him won't listen to me." Daiki's voice was tight and angry.

They soon arrived at a locked ward and Daiki stopped in front of a pair of doctors.

"Hojo-san." Daiki's voice was polite.

"Kagami-san." There was an undercurrent of anger as Daiki introduced him.

"Hojo..." Andy thought for a moment.

"You can call me Emu," he smiled.

Andy smiled in recognition, "Good to finally meet you. I'm one of the Kyurangers." She looked at Daiki, "Is this your home universe?"

"No. But it is Natsumelon's." Daiki nodded to the doors. "Let us in?" Daiki was trying to control his anger, but Andy could see it vibrating off him in waves.

"Why is he in a locked ward?"

"He's in the psych ward," Hiiro answered. "He has amnesia. And I can't just let anyone in."

Emu put a hand on Hiiro's shoulder, "They might be able to help."

Hiiro rolled his eyes.

"I _am _a medic," Andy answered.

"What more could a medic do than a doctor?" Hiiro asked.

"She can do more than you…" Daiki hissed at Hiiro. "This could have been fixed a week ago, you son of a bitch. He doesn't need this, or_ you_. He needs _her. Now let us in before you end up in a bed yourself._"

"Let them in, Hiiro," Emu said softly.

Hiiro sighed and waved his badge in front of the scanner to let them in. He led them to the room Kiba was in.

Andy noticed Kiba was playing a game with someone else, "Kiba?"

"Andy!" Kiba grinned at her before going back and rapidly hitting buttons on the controller in his hand.

**FATALITY**

Kiba laughed as the other person groaned. "Kiba… you can't let me win can you?"

"Sorry, Parad. Pick another game? Maybe you can beat me?"

Parad chuckled, rifling through the game container on the floor as Kiba put down the controller and approached the door.

Kiba's eyes darkened as he saw the doctors, but he tried not to tense and focused on Andy instead. "I see Dad number two dragged you here. How are you?" He fiddled with the bandage around his head absently.

"He said you needed a bit of help," Andy smiled. "And you know I can't say no to helping my best friend. Especially when he has a new nephew to come meet."

"Nephew? When did that happen?"

"We adopted again, a couple months ago," Andy answered.

"Cool. So you springing me?" Kiba chuckled as Parad let out a whoop. "Let me do this real quick." He settled himself on the bed with his controller as Parad set up a new game.

"How about I heal you up while you play?" Andy suggested moving closer.

"Sure. As long as they don't come in." Kiba's eyes flicked to the doctors.

Parad paused. "Hey, Emu isn't going to hurt you."

Kiba took a deep breath, but his hands were beginning to shake. He clutched the controller tighter.

Andy went to the hall a second, "Hiiro, stay out here. Emu, he might like you better without your doctor coat on. He had some... bad experiences with people in lab coats." She glanced at Daiki, "He'll be healed up soon, try not to kill anyone."

Emu nodded and took his coat off, leaving it on a chair in the hallway.

"Kiba? I'm going to heal you up but then Emu just needs to scan over you so they know you are safe to be released, okay? He'll stay by the door until then, and I won't let him, or anyone, hurt you," Andy approached, ignoring their game.

Kiba nodded tightly, though he relaxed a little as he realized Emu wasn't wearing his coat. He still clutched the controller tight. "I trust you, Andy."

Parad looked at him, then Andy with concern. "Kiba?"

"He'll be okay," Andy smiled as she moved and sat next to Kiba. Her eyes started glowing as she started to gather energy. She paused a moment, glancing at Parad and Emu, "Your energy is odd." She then went quiet and her hands started glowing as she analyzed Kiba.

"What are you doing?" Emu asked, confused at the glowing.

"I'd try to explain it, but you probably wouldn't understand. I'm healing him, that's all that matters."

Kiba looked at Parad. "Ready to lose again?" His smile was forced, his eyes flicking toward Emu again.

Parad rolled his eyes. "Give it your best shot."

They began to play, Kiba soon forgetting about Emu and Andy.

Andy focused on the physical aspects of Kiba's injuries, wondering if healing his brain would help the amnesia. When she was done, she glanced at him, "What's the last thing you remember before showing up to the hospital?"

He frowned. "Going to see Hammy because your husband was threatening to sew my lips shut about the gift he got you."

Andy sighed, "Give me just a second, I'm going to get Daiki." She looked at Parad, "When you're done with that game, I need his focus."

She went into the hall, "Daiki, how long has Kiba been with you this time?"

"Two weeks. We jumped here after Tsukasa asked us to help. We've been helping fight Bugsters. Then Kiba got hurt, and instead of letting me go get you..." Daiki's voice became venomous as he looked at Hiiro. "_He_ stuck him in here. Alone."

"Why?" Andy looked at Daiki and then at Hiiro.

"He's been violent," Hiiro answered plainly.

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Probably because you are doctors." She sighed, "So at least two weeks with you, so probably a month or so with Hammy... Let's see if we can jumpstart his memories."

They entered back into the room, Emu was still by the doorway. Andy smiled at Kiba, "You're missing about two months of memories. We need to try to get them back, okay?"

Kiba sighed. "Can't I go yet?" His eyes never left the screen as he battled Parad.

**LOSER**

Kiba sighed as Parad laughed. Then he grinned. "Round One, game boy. Don't get too cocky."

Parad kept laughing as Kiba rolled his eyes and put his controller down and faced Andy. "All right. How do we do this?"

"Well, we can talk about what we know happened, and see if you begin remembering, or I can get in your head and see if we can figure it out from there?"

"Probably quicker to get in my head. They keep telling me things but I just don't remember." Kiba sighed. "The drugs might be messing with my head too."

Andy cursed and grabbed the folder on the table and looked through to see what meds he'd been given.

Kiba leaned against the wall and shut his eyes.

"Give me just a minute to talk to them, okay?" She made a clone who started scanning him over again while she went toward the door, "Can I talk to you?" She looked at Emu and Parad.

Emu nodded and headed to the hall.

Parad put down the controller and followed them silently.

"In the notes, it says he age regressed?"

Emu nodded again, "He acted younger. That's why I brought Parad down. But he's not my patient so I don't know all the details."

"How old was he acting?" Andy looked at Parad.

"Teenager. Think he said he was thirteen." Parad fiddled with the cords on his jacket. "He was terrified of the doctors. Went nuts at the sight of a needle. Only time he was calm was playing games."

Andy winced as she put everything together, "Yeah, Shocker did some... very bad things to him. Lots of injections... They probably started when he was around that age too."

Parad stared at her. "Shocker?"

Andy looked between them, "Do you not have them in this universe?"

Parad shook his head. "We know about them. What do they have to do with Kiba though?"

Andy gave a nervous chuckle, "They made him..."

Parad gave her a confused look until Daiki spoke up. "He's a clone. Don't tell me you doctors haven't noticed his weird brain."

"I was more focused on keeping him alive," Hiiro admitted.

"Like I said, he isn't my patient," Emu added.

Daiki's eyes blazed. "You stuck him in here and never looked at his scans? He has amnesia but you didn't think to see if his brain was normal in the first place?!" He began to walk toward Hiiro, his driver suddenly in his hand. "You operated on his brain! You probably caused this!"

Andy stood between them, "Unless they are looking for abnormalities, it could be something they missed easily. I didn't even see it at first."

Daiki looked at her, eyes boring into hers. "You didn't operate on him the first time you healed him. You didn't pump him full of gods knows what. You didn't lock him away, then complain about violence. _He did that!_"

"But do you know how much I've had to do to him that I had no idea if it would work? These are some of the best doctors this planet has, I'm sure they were doing what they thought was best. It's not like they are often dealing with a clone! Now look, he's only missing two months. I'm going to try to get them back, but at least it's not years." Andy growled.

"_He _kept me from getting you." Daiki's voice went soft. "Help him please."

"Is there anything else I should know? Anything else odd?"

Hiiro shook his head before Andy looked at Parad.

"He's had a couple of nightmares about someone called the General. He mentioned your name a few times. Usually after he's been restrained."

Andy sighed, "I'll help him out. Someone make sure Daiki doesn't kill Dr. Kagami."

Emu nodded.

Daiki sighed. "I'm not going to kill him. I'll go wait at the studio." He walked down the hallway, his hands shoved in his pockets.

Andy sighed and headed back into the room. Her clone was waiting there to keep track of Kiba's vitals while the real Andy went into his mind.

"Ready?"

Kiba tiredly nodded, lying down on the bed without opening his eyes.

Andy focused hard on Kiba's mind, finding herself in the same room, a few doctors surrounding Kiba.

"Get away!" Kiba backed up till he hit the wall. His eyes were wide, not unlike a deer caught in headlights. "Stay away! I won't help you!"

One doctor in the back began writing in a folder with a smile. He slipped out quietly as the other doctors began asking Kiba questions.

Kiba grabbed his head, screaming. It got worse as he glimpsed a needle headed towards him.

"No! Get away! Please!" He clutched his head with one hand, the other struggling to keep the needle away.

Orderlies ran in, grabbing his arms as the drug was injected. He went limp, the orderlies quickly laying him down and restraining him.

"Kiba? Do you remember anything before this? Fighting the bugsters?" She tried to talk softly to calm him. "Remember this is just a memory. They can't hurt you now."

Kiba frowned, his forehead creasing.

The scene shifted outdoors. Kiba was fighting on a roof, knocking bugsters off as DeStruct. He whirled, his sword slashing. A gunshot rang out, Kiba giving a yell as he lost his balance, falling several feet. His transformation canceled right before he slammed into the ground with a loud crack. He lay still, blood spreading out around him.

"Shit, Kiba," Andy watched, trying to find out who shot him. She thought she saw someone she'd seen before but they soon vanished so she didn't get a good look. "I see why you were in the hospital..." She sighed, "How about before this? Daiki said he spent two weeks with you, what happened before the bugsters?"

The scene shifted again, this time a photo studio. She could hear Daiki and Kiba arguing.

"I told you no. I am not doing that target again!"

Daiki's sigh was resigned. "What if I told you what it was I'm trying to recover?"

"Recover? Daiki, what the hell are you talking about?"

"The control chip, Kiba. The one you stole. It was taken during the attack on the studio."

"_SHIT!_ Why didn't you tell me sooner? That thing's dangerous. We have to get it **now.**"

She saw them leave the studio and disappear through a portal.

"Control chip...? Oh, the mind control one? Yeah you need to get that back... Is that why you're here?" Andy frowned. "Before Daiki you were with Hammy for a bit, unless something happened in between?"

The scene switched a final time to the planet. Scenes of picnics and cooking interspersed with what was obviously hand to hand classes quickly flowed before her eyes.

"Okay, so that should be it, right? Did you find the chip?" Andy wondered. "Or are you still looking?"

"Found it. Have it in my jacket. The hidden pocket." Kiba sighed. He opened his eyes. "Can I go with you now?"

"We'll go as soon as they release you. It shouldn't be long now that you're better. I'll go get your jacket so we're ready to go when they do, okay?" Andy answered softly.

He nodded, eyes closing as he fell asleep.

Andy headed out to the hall, "He remembers now," she reported. "And he's healed so he can leave as long as you release him," she looked at Hiiro. "He won't let you near him though, but Emu might be able to check him over so you know he really is healed. Can you show me where his jacket is?"

Hiiro sighed and nodded, leading her down the hall and unlocking a room. He looked through the things and finally handed it to her. She checked the pockets quickly, making sure it had everything before thanking him. She headed back down toward Kiba's room and was surprised that Parad and Emu weren't outside still. She entered and saw them near Kiba.

"No! Don't let him near me! Hurts!" Kiba's eyes were open but unfocused. He was huddled in a corner, hands raised as if he was trying to block something approaching. "Please make him stop! Andy! Daiki! Parad!"

Andy approached slowly, "Kiba, I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you." She tried to focus on his mind to see what he was. There was someone approaching him, a doctor from before maybe, who was trying to give him a shot. "Kiba, it's just a nightmare."

"No...no he's coming. When it's dark... he comes and it burns. Andy, it burns and I feel like I'm slipping away… make him go away..."

"I won't let him give you any more, okay? You have to wake up now though."

Kiba's eyes blinked closed, then opened again. He raises his eyes to Emu and Parad. "Sorry." He looks at Andy and runs a hand through his hair. "I hate this. I need sleep, but whatever they give me doesn't help. Just makes me more lethargic. It's not like when you help me."

"We'll get you out of here and you can rest on the Orion or at the studio if you want," Andy answered with a soft smile.

"Orion please, the studio is not conducive to rest." Kiba chuckled as he attempted to stand.

The room began to spin and he stumbled as his head began to pound in time to his heartbeat.

"Ohh boy. Somebody make the room stop."

Andy held onto his arm a moment before raising a glowing hand to his head, "Everything is healed, so it must be the medicine they gave you. I'd assume it'll wear off soon."

Parad shook his head. "I've been here all day. Emu took him off the meds when Daiki went to get you. He hasn't had anything since the day before yesterday."

Andy frowned, "I can do a blood test and see what's in your system. I know you're healed, so it has to be from the medicine..." She sighed, "But I can't do that unless we get back to the Orion. Or someone here has to do it."

"I'll do it," Emu offered.

Andy nodded and got a blood sample and handed it over. Emu left the room to go analyze it. Twenty minutes later, he came back with papers in hand. Andy looked them over, "Whatever this is, it isn't prescribed on the charts."

Emu mentioned a drug name she didn't recognize, "It's a mood stabilizer."

Andy looked into the breakdown, "It has a lot of ingredients as the serums Shocker makes..."

Kiba sent her a thought. '_You have to be kidding me... Does that mean Shocker's here in the hospital?'_

'_I don't know, maybe,' _Andy sighed before talking out loud, "We'll keep an eye out. But until we get this out of your system, you probably shouldn't portal."

Kiba shook his head. "Right now, I can't even see straight and my head feels like it did when I woke up in intensive care."

Andy wrote a few things down on one of the papers and handed it to Emu, "Can you make this?"

Emu stared at it for a moment, "I can try."

"Good. It should act like an antidote for the med in his system," Andy answered.

Emu nodded and headed out of the room again. Andy smiled softly at Kiba and brushed his hair from his face, "Do you want to put your jacket on? Or are you warm enough?"

"I'll feel better with it on. It's still there, right?" He awkwardly maneuvered into the sleeves, Parad helping him stand upright.

"Yeah, it's there," Andy assured. She sat down, "So after we leave here, are you going to come hang out awhile? Things have been slow lately."

"Gotta meet the nephew, right? And Hammy taught me some new moves. I want to try them out on Stinger." Kiba gave Parad a grateful smile as the younger man helped him sit on the bed. As he stepped away, Parad gave Andy a look.

Andy raised an eyebrow at Parad but responded to Kiba first, "And you can help me get better fighting with my tail," she smirked. After a moment she looked back at Parad, "So what's with you and Emu? Your energy is different."

Parad opened his mouth, but Kiba beat him to it. "He's a Bugster. He's sorta part of Emu… it's hard to explain."

Andy just nodded, "Makes some sense. I've seen weirder," she chuckled.

Kiba snickered as he laid down. "You should meet her husband. He's the weirdest thing she deals with."

"Oh! That reminds me, we named the baby Scorpio, and he has a tail too."

Kiba cracked one eye in amazement. "Seriously? Bet Azra's ecstatic."

Parad made a motion towards the door at Andy.

Andy nodded, "Kiba, I'll be right back, okay? I'll be right outside in the hallway though."

Kiba nodded, his eyes still closed.

Parad left the room.

Andy followed him, "What's up?"

"Why is his back scarred?" Parad shifted from foot to foot, hands tangled in his jacket cables.

"Shocker. That General you mentioned him having nightmares about? His favorite thing was his whip, and Kiba was at the end of it a lot..." Andy sighed, glancing through the door at Kiba.

"Was he a prisoner? When he was regressed he told me he wished he could go outside. I didn't know what to say."

Andy gave him a sad look, "He was sort of a prisoner... Shocker made him to be a weapon. His job was to kill Kamen Riders and steal their powers... They hurt him to make him obey or to punish him if things went wrong. And even though he's been free from Shocker for a while, he still deals with his past, especially in his nightmares."

Parad had paled as he listened to her and now swallowed hard. "That drug... What is it doing to him? And is he in danger here?"

"Someone gave him something that wasn't on the charts, which means they have access to his room and didn't want anyone to know he was given it. He is probably in danger but I will keep him from getting hurt." She glanced at Kiba again before looking back at Parad, "Normally when Shocker gives him something it's to try to take him out or to turn him back into the evil DeStruct. So if it was Shocker, he's definitely in some danger. If it wasn't, then I don't know who or why they'd give it to him and not write it down... Once Emu makes the antidote though he'll be better."

Parad watched Kiba, who had gotten ahold of Parad's handheld and was immersed in the game. "He's my friend and I won't let anyone hurt him. I will help you."

Andy smiled, "Good, he needs more friends."

Parad chuckled. "You sound like Emu."

Andy laughed, "It's always good to have more friends, right?"

Parad gave her a bright grin. "Yeah."

Daiki suddenly walked toward them. "How is he?"

"A lot better, but not totally perfect," Andy answered as she noticed Emu approaching. "Did you make it?"

Emu nodded and handed a vial over.

"He'll be better after this. Though I think he might be in some danger..." She sighed. "But don't worry, we're not going to let anything happen."

Daiki frowned. "Fill me in? _What_ is that?"

"Someone gave him something and didn't chart it. It's a medicine from this universe but it has similarities to Shocker serums. This is an antidote," Andy answered. "I'm thinking I can stay here invisible, and see who comes in to give him anything," Andy suggested.

Daiki cursed under his breath. "I'll patrol outside, just in case we get a welcoming committee."

Parad looked at Emu. "I can hide in my handheld?"

"Sure," Emu nodded. "And I should probably quit hanging around so nothing seems suspicious. I also need to check on my patients."

Andy smiled, "We'll take care of things here."

Daiki walked out with Emu as Parad entered Kiba's room. He eagerly sat down beside the rider, showing him a trick on the game.

Andy approached, "I'm going to give you an antidote, okay?" She filled up a syringe and waited for Kiba to answer.

He glanced apprehensively at the syringe for a minute, then up at her face and nodded. Giving the handheld to Parad, he extended one arm.

Andy gently gave him the medicine, "You know I'll be here to keep an eye on you in case something goes wrong. We're going to watch and see who is coming after you though. I'm going to be right here by you, but invisible. I'll even hold your hand if you want so you know I'm still here. Then we'll try to catch whoever it is."

Kiba nodded as Parad disappeared inside the handheld in a flash of colored pixels. He closed his eyes as the medicine began to take effect. "Much better." He sighed.

Andy sat down and put her hand on his before she went invisible, waiting for anyone to enter the room.

Fifteen minutes later, the door opened and a white coated figure slipped in. He used a flashlight to make his way to Kiba's bedside, uncapping a syringe as soon as he got close. He bent down, preparing to inject whatever was in it.

Andy quickly grabbed his arm, pushing him away from Kiba. Her eyes glowed as she pulled a bit of his energy, making him struggle to be able to stand. "Who are you?"

"Dr. Sato. Who are you? Non patients are not allowed in here after visiting hours."

"Who I am doesn't matter. What are you giving him?" She considered pulling a kunai on him.

"Merely a stronger anti-psychotic. He is quite violent you know." Sato was sweating, looking nervously at the door. He jumped as Parad emerged from the handheld and turned on the light.

"Who do you work for? And don't just say the hospital," Andy tightened her grip on his arm.

"What- whatever do you mean? I'm head psychiatrist here." His words were forced.

Andy growled, "I can literally break every bone in your body, you might want to give me the real answer before I start."

He looked her in the eye and laughed. "Very well. I work for Dai-Shocker. And I will soon get a higher rank because I have DeStruct back."

Andy drained more of his energy before asking, "What are you planning?"

"I know he has the chip. I have the ability to get it implanted with no questions. He's scheduled for psychosurgery tomorrow morning."

Andy growled before draining the rest of his energy, leaving him dead on the floor.

Parad looked at the body, then at her. "What's psychosurgery?"

"It's a type of brain surgery. The body is alive but they get rid of the personality in it. It'd make him easier for them to control. And the chip would turn him into their weapon."

Parad's expression went from confused to horrified, then he kicked the body repeatedly. "If you hadn't come, Kiba would have…" He gave the sleeping rider a look, then shuddered.

"I know. And this is far from the first time I've saved his butt," Andy responded. She then sighed, "We should probably ask Emu what to do with the dead body... Or how to explain why we killed the head psychiatrist..."

Parad's eyes drifted for a minute, then he looked at her. "He says he'll take care of it. He says you should probably take Kiba out of here in case there are more people after him."

Andy nodded and tried to focus on finding Daiki, '_We should leave.' _

A minute later, Daiki appeared in the room. He barely gave the body a glance, instead easily lifting Kiba into his arms. "Ready?" He summoned the portal and waited.

Andy looked at Parad with a smile, "It was nice meeting you. Thank you and Emu and Hiiro too."

"It was fun…well, most of it was. And that's what we're here for. Just keep him safe?"

"I've been keeping him safe for years now and I probably will far into the future," Andy chuckled. "If you ever find yourself in our area and need help, let us know." She gave a wave before nodding to Daiki.

They emerged back in the infirmary, Daiki laying Kiba gently in a bed and covering him. "I'll go tell Tsukasa what happened. I'd like to stick around awhile if it's okay?"

"Sure, you're always welcome around here," Andy smiled.

"I'll be back." Daiki disappeared just as Kiba blinked his eyes open. He gave Andy a smile as he began to sit up. "Not sure what happened, but thanks. Sorry for making you come and save me again."

"You're fine. My job _is _to save people," Andy chuckled.

"Your job is to save Stinger's butt not mine." He sighed. "Anyway… where's my nephew?"

"As both a medic and a kyuranger, it's my job to save anyone," she smiled softly. "Stinger was watching him. Want to get something to eat and we can all catch up in the kitchen?"

"Sounds good." He paused and looked at her. "What happened after you put me under? Was it Shocker?"

Andy sighed, "Yeah... It was. I took him out though."

"It almost worked, didn't it? Whatever was planned, I mean?"

"Let's just say it's good Daiki got me when he did," Andy nodded. "Now come on, we might have the ingredients for s'mores around here," she smirked.

Kiba's eyes lit up. "Really sounds good after the hospital food."

Andy headed out to the kitchen to see if anyone was there. She found Azra and Kotaro cooking while Stinger was holding a bottle for Scorpio. "Looks like they're ahead of things already."

Kiba followed her in and sat down next to Stinger. He looked down at Scorpio with a grin. "He's cute, though not as cute as Munchkin."

Azra rolled her eyes, "He's probably cuter. And are you going to have a nickname for him too?"

"I'll have to think of one. And nobody's cuter than Munchkin." He got up and kissed Azra on the cheek. "Except maybe Hammy."

Kotaro smiled, "You are really cute." He then turned red realizing he said that in front of everyone.

Andy chuckled at them before looking for s'more ingredients.

Stinger finished feeding Scorpio and sat him up. As he burped him, he watched Andy. "What did this trouble magnet need this time?" He raised an eyebrow as Kiba looked away.

"Just needed some help the hospital doctors couldn't give him," she smiled softly.

Kiba muttered something and left the kitchen angrily.

Stinger frowned. "Something wrong? He's not acting normal."

Andy sat down, "He had amnesia and forgot about two months. One of the doctors was Shocker... And they put him in the psych ward for being violent against the doctors. I know he's upset about the Shocker part, but I didn't know if he'd want me just saying all of this to you guys. I don't know what exactly set him off though..."

Stinger stood, handing the baby to Azra. "Maybe we should find out?"

Andy nodded, "Let's go then." She headed out into the hallway. "Where do you think he'd go? Training room if he's angry?"

Stinger nodded. "His therapy is to hit something repeatedly."

Kiba punched the bag viciously. He wasn't even sure who he was angrier at right now. Andy, for being so nice or himself. He was supposed to be strong, yet every time he turned around, he needed help. And she never got angry, unless he tried to die. Otherwise, she just gave him that soft smile and the 'I want to help' speech.

He swore and hit the bag again. He felt like a joke. How could he call himself a rider if he constantly needed saving? Maybe he should give his driver to someone who was better suited for it….

Andy stood outside the door for a few moments watching through the window. "Is he mad at me? I don't want to make things worse if he is. Though I'm still not sure what I said to make him leave..."

Stinger studied Kiba's posture. "I think he's mad at himself, honestly." He watched as Kiba did a flying kick, then land and put his head on his knees. "He probably wasn't prepared for whatever happened in that place."

"Let's go see if we can help..." Andy opened the door gently. "Kiba? Are you okay?"

"I can't escape... no matter where I go. And I can't face it alone. I'm always needing help. Yet no one ever yells at me. I know I have to be driving you guys crazy, but unless I do something to myself… no one ever acts like I have caused any problems..." He didn't raise his head, in fact it seemed like he huddled tighter in on himself. "I don't deserve your help constantly. I don't deserve my driver. I can't even protect myself, how can I protect anyone else?"

"You know, part of being a team or being a family, is helping each other when you need it. It doesn't mean you're weaker or deserve less because you need help. You don't drive us crazy, we just worry about you. We care about you and love you, because you are family to us. I'd much rather be helping you than going back to how it felt when you were gone," Andy spoke softly before glancing at Stinger.

Stinger knelt and placed his hand on Kiba's shoulder. "It was a giant, gaping hole. I kept waiting for it to get easier but it never did. You complete us in a way I never knew existed. When Champ brought you in after Andy rescued you, I felt that hole disappear. You're one of us and if you haven't figured it out, we fight like hell for our team. So what if Shocker follows? We'll just keep kicking their ass until they figure out they can't have you."

Kiba knocked his hand away. "You say that like it's so fucking simple! They followed me here and you guys have almost died how many times? Then they followed me to Ex Aid's world. Wouldn't be surprised if they didn't orchestrate my accident. If it weren't for Andy, who knows what would have happened. I don't want to be the reason you guys die…" He got up and rapidly punched the bag, only stopping after they heard an audible snap and he cradled one hand.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you, I'd rather die trying to help you than to not have you in my life. And if you don't want us in your life, I'm pretty sure Stinger will be just like me, and watch you from afar, keeping Shocker off your ass anyway," Andy approached slowly and held her hand out to him, "Can I help you and check out your hand?"

He sighed and extended his hand with a wince. "I feel so damn useless. Like I can't even go off anymore without needing to be rescued. Hell, I was with a whole other team and still ended up in a situation I couldn't get out of." He shot a glance at her. "And you won't give me a straight answer. Why was there Shocker at the hospital?"

"I wasn't trying to avoid giving you an answer. I just figured the situation is done with, it didn't matter anymore," Andy sighed as she held his hand between hers, healing it up. "They wanted to give you psychosurgery."

Kiba paled as he realized what she meant. "They knew, didn't they? They were going to use it in me…" He wrapped his other hand around the bag's chain as his knees threatened to buckle.

Andy nodded, "The Shocker guy was the head of the psych department, so he could pretty much get away with anything and no one would question it. I know if Emu or Hiiro had found out they'd have stopped him, but..." She squeezed his now healed hand gently, "We'll destroy the chip, and hope they don't make any more. And if they do, we'll stop them from using them. I know you wish you didn't need help so much but we love helping you. And more than half the time, we rescue you on missions we'd already be on, so you aren't putting us in extra danger. But whether you want us to or not, we're going to keep helping you, so you might as well just accept that."

He took a deep breath. "What if they decide to target you instead? They already controlled Stinger once."

"I'll do everything I can to prevent that from happening. But if they want to control me, then take me out." She said plainly. "And don't you dare say you can't or won't because I've had to kill you a few times now, so you owe me."

"I will, I promise. Won't guarantee I won't follow you, but I won't let them have you."

Stinger sighed. "Let's table this until we actually have to think about it. Let's just enjoy being together again with all our mental faculties intact okay?"

Kiba snickered. "Who said you had all your faculties, old man?"

Stinger growled playfully. "You want some of this?"

Kiba's grin widened. "Bring it on."

They began circling each other, heading toward one of the mats.

"You two have fun," Andy chuckled with a smirk, "I'm going to go eat while the food is actually still warm."

"That's why there's microwaves, ninja girl." Kiba knocked Stinger down with his own tail and then wrapped it around Stinger's neck.

Stinger grabbed Kiba's hand and yanked, causing him to lose his balance and go rolling. They focused on each other intently.

Andy laughed before heading out of the room. After eating she was sitting at the table talking to Kotaro and Azra while holding Scorpio. She smiled up at the two when they finally appeared.

They were laughing, arms around each other. Kiba looked up and winked at her. He let go of Stinger and headed for the microwave as Stinger sat down and gave her a kiss.

"Have fun?"

"He's gotten sneakier. Using my own tail against me..."

Kiba laughed. "Apparently Lucky came up with that one. Figured it could come in handy. Hammy taught it to me."

Andy smiled before chuckling, "So now we just have to figure a counter for it." She then grinned down at the baby in her arms who made a small cooing noise.

Kiba grinned. "Think he's already formulating one." He brought Stinger's plate over before returning to the oven for his own.

Andy kept looking down at the baby with a big smile, "I wonder if this little cutie is going to want to learn how to fight?" She then looked sad a moment, "I hope when he's grown he'll live in a universe without Jark Matter and without fighting..."

Kiba walked by, pausing to kiss her head. "Isn't that all our prayers?" He made a face at Scorpio.

"We need to take out Jark Matter, once and for all."

"How? We haven't been able to find Akashi or his base." Stinger began to eat with a sigh.

"We'll find him somehow..." Andy tried to smile again to the baby.


	35. Andy's Lost Memories

Andy woke, feeling odd. She opened her eyes and panicked when she didn't recognize where she was. There was a man in the next bed over who was bandaged up. His eyes were closed, so she wasn't sure if he was awake but she asked, "Where am I?"

"Andy? You're awake, thank the gods." His brown eyes were slightly hazy, but he climbed off the bed and approached her. "Stinger is going to be relieved."

She stared at him a moment in confusion and slight fear before answering, "Who are you and how do you know my name?"

"Andy, it's me. Kiba, your best friend and major pain in your ass. You don't know me?"

She shook her head, "I don't know you... Where am I?"

Kiba closed his eyes and swore, then touched his comm. "Stinger, she's awake. But there's a problem..." He closed the channel, wearily leaning on her bed.

"Stinger?" Andy looked at him in confusion. "Are you guys friends with my sister?"

Kiba was about to answer when his eyes rolled back and he slipped to the floor.

Andy rushed off the bed, feeling a little dizzy, and tried to start healing him. She didn't know where she was, but she knew she wanted to help if she could. She wasn't tied up so she must not be in too much danger, right?

She felt herself growing dizzier as she pushed her energy into him, vision blurring as she heard someone enter the room. She tried to turn to look at the source of the sound but she soon fell forward unconscious.

When she woke again she saw someone sitting on the end of her bed. She pushed herself away from him quickly before sitting up. "Who are you?"

"Stinger. You don't remember? We're teammates." He paused, looking over at the other bed. "You remember how to heal..."

"...Teammates?" She took a heavy breath. "I remember learning how to heal about a year ago...?"

Stinger looked at her in shock. "How old do you think you are?"

"Seventeen... Why am I here?" She sighed, "I was fighting some rival ninja with my brother... then I woke here..."

Stinger reached for his comm. "Champ, call Hammy. Tell her she needs to come _now._"

Champ moo-ed his acknowledgement.

Stinger turned back to Andy. "You were injured. There are... complications. Just stay here."

He left the infirmary as Kiba woke.

"Hi. Do you know me?" His eyes were hopeful.

She shook her head and looked close to tears, "Why won't anyone tell me where I am?"

He sighed. "You're on the Orion. The Kyuranger spaceship. There was a battle."

"I was battling ninja with my brother," Andy nodded. "Where is he and how did I get here?"

His lips tightened. "Long story. Have you met Stinger yet?"

"Is he the guy with the tail...?"

Kiba grinned. "Yeah, that's him. Did he tell you anything?"

"I got hurt and there's some kind of complications... Hammy is coming?" She thought before breathing heavily as she remembered she hadn't seen Hammy since before their parents died, "How am I going to tell her?! I can't face her..."

Kiba touched her arm. "Breathe, Daka. She already knows, okay. Just calm down. You're going to need to be calm for the explanations."

Andy's eyes widened, and she raised a shaky hand over herself. "Physically I seem mid-thirties to forty... oh." She scanned her head. "I see..."

"That's one hurdle jumped." Kiba gave a small smile. He looked at her. "Hopefully, there's less trouble with yours than there was with my memories."

She kept scanning herself, "There's so many scars..."

Kiba winced. "One race you lost to me a long time ago."

She finally dropped her hand, "Stinger? Said we were teammates. Are you my teammate too?"

"You call me that, but I'm not a kyuranger. We do fight together, and _with_ each other quite frequently."

"Wait, am I a kyuranger?" Andy looked at him surprised. "I know Hammy is, but..."

"You've been one for years, ninja girl." Kiba laughed.

"Oh... okay." Andy nodded. "This is weird."

"Nah. This is semi normal. I'm the weird one." He chuckled. "You have no idea how normal you are compared to me."

Andy raised an eyebrow but didn't speak further. After a couple minutes though, she asked, "I don't want to remember what happened to Avery, do I?"

Kiba winced, then shook his head. "There's a few things I know you don't want to remember."

Andy nodded, "But I need to remember the bad to remember the good, don't I? There is good, right?"

He gave her a crooked smile. "Yeah... don't know if there's any with me though." He turned away, watching the stars go past.

Andy stared at him for a minute, "You do seem familiar... I'm sure there's something good."

His voice was rough. "Doubt it. Whenever we're together, we're either being shot at, or captured... Or you're so angry with me you can't see straight. It's probably better if you don't remember me. Too bad I can't make everyone else forget too." He turned and headed for the door.

"Hey... if it helps, I get madder at the people I care about than the ones I don't... So I probably just care about you a lot. That's probably also why you seem familiar," she sighed. "Sorry..."

He paused. "That's the thing. I don't know why you care. I'm not a kyuranger… I've caused more trouble than anything for you. Yet…"

The door opened and Stinger walked in. "Kiba? What's wrong?"

Kiba shook his head and moved around him, disappearing without a word.

"He's my friend, isn't he?" Andy wondered.

Stinger sighed. "Yeah. Your best friend actually. But it's complicated." He approached her slowly. "Hammy is on her way. When she gets here, we can figure out how to fix this, okay?"

Andy nodded, "I scanned myself over... I know I'm missing about twenty years of memories..." She sighed.

Stinger gave her a supportive smile. "We'll fix this. And then we'll both kick Kiba's butt, cause I assume he said some upsetting things didn't he?"

She nodded again, "He seems to have a lot of issues..."

Stinger laughed. "Him in a nutshell. Honestly, I thought we'd gotten past some of them, but the last couple of months have been hard on him."

Andy stared at Stinger for a moment, "You and I are friends too, aren't we?"

"We're a bit more than that, beautiful. But _that_ might be going a bit fast for you to process."

"Oh," Andy nodded a few times. After a moment she smiled, "Is there somewhere around to get some food?"

"I'll take you to the kitchen. I've warned everyone not to swarm you."

"Thank you," Andy climbed off the bed.

"Follow me." Stinger left the infirmary, heading for the kitchen.

When they entered, all conversation ceased. Everyone looked at them.

Andy looked nervous and wanted to go invisible with all the eyes on her.

"What did I tell you guys?" Stinger scowled.

The eyes quickly looked away, voices quietly muttering. A pretty young woman with a baby in her arms approached Stinger. "He's getting hungry again."

"Is he yours?" Andy smiled at the baby, "He's cute."

Azra gave a laugh. "He's my brother."

"Oh," Andy gave a nervous chuckle. "Sorry."

"Dad, do you want me to feed him?"

Stinger nodded, whispering to the woman. She looked at Andy, then quickly hurried out of the kitchen with the baby.

Andy frowned before looking at the other people at the table. She sighed, wondering if she would throw up from nervousness if she did eat.

A blond wearing an apron gently laid a plate in front of her. "I know it's frightening. Just relax and eat. You'll feel more comfortable on a full stomach."

She nodded, "Thank you."

She looked at Stinger, "These are all my teammates? And Hammy's too?"

"Most of them. There's a few who aren't here." He gave a nod to Spada as he was handed a plate of food. "They were here helping us out in the last battle."

"The one I got hurt in?"

"Yeah. Kiba rescued you."

Andy nodded and quietly ate. When she was done she rubbed her head, "How do I get back to that other room?" She winced, "My head hurts..."

Stinger gently picked her up. "Close your eyes, beautiful." He carried her out of the kitchen and headed down the hall.

By the time they got there she was asleep. She woke when she heard a familiar voice. She shifted a bit and opened her eyes, "Hammy?"

"Daka. How are you feeling?" Hammy asked gently.

"Lost. Confused. Tired," Andy admitted.

Hammy gave her a hug. "I know this is hard. But we're going to get your memories back. Stinger says the last thing you remember is fighting with Ave?"

Andy hugged her harder, "I missed you so much." When she finally pulled away, she had a few tears running down her face. "Yeah, I was fighting some rivals with Ave, then I woke up here... And I know I'm older, and you look older too, but I just don't remember it."

Hammy sighed. "Where do you want to start?"

"Is it better to work back from now or forward from what I do remember...?" Andy looked worried, reminding Hammy of when they were children and Andy looked up to her when she was scared.

"Completely up to you."

Andy sighed, "Well, you left. Then our parents... Then Ave and I were trying to keep each other sane. That's really about it lately... What happened afterward?"

"I came back and you decided to join the kyurangers. That's pretty much been your life since. You got married." She looked over at Stinger who shook his head. "You ended one of Jark Matter's new leaders. You adopted a few kids, a giant cat and a stray rider."

"I adopted? And got married?" She looked thoughtful a moment before whispering in Hammy's ear, "Is he my husband?"

Hammy giggled, whispering back "Yes. You've been married for years. He's not as scary as he looks."

Andy giggled a second, "He's actually pretty cute."

Hammy rolled her eyes as Stinger fought a grin. "What else do you want to know?"

"Wait, does that make those two I saw earlier my kids?" She glanced at Stinger.

He nodded with a smile.

Her eyes twinkled with excitement before looking back at Hammy, "And am I still a medic?"

Hammy chuckled. "Best medic in three universes. Don't believe me, ask Stinger and Kiba."

"Different universes are real?" She asked in amazement. "There's so much I don't remember..." She thought for a minute, "Maybe I will remember more if I read patient files, including my own... It might jog stuff loose?"

Stinger sighed. "You might just want to read yours and mine. Skip Kiba's."

Andy frowned, "What's his problem anyway? The more I hear about him, the more I want to slap him..." She chuckled softly, "Sorry."

Hammy tried not to smile. "Don't be. I'm dating him and still want to slap him occasionally."

Stinger laughed. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." He handed Andy a tablet with Kiba's history.

"Come to think of it, haven't seen him since he left after you woke the second time. Hope he didn't take off. He's not well enough to be off ship."

Andy looked at Hammy, "You might want to go talk to him. He seemed...upset?" Andy glanced at how many tabs were in his file, "He gets hurt a lot, doesn't he?" She sighed, "I think I'll read mine first. That would make more sense, right?"

Hammy took a deep breath. "Most of the time, he doesn't intend to get hurt. He's a fugitive from his universe with some very bad people after him. I can't really help him right now."

Stinger touched his com. "Raptor, give me a location on Kiba please?"

On the bridge, Raptor scanned for the ship. "He's in his room."

Stinger breathed a sigh of relief. "Hopefully he's sleeping and doesn't need Andy tonight."

Andy raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet and typed her name into the tablet and started reading.

Hammy remained beside her, but kept a running diagnostic on Kiba going.

Stinger watched the stars quietly, hoping for a miracle.

After a while Andy sighed, "I feel like some of this seems familiar but other things don't..."

Hammy put an arm around her. "It might take some time. Don't rush it." She frowned as the diagnostic blipped. "Raptor, meet me at Kiba's quarters please."

She gave Andy a hurried kiss, then ran from the infirmary.

"I'm the medic here, aren't I? So Kiba needs me, but I'm here being useless..." Andy sighed as she set the tablet down.

"You can't deal with Kiba right now. With any luck, it's just a medical issue Raptor can take care of easy. If not..." Stinger's tail began to swish slowly.

"But I'm supposed to be able to help! What if I don't get my memories back? What if I can't help people anymore because I don't even know them? What if I can't be the person you know?" Tears started streaming down her face as her worry spiked.

"Beautiful, calm down. You haven't forgotten everything, so you can still be a medic. Memories can always be remade. We love you no matter what. Kiba is a very special case. The things you taught yourself can be retaught."

Andy took a deep breath trying to stop her sobbing. "I hate this."

Stinger took her hand, kissing it gently. "I know. But we'll work it out." His comm beeped.

"Stinger! We need your help!"

Kiba could be heard screaming in the background of Hammy's call. Stinger swore, giving Andy a final kiss on the cheek as he raced from the room after grabbing a vial and syringe from the cabinet.

Andy tried to keep calm as she went back to reading. After a while she found notes she made about different things, almost a mini diary. She started reading, trying to figure out how to do the things she apparently could do. After a while she read through Stinger's file and then started on Kiba's. She now understood why Stinger said he was a special case. But according to the file, Andy was one of the only people who could really help him. But she had no idea how. Finally, she stood and started wandering in the infirmary, trying to remember things by sight. She was still walking around when Stinger came back.

"How are you doing, beautiful?" His eyes were tired as he replaced the vial.

She shrugged, "How is Kiba?"

"Raptor is bringing him back here. I had to sting him because the sedative wasn't working. He broke some of his stitches too. Looks like he's spending the night in restraints again."

Andy sighed, "Nightmares?"

Stinger nodded as Champ entered carrying Kiba. Stinger quickly got him restrained as Raptor entered, setting up an IV. "Hopefully, he stays unconscious so you aren't disturbed." The android looked at Andy. "Good night, Andy."

Andy looked over at Kiba and frowned. She then looked back at Stinger, "Tomorrow can I try going through my stuff?"

Stinger nodded. "Good night beautiful." He left the infirmary with a last glance at Kiba.

Andy laid down and tried to sleep, but couldn't. She went back to reading through things on the tablet. Kiba stayed unconscious throughout the night, and Andy kept glancing over at him trying to remember things. She got up and tried healing him a bit more. She read in her file about being able to gather energy from outside sources, so after a bit she sat on the bed and tried to focus. She sighed when nothing happened, wondering if she'd ever be able to figure it out if she didn't get her memories back.

In the morning, she was still sitting, eyes closed, when she heard footsteps enter. She opened an eye and spotted Hammy. "Morning."

"Morning, Daka. How was he?" Hammy went over and brushed his bangs back, giving him a light kiss on the cheek.

"He's been out all night. I worked on healing him a little bit, but he's still not fully better," Andy admitted.

"It's alright. I was more worried about him waking and scaring you." Hammy walked over and gave Andy a hug.

"Hammy? What happened?" Kiba sighed as he realized he was back in the infirmary and restrained.

"You broke your stitches during a nightmare. Champ brought you here for safety."

"Why do I feel like Stinger stung me?" He opened his eyes and looked at them.

"Because he had to. The sedative wasn't working and you couldn't be woken. So he stung you, then the sedative kicked in. Raptor put the antidote in your IV along with more sedative to keep you sleeping."

He groaned. "Can one of you take these off?"

Hammy shook her head. "Not without permission. You know the rules."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Come on, Hammy. I'm awake now. No danger. I just can't be in here right now."

"No. You are staying put until I get permission from Raptor or Stinger."

"If you don't want to be here because of me, I can leave," Andy pushed herself off the bed.

"It's not you. Not completely. I have a bigger target on my back and I don't want anyone else hurt because of me."

Andy rolled her eyes, "That's a dumb reason. If we're friends we should help you if someone is after you." She sighed, "I don't know how I normally treat you, so I'm sorry if this is harsh, but quit being a dumbass. You're acting like everything that ever goes wrong is your fault, and I know that can't be true. So quit being a dumbass and get over it." She headed out of the infirmary, not paying attention to where she was walking.

Kiba was shocked for a moment, then started laughing. "Oh boy did that sound like her normal self."

Hammy joined in the laughter. "It did, didn't it?"

Andy wandered around, glancing into any open doorways. After a while she realized she didn't even know how to get back where she came from so she just kept walking and hoped she'd run into someone.

Stinger walked down the hall, deep in thought. He suddenly bumped into someone walking the other direction. "Sorry." He looked up and his eyes widened. "Andy?"

"Sorry." She sighed in frustration, "I have no idea where I am... I left the infirmary because Kiba was being a dumbass and then I got lost..."

Stinger chuckled. "The semi normal state of affairs for you two. I'll take you to our room so you can look through your things."

He led her to a door bearing a handmade sign. _Andy and Stinger's room_ it read. He gave her a smile. "Maybe being in here will help."

Andy nodded, "Thank you. I'm sure this is probably hard on you too, so hopefully something comes back soon."

He nodded. "I am heading to the infirmary, then the bridge. If you need me, just use the comm."

She gave a soft smile before heading into the room. She looked at the walls, noticing a few hanging pictures. There wasn't a lot out on the small table or desk, so she started going through the drawers and closet.

She found a journal and started reading through it, smiling as she learned some stories about her and Stinger. She looked at her clothes, not finding anything that jolted a memory. Finally spotting a box at the top of the closet, she pulled it down and started looking through it.

The first thing Andy saw was a baby blanket. She remembered reading the night before that she lost a baby named Avery so that made sense why the blanket had his name on it. She paused though when finding another blanket. There was no name on it, and she had nothing in her record about another baby. She stared at it for what felt like an hour before something clicked. Seeing a baby in a crib, and a ninja standing above him. She remembered the horror of the scene and suddenly felt a rush of energy. She glanced in the mirror and started panicking when she realized her eyes were glowing. She was about to call Stinger to help with her confusion when the pain in her head spiked. She wrapped her hands around her head and fell forward, curling in on herself on the floor.

Kiba knocked on the door again. Getting no answer, he opened the door. "Andy? Can I come in?"

He rushed to her side when he found her on the floor. "Andy!"

She heard a voice but couldn't focus enough through the pain and the few memories that did come rushing at her. She tried to respond but only a whimper came out.

Kiba hit his comm. "Stinger, I need you in your quarters!"

Stinger acknowledged as he ran off the bridge.

Kiba cradled Andy in his arms. "Andy? Please say something."

"Head... hurts," Andy managed to get out. She saw visions of different things, some of Kiba, some of Stinger, some with the baby. She saw another baby and realized it was Azra. Not everything was back but she did remember some. She didn't know if the headache was from the memories, the head injury, or something else. All she did know was she could barely think.

Stinger rushed in, kneeling beside them. "What happened?"

Kiba shook his head. "I came in and found her like this. She says her head hurts."

Andy tried to look up at the voices, and Stinger noticed the glowing in her eyes. She blinked them closed again at the brightness of the overhead lights. She tried to take a deep breath, and to remember further, but the next thing she knew was the world going black.

Stinger picked her up and ran out, heading for the infirmary. Kiba followed, using his comm to call for Raptor to meet them.

Raptor entered the infirmary and went to Andy's side to scan her over, "What happened? Her brain patterns are all over the place."

Stinger shook his head. "I left her to go through her things. Then Kiba called. She said her head hurt and her eyes were glowing. Then she passed out."

"Hmm," Raptor kept scanning. "Some parts of her brain are looking better than they had been, which means she could be getting some memories back. She may have remembered something that shocked her into her energy state. Other parts are more swollen than they had been, and I'm wondering if her brain can't handle the increase of energy rushing through it like it normally can."

Both men looked at Andy. "Will she be alright?" They asked in unison.

Raptor grabbed some medicine, "I'm going to keep her sedated a while longer to see if the swelling goes down. She should be fine as long as it does. Though I still don't know what her memory will be like when she does wake."

Stinger nodded. "I'll be on the bridge." He gave Andy a soft kiss, then left.

Kiba left as well, going back to the room. He wondered what set off Andy's energy. As he walked in, he saw the baby blankets. "_Shit_..." He touched his comm. "I know what messed her up."

Stinger sighed as he heard Kiba's statement. "What?"

Kiba picked up the unmarked blanket. "Benny."

Stinger let out a string of curses.

Kiba raised an eyebrow at the comm. "You kiss Andy with that mouth?" He cracked lightly.

Stinger reluctantly chuckled. "Shut up. That's when she went terminator on the ninja and the mooks."

Kiba gently placed the blanket on the bed. "Yeah, right before she was captured and found out I was alive. I'm going back to the infirmary."

As Andy started waking, she tried to push the string of memories away, too many things coming at her at once. She finally opened her eyes and tried to focus on the current moment. She was in the infirmary on the Orion. She knew who she was and remembered most of her family. She remembered she was dealing with memory problems, and felt like it wasn't the first time she'd had a problem like that.

After a minute, her eyes landed on Kiba. She blinked a moment, trying to wake up enough to speak, "Hey."

Kiba stared at her. "Andy? You remember me?"

Andy sighed, "Some. There's still some blanks. But between what I do actually remember and reading through files, I have a decent grasp on things."

He gave her a relieved smile, then winced and sat down beside her.

"What's wrong?"

"Overdid it a bit. I'll be fine in a minute. Just shouldn't run with stitches. Do you remember the battle?"

She shook her head, "No... Sorry." She raised her hands to him and they started glowing as she tried to heal him up a bit more.

He closed his eyes wearily. "You had me scared, ninja girl. I went to apologize and you were half passed out on the floor."

"My head felt like it was exploding." She paused a second, "Oh. No, I remember what actually exploding feels like from my clones. So not exactly that... but you get my point."

He chuckled darkly. "Yeah, I get it. You think you can resist the urge to give me a heart attack? At least until I'm healed and not in a lousy state of mind?"

She shrugged, "I'll try." After she dropped her hands from next to him, she frowned, "I'm sorry. I'm trying really hard to remember everything..." She sighed, "I know this is probably hard on everyone. I have two kids and I don't even remember much of one of them. You guys need me at my best and I'm barely even half myself right now. You need me to help you because you're hurt, or like when you had a nightmare. You need your best friend. Stinger needs his wife. The kids need their mom. And here I am still being pretty useless."

Kiba grabbed her shoulders. "You've never been useless. So stop that right now. As long as you're alive, you're never useless. I'm just sorry you got hurt because of me."

"I'm sure it's not your fault. Don't even try to tell me it is because I won't believe it," she gave a soft smile. "Forgetting twenty years really makes me feel useless though, even if I'm not. And now I have spots of memory but I don't even have the whole story. I feel incomplete right now."

"I know the feeling, even though I only lost two months. And Shocker attacked you. That's why you were hurt. They targeted you because you can save me. And they want me even more now. So it is my fault." He got up from the chair and stared out the window.

"Sounds like they targeted me cause I'm good at my job," Andy chuckled. "Literally, anything Shocker does, is them being assholes and everything is their fault. Not yours." She sighed, "but from my memories, it seems no matter how many times I tell you that, you don't listen."

He gave a rueful chuckle. "Because you're wrong. Shocker wouldn't know about you if Kojan hadn't told them. Kojan only knew because I stole the control chip originally to keep you guys safe. So everything Shocker has done, including this and the attack that..." He paused momentarily, losing his voice.

When he spoke again, it was almost too low to hear. "I'm to blame. I'm always to blame. Tsukasa almost got killed when Shocker attacked the studio. Daiki did die in one of the factory raids. Your son died because of Shocker being here. None of that would have happened if I hadn't come here." His voice was full of self-loathing and grief.

"I wonder if I could hypnotize you into believing different. But even _if_ it's your fault, and I don't believe it is, I'd rather deal with Shocker and all of that crap than not have you here. I know I don't remember all of the conversations we've had like this, but just from the ones I do, I know I'm sick of saying this and wish you'd get it through your thick skull. We care about _you_," Andy emphasized. "You make our lives better whether you believe it or not. And if you _dare _do anything stupid like run off or worse, I will follow you and kick your ass."

He chuckled again. "I should have before you remembered me. Missed opportunity, I guess. I should be hypnotizing you to agree with me." He gave a deep sigh. "I had just formulated a plan to hopefully destroy the Shocker goons after me too. It would have removed you from any more problems. But that won't happen unless I can keep you guys from going too."

"We'll come up with a plan together. Even if I don't remember everything, I know how to fight," Andy grinned. "Seriously considering hypnotizing you..." She stuck her tongue out.

He turned from the window with a small sad smile. "That's just it. We have tried several ways to get them to leave both of us alone. You killed an _entire base_ as a warning to leave me alone, _including_ a General. They won't stop. Not unless drastic measures are taken." He moved to one of the counters, then approached Andy. "I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no options."

He aimed the filled needle at Andy's arm. "I'm sorry, ninja girl."

Andy moved quickly away from him. She took a deep breath and focused on making an invisible clone. "I don't know what you're planning, but I'm not letting you knock me out. At least not without a fight." She kept her eyes on him, almost challenging him to come toward her. Seconds later, her clone stuck Kiba with a large dose of sedative and watched him start to fall forward. She rushed to catch him before calling Stinger to come to the infirmary.

"You… can't make anything easy...can you?" Kiba's words were slurred. His eyes finally closed as Stinger entered.

"What the _hell _did he do now?" Stinger helped her lift him onto the bed with the restraints.

She stepped back, taking a few deep breaths, trying not to panic. "He was going to knock me out and do some stupid plan!" She looked at Stinger, "Honestly, do you think I could hypnotize him into _not_ doing stupid shit? Because damn is he stupid." She frowned, "I've been cursing a lot more, haven't I? Maybe I forgot how to be patient..."

Stinger laughed as he buckled the restraints. "A. I think doing stupid shit is hardwired into his DNA. B. You are cursing less than you usually do when dealing with him. C. He tried to knock you out? That's new." He finished tying Kiba down. "What kind of plan? What did he say?"

Andy reached down and picked up the syringe Kiba dropped. "Something about drastic measures and me not leaving him any options. He mentioned that he should have left before I remembered him."

Stinger swore and face palmed. "We had been talking about blowing up the Shocker base you two were trying to recon. The ones who attacked you." He looked at the unconscious rider. "Drastic measures sounds ominous." He cocked his head and approached the head of the bed. "Why is his jacket zipped? He never wears it zipped."

Andy shrugged, "I don't remember everything yet. I didn't even realize it was abnormal..." She sighed, "Drastic measures sounds like suicide, but I do remember trying to hypnotize him not to kill himself. Maybe his stupidity is stronger."

Stinger sighed and unzipped the jacket, then froze. "Fucking hell... You didn't do a good enough job, beautiful."

Andy frowned. "Is he _ever _going to get over this shit?! I don't know what to do, it's like talking to a brick wall, repeating over and over! I just lost my memories. I need my best friend. But what does he do? He tries to knock me out and kill himself. How the _hell_ does that actually help me? Hell, at this point even if Kiba was killed, I'm sure Shocker would want me to heal _someone?!_ Who knows who, but there has to be someone! So unless he plans to kill me too, I don't think getting rid of Shocker for us will be that easy. Just like Jark Matter! We've taken out how many people and they keep coming?!" She had tears streaming down her face and by the time she went quiet she wasn't even sure if she was mad or sad.

Stinger moved over to her, giving her a tight hug. "That's why he said he should have done it before you remembered. He doesn't _want_ to hurt you. He must have figured if you didn't remember, losing him wouldn't be a big deal. I don't always know what he's thinking, but he's told us repeatedly that he couldn't bear to lose us. One of the things he was shouting in his nightmare last night was that he had lost his best friend. The incident today must have felt like he was losing you twice."

"What about you, and Azra, and Hammy? You guys would be hurt too. Does he not care enough? For someone who talks about caring about us to the point of killing himself for us, you think he'd realize he's hurting us more doing this shit! We lost him once, didn't we? Why does he seem so insistent to leave again?" Andy sobbed. "I just want us to all be a happy family together. Why can't he be happy too?"

Stinger's face fell as he spoke. "Yeah, we lost him once to Shocker for a year. We thought he was dead. We've lost him a couple other times too. He's said from the beginning that he didn't deserve us and that we would be happier if we'd never met him. I thought he had finally dealt with his past after he saved OOO. Starting to wonder if he'll ever see himself as anything but a murderer."

"According to my journal, you said stuff about not deserving me or your friends, but somehow I helped and you are still here... Why can't I help him?"

"Did your journal tell the story of what happened and how I laid those demons to rest?"

"You went home and tried to kill yourself... That's about all I had. Other than we got attacked by a giant scorpion..." Andy chuckled softly.

"We are _not _discussing that." Stinger gave a small laugh. "Do you want to know?"

Andy nodded in response.

Stinger took a deep breath. "We had just been rescued from Jark Matter. A stupid plan of mine had almost resulted in both of us being killed. I woke to hear you talking to Champ, and I won't go into details, but I was pretty sure you were done with me. So I resigned. Told you that you were in charge, that I hoped you found happiness and to forget about me. Then I took my voyager home, even though I was severely injured. You followed me, witnessed me have a major breakdown and told me if I killed myself, you'd follow."

"You are my happiness, and I didn't want to lose that," Andy wiped a tear from her eye.

Stinger hugged her tighter. "I know. But that freaked the hell out of me."

"Sorry..." Andy sniffled. "I completely meant it though. From what I remember, at the time you were really my only source of happiness... Now, I mean, we have Azra. And a baby? So even though you're my major source of happiness, I'm glad to have others now."

Stinger kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, so am I. What are we going to do with him?"

"Hmm..." Andy thought for a minute before shrugging, "He loves Hammy, but she's smart enough not to vow to follow him to the death... And she doesn't know half of his issues, does she? That's why I'm always helping, isn't it?" She shook her head, "I know I'll keep fighting for him and to save him, but I'm so tired. Not even from Shocker, or Jark Matter, just from saving him from himself. At what point will he finally get his shit together?"

"No, she doesn't. She can't use your dream jutsu. And I wish I knew. Ever considered just letting go? Seeing if he has an epiphany and realizes he deserves us?" Stinger let her go and carefully removed the charges Kiba had fashioned into a belt. "Ingenious little asshole, isn't he?"

The scorpion left the infirmary shaking his head.

Andy left a clone in the infirmary to watch Kiba but followed Stinger, "How far are we from that Shocker base?"

He stopped, turning to face her. "Two miles. Why?"

"I mean... his idea isn't terrible if a clone goes to do it, right? And I do like revenge..." She smirked.

"Fine. I mean, it does feel good to ruin the bad guy's day. This won't stop them though. Like you said, we have a target on our backs but for a different reason than he does."

Andy made another clone who held her hand out, "I'll take those then."

Andy smiled when he handed the charges to the clone. The clone soon disappeared down the hall. Andy then gave a soft smile, "Clone taking out Shocker, clone watching Kiba, real me wants food. Hungry?"

He smiled and reached for her hand.

Kiba opened his eyes groggily. As the haze cleared slowly, he realized he was still in the infirmary. Then he realized he was restrained. He gave a small chuckle as he wriggled a pick into his hand from his jacket sleeve and began to work on the locks. As the hand holding the pick was released, he slowly sat up and began to work on the other hand.

"I already took out the base," Andy's clone informed, watching him struggle with the locks.

"Don't do that sneaky shit okay? And what do you mean?" He jumped, then paused in puzzlement.

"I mean, I took out the Shocker base. And don't tell me not to do sneaky shit. I'm a ninja and you deserved it."

He grimaced. "You're pissed about me trying to drug you...sorry. Probably shouldn't have tried that."

"I can't say much because I drug you all the time, but it _is _my job to drug people."

He chuckled as the last of the restraints fell off. "True. Well, I guess Shocker will be unhappy for a while. Gives me a chance to disappear. I think maybe you guys should go to ground too. Maybe Shocker will let up and you guys will be less of a target."

"I'm pretty sure we have to go fight Jark Matter, but it's up to Stinger and our bosses, right?" She sighed.

"I guess." He stood and stopped in front of her. "I am sorry. I should have just left." He ran his hand through his hair. "And... thanks for everything. I do love you guys. Hopefully, you can eradicate Jark Matter for good."

He sighed. "Tell Hammy…" He looked at the floor, trailing off.

"I will. Just remember she loves you and we love you. And you always have a home here if you need anything or just want to visit," she gave a soft smile. "Thank you for everything too."

He gave her a sad smile. "I'm not coming back, Andy. There is a hidden base here. You took out the one they created for show. I'm going to take the hidden one out. They are trying to create more clones. I can't let that happen. We'll go out together. So tell Hammy to be happy and live a long life." He began to walk towards the door, then looked over his shoulder. "I win. I'll be waiting but I _don't _want to see you for a long time, ninja girl."

"You do realize I wouldn't go to a base without looking for intel right? I already found out about the hidden base." She sighed, "If you want to leave, I'm not going to stop you. But the bases here are taken out and I do have a list of other bases I can go work on."

He sighed as he turned to face her. "You still won't let go of me... I guess I'm stupid cause I just can't understand why..." He sat down heavily, closing his eyes. "I can't do a portal right now, so you're stuck with me I guess."

"Kiba, why do you care about us? We never asked you to, but you do anyway. Just like you never asked us to care about you, we do anyway. It doesn't matter why, what matters is we are a family. Okay? And family means we stick together and no one gets left behind."

"You're innocents. You helped my fathers when you didn't know them. That was my original reason. Then you saved me after Jark tortured me. Then again after the first nightmare that I tried to kill myself during. And you've done nothing but save me from myself, never expecting anything in return." He opened his eyes slowly, locking gazes with her.

"You care. I have run into enough people who don't. That's why I care and why I will do **anything** to protect this ship. Protect you."

"And we will do _anything _to protect you. Look, you came up with a suicide plan, and it did work... Just not with you doing it. You just have to remember there's more people here than just you. We can come up with ideas to try to keep us all safe. You can't protect everyone, no matter how much you want to. Believe me, I do remember now learning that the hard way. And there's some things you just can't protect us from. But that's not what matters. What matters is, protecting family from what you can protect them from, and enjoying your time with them while you have them."

He hung his head as he listened to her. When she finished, he spoke softly. "I think you have finally shoved those words into my memory. I'm such an idiot." He tried to hide a cough behind a laugh.

"You can be an idiot sometimes but you're our idiot and we love you." She got up and went to him, scanning him over to see how he was healing. "You seem to be sick? Maybe you picked up a virus somewhere." She worked on healing some of his wounds, "I'm not really skilled with fighting viruses though, so you might just have to hang out here a bit longer. Want some soup to try to help it before it gets bad?"

He looked up through heavy lidded eyes. "Maybe later. Think I'm going to pass out."

She held her hand out, "Let's get you into a bed, okay?"

He nodded, taking her hand and standing unsteadily. He slowly walked over to a bed, rolling onto it as his eyes closed.

The clone of Andy covered him up to make sure he was comfortable before sitting back down.

The real Andy glanced at Stinger, "Kiba's staying a while."

"Voluntarily or did you tie him up where he can't escape?" Stinger gave her a grin.

"He's actually sick. But I think once he's over that he might voluntarily stay? I _may_ have gotten through to him for once..."

"Sick? And he still tried to pull what he did?" Stinger's eyes darkened. "You may have to heal him after I hit him for being a dumbass."

"I will as long as you give me the satisfaction of letting me watch you hit him," she smirked.

Stinger laughed, then finished his meal. He got up to put his plate in the sink. "Wait… neither you or Raptor saw he was sick?" He turned to face her, leaning against the counter. "Wouldn't that show up on scans?"

Andy frowned, "Let me do some tests..." Her clone stood to get a blood sample from the sleeping rider. "I'll let you know when I have an answer." She sighed, "While my clone works on that, any suggestions for jogging more memories?"

Stinger frowned. "Talk to the others?"

She nodded, "Okyu. At least I remember some things now so I don't feel so clueless." Her eyebrows creased in thought, "Right... we have a baby... Is Azra taking care of him?"

Stinger nodded. "She loves to anyway, so don't feel weird. I think she wants kids, but Kotaro is too afraid of me to even suggest marriage." He laughed. "_Someone _gave him the idea I might go Antares on him again. I'm suspecting Balance."

Andy laughed, "I do remember telling them they had to tell you they were dating because I wasn't going to. I just wanted to give them a small, healthy amount of fear." She chuckled, "They're cute together though."

Stinger gave her a wry smile. "Yeah they are. Now, I have reports to read unfortunately. So you can go talk to everyone. You and the thieves spend a bit of time together. But you and Champ are the secret keepers around here." He walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "Have fun."

Andy thought for a moment before heading toward the bridge. She smiled when she saw Champ, "Hey."

Champ moo-ed. "How are you feeling? Heard you were in the infirmary again."

"Yeah, had a really bad headache..." She smiled, "It's gone now though and I do remember some things, so I'm trying to piece the rest together."

"I see. So what do you want to know?" Champ looked at her.

She sat down by him, "Well, let's start easy with the things I know I'm forgetting... Can you show me how to use all this?" She motioned to the screens. After about an hour, Andy gave him another smile, "I think I got it." She then took a moment, "There's a bit I know I'm missing, but way more I have no idea about. Is there anything you think would jog my memory?"

"Do you remember how you got your kyutama?"

She sighed, "I know my journal says Stinger gave it to me on a mission, but I don't remember much else about that."

"Try this. Close your eyes and relax. I'm going to say the name of a planet. Tell me if anything comes to you." He paused as she did as he asked. "Andaria I."

Her forehead creased as she tried to think, "Something bad happened... but I don't know what."

"Do you remember morphing the first time?"

"I remember feeling powerful, but not what I was doing."

Champ switched topics. "How about the name Kojan?"

Andy shuddered, "I was kidnapped, and felt so helpless..."

"Okyu... maybe not the best idea." Champ moo-ed.

She opened her eyes, "I have to learn about the bad things too. Thank you, I now have more things to look into."

After taking a moment to focus back on her clone, she headed to Stinger's office. She gently knocked on the open door, "Do you have a second?"

"Perfect timing. Just finished. What do you need?" He gave her a soft smile.

She shook her head, "I'm still talking to people, but I thought you'd want an update on Kiba. It seems like the virus was activated when his heart rate spiked... I don't know how it could do that, but I've tested it and had Raptor double check. But taking into consideration, how many worlds there are and how many universes... It wouldn't seem too crazy? I don't know, I think he'll be okay but I'm going to keep an eye on him."

Stinger frowned. "So the virus was hiding? Is that normal?"

"Well, viruses take a few days to spread enough through the body to make a reaction, so it could have been just a small virus we didn't notice, then the heart rate spiking caused the multiplication of it..."

"Could it be an attack? Like Shocker or Jark Matter created something?" Stinger stood up.

"I doubt it, but like I said, I'm still going to keep an eye on him to monitor any changes. Raptor and I can also see about formulating a medicine to fight it."

"Okyu."

In the infirmary, Kiba stirred. He began to cough, sitting up slowly. One hand rubbed his eyes, the other covered his mouth. "What's going on?"

Andy looked up from her desk, "Just doing experiments on the virus. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck. Chest hurts, head hurts. How can breathing hurt so much?" He lay back down. "It's hot too."

She frowned and went over to him, scanning him over. "Yeah, you have a fever. I'll give you something to help, okay?"

She got a couple meds and held a cup out for him.

He shakily sat up, downing the pills and the water. "I don't think I've ever been sick. Is it always like this?"

"This might be a bit worse, but most of the time when you're sick you think you're dying because it hurts and you feel like shit," Andy admitted.

"I didn't feel sick until after I woke up in here. I don't know why." He gave the cup to her as he coughed again. "Almost feel like I did in the base when I tried to rescue you."

She frowned, "Raptor is working on a medicine while I do more tests. Don't worry, we'll have you feeling better soon."

"Hope so…" He laid down again, his eyes closing.

After a while, Raptor finished the medicine so Andy injected a syringe full into Kiba's arm.

He blinked his eyes open sleepily. "Andy? How long have I been sleeping?"

"A couple hours?" Andy answered. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I think." He paused and nodded. "Yeah, definitely better. Remind me not to do whatever I did to get sick ever again."

Andy chuckled, "I'm glad you're feeling better. You should probably rest a bit more though."

Kiba gave her a small grin. "Now we just have to get all your memories back."

"I've been working on it. Talking to everyone has been helping to at least fill me in," Andy answered.

"That's great. By the way, the mini lecture you gave in front of Hammy is your normal reaction to my idiocy." He slid off the bed and kissed her cheek. "I'm going to take a shower and nap. Don't let Balance trick you into anything. Have you seen Shishi around?"

"She's probably sleeping. She's getting old, you know, so she doesn't do much," Andy chuckled.

"Sounds like Stinger." He cracked as he headed out the door.

Kiba entered his room with a small wince. He hadn't lied to Andy, he did feel much better. But his head was killing him. He started the shower and stripped his shirt off.

About ten minutes later, Andy knocked on the door. She wanted to check on him and see if he wanted any medicine to sleep better. She now held Shishi in her arms, wondering if he'd want her as a napping buddy. She waited for an answer as she slowly petted the cat.

The door opened to reveal a shirtless Kiba, hair damp and clad in a pair of sweatpants. "Hey ninja girl. What's up?" He turned to walk towards the bed, showing her his back.

Andy froze as she stared at the scars on his back. Visions of him being whipped by the General popped into her head before more memories rushed back. She stood there letting the memories of Kiba come back, forgetting to respond.

He paused, turning to look at her. "Are you alright? Should I call Stinger?"

She finally shook her head, "Sorry, I'm fine." Andy took a moment to remember why she came to the door in the first place, "I know you mentioned wanting to nap, I just wondered if you wanted medicine or if you wanted Shishi? She could let me know if you have a nightmare?"

He didn't answer for a moment, watching her. Then he gave a wince. "Both, I think." He continued over to the bed and laid down with a sigh. "Headache started when I started walking. Guess I'm not as well as I thought."

She gave a sympathetic smile before approaching the bed. She gently set Shishi down before grabbing a syringe from her pocket. She stuck his arm with it, "This should help with that and the sleeping."

"Thanks." He gave her a smile before his eyes closed. His features relaxed as the medicine relieved the headache.

"Let me know if you need anything," she spoke softly before heading out of the room.

Andy walked to her room, trying to keep her breathing calm. Her head was starting to hurt and now more memories were rushing at her as she remembered different missions with Kiba where things went bad. She hadn't gotten through all of his medical file, it would take her hours upon hours to get through it with how often he got hurt, so she was surprised to see as many scars as she had. She remembered he was from Shocker, but the details after that were still fuzzy until the scars jolted her back to it. She wondered if her memories would keep coming back slowly like this or if she would ever get them all back.

She remembered back to one of the first patients Aggie introduced her to. A man who was injured in battle and forgot years of his life, just like Andy. She cared for him daily, and hated seeing how confused he was. Eventually, he moved on with his life, getting reacquainted with his family who he had forgotten. He never actually remembered those years, but from hearing stories and making new memories, he eventually became happy and accepted what had happened. Andy knew there was a chance she would be like that, but it was good she was getting some of her memories. Some was better than none.

She laid down in her bed, thinking of the different things she knew Kiba went through and trying to remember what happened in between. After a while though, her head was hurting too bad and she just closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Stinger sat on the bridge, lost in thought. Champ watched him for a few minutes, then approached. "Aibou, why don't you get some sleep? I'll let you know when we get to the first target."

Stinger jumped a little, then chuckled. "That's probably a good idea. You have the bridge."

He stood and left, making his way to his room. Seeing Andy sleeping made him smile, and he quickly climbed into bed next to her. He curled his tail around her leg, falling asleep quickly.

Raptor frowned as she ran scans on Andy and Kiba from the bridge. She quickly left, heading for the infirmary. After retrieving what she needed, she headed toward Kiba's quarters. Getting no answer to her knock, she went in. Finding Kiba asleep but sweating heavily, Raptor scanned him. After verifying what the scan from the bridge had told her, she quickly injected Kiba with medicine. After a few minutes, she scanned him again. Sighing with relief, she let herself out quietly and headed to the infirmary again.

When Andy woke she found Stinger awake in bed next to her, reading. She gave him a quick smile, "Morning." She then moved so she was on him, "You know, there's still a lot I'm forgetting... Want to help me remember?" She smirked and gave him a wink.

Stinger grinned, then brought her close for a deep kiss.

A while later, Andy was laying with her head on Stinger's chest. "My journal mentions you singing but I don't remember that either..."

He smiled before starting to sing.

Andy closed her eyes and further relaxed as she listened to him. When he was done, she smiled, "I knew not all of my memories would be of bad things. Thank you." She moved and gave him a soft kiss. "We should probably go eat. I think today I'll talk to Azra and try to remember more about her and that cute baby."

Andy headed to the kitchen and started cooking. She smiled when Azra came into the room with Scorpio. "Morning."

"Morning, Mom." She placed Scorpio in his seat, giving him a toy to play with. "Want some help?"

"Sure. I also need some help with some memories..." She stirred the food on the pan.

Azra nodded as she approached. "What are you wanting to remember?"

Andy sighed, "I don't remember a lot of stuff that happened while you were growing up, and I don't remember the baby. But he is cute." Andy smiled, "Does he need to eat?"

"He already had a bottle. Do you remember how fast I grew up? Or this?" She shifted her tail to look like Garu's.

"I remember you grew fast and can shapeshift. I remember you liked tails. Oh and something about a swan?" Andy sighed, "Things aren't showing back up consistently."

Azra showed her kyutama. "There's the swan. It's my kyuranger morph. And I grew in six years. You adopted me after my mother died. You delivered me."

Andy nodded, "Did I help deliver him too?" She motioned to Scorpio. "I know Benny was already a bit bigger when I got him..."

"Yeah. His mom didn't want him, so you adopted him because he's like Dad." She took over the cooking, motioning Andy to sit down. "You adopt anyone who needs a home. It doesn't matter if someone is like us or Shishi."

Andy sat and stared at the baby. "We weren't around much when you were little, were we?"

Azra shook her head. "I spent a lot of time with Aunt Hammy because you were worried I would get hurt while you were fighting. Honestly though, you should have been more worried about Uncle Kiba. He got hurt more than anyone else."

"And obviously Hammy's house isn't that safe either..." Andy muttered. She glanced at Azra, "I remember Kiba is an injury magnet. Also, where did Hammy even go? Did she leave again? I haven't seen her in a day or so."

"She had to go back because school has started. She wanted to stay longer, but couldn't." Azra finished cooking. "Is Dad coming to eat or should I just set some aside for him and Kiba?"

"Well I told him we should eat... I'd think he'd show up for coffee at least," she answered.

As if on cue, Stinger entered. "How are my girls?" He kissed Andy as he played with the baby.

Azra smiled as she dished up the food and brought it over. "I'm fine, Dad." She kissed his cheek.

"Just trying to remember my life," Andy shrugged. "So I guess I'm fine. Would be better if things weren't so hazy."

Stinger sighed. "At least you're not completely in the dark anymore."

"Yeah, it's a lot less scary this way at least," she admitted.

"For both of us. When you woke up and said you were seventeen, I was freaking out."

"I'm sorry... I know this is hard for everyone," Andy took a bite before adding, "Imagine thinking you're seventeen then realizing you're in a body twenty years older, it's pretty terrifying."

Stinger leaned over and kissed her. "I can imagine. But I still see the eighteen-year-old I met every morning when I wake up."

Andy grinned, "Are you always this cute and cheesy?"

He grinned back. "Probably." He started eating as Azra giggled.

Andy's comm buzzed. "Andy?" Raptor's voice was strained.

"Yeah?" She answered quickly.

"Can you come to the infirmary when you're free?"

"I'll be there soon," she finished her food up quickly. "Guess I have work to do."

Stinger gave her a smile. "A medic is never off duty. What I've learned over the years."

Andy kissed him and smiled at Azra and Scorpio before heading out of the room. When she arrived to the infirmary she noticed Raptor, "What's up?"

"Have you seen Kiba today?" Raptor was examining her computer monitor intently.

"No, I've been in my room and the kitchen. He didn't get up for breakfast, but I didn't try to wake him either."

Raptor sighed. "I had to give him more of the medicine you formulated last night. I've been monitoring him and he's not doing well. I'm not sure what he has, but it isn't a normal virus."

Andy thought back to yesterday before calling Stinger, "How far are we from the next Shocker base?"

Stinger checked their coordinates against the list Andy had found. "Still several hours away."

She cursed before looking back to Raptor, "Stinger thought maybe Jark Matter or Shocker created the virus. Shocker would have the best information on making a virus to affect Kiba, so I am thinking it's them. I'll search their systems for any information when I go to destroy the next one. I'm going to see if Stinger can make the ship go faster or if I should just go in my voyager."

Raptor was about to answer when the infirmary door opened.

Kiba shakily walked in, stopping when he saw Andy. "Hey. How's the memory recall going?"

Andy sighed, "Not terrible, but it's not all back." She saw how bad he looked, "Get yourself in a bed and we'll see how we can help. Raptor, get another dose of the medicine for him." She made a clone who went off to talk to Stinger while she approached Kiba.

Kiba gave her a small smile. "Are we headed toward any bases?" He tried not to pass out again.

"Don't worry about that right now. Just rest," Andy spoke softly.

"I'm coming with you." Kiba's eyes were heavy, his hair damp from sweat. "Give me the shot and I'll be fine. Can't let you go alone."

Andy sighed and went over to where Raptor was. She grabbed two syringes, sliding one in her pocket. She then moved over to Kiba and gave him the first one, "You need to rest." She smiled gently as she noticed the sedative take effect. She then got out the other shot and injected it, before scanning him over. "I'll figure out what's wrong and we'll get you all better. Just sleep now, okay?"

He murmured something unintelligible as he relaxed.

The clone approached Stinger who was on the bridge, "Is it faster for us to warp to the base or fly my voyager? I'm thinking you might be right about Shocker creating the virus..."

Stinger cursed, then answered. "Your voyager is faster. I don't like the idea of you going alone in your condition though."

"I'll go," the clone answered before realizing he couldn't tell, "Clone me will go. I'll stay on the ship watching Kiba."

Stinger sighed, then nodded. "Be careful. Hopefully you can find something to help him."

She gave him a quick salute, "I'm in the infirmary if you need me."

He returned her salute. "I'll continue heading toward the base in case you need backup."

She kissed his cheek, "Let's hope this works." She disappeared off the bridge, going to the bay.

Andy scanned over Kiba, noting the medicine helping a bit but not as much as it had the night before. After a bit, she looked at Raptor, "Get a few cool rags. We need to try to keep his temperature from rising."

The android went to the sink, filling a container and retrieving some compresses. She returned to Kiba's side as he began to toss his head back and forth.

"Stop... it burns... Please stop…"

Andy's hands started glowing as she focused on trying to keep his temperature down while Raptor put a compress on Kiba's forehead. "We might need to give him an ice bath if he doesn't cool down soon."

Raptor nodded. "Should we give him another dose?"

"It's less effective now. Give him a double dose and see if it helps at all."

Her clone flew as fast as possible toward the Shocker base.

Raptor did as requested and waited.

Kiba calmed for a moment, then began to shake.

Andy sighed as she watched him. She looked at Raptor, "My clone will be at the Shocker base in about twenty minutes. Hopefully I can find something fast."

Raptor nodded. "What happens if it's not Shocker?"

"I'll keep everything as steady on him as I can while searching for answers," Andy responded, "Whether it's Shocker, Jark Matter, or some virus from elsewhere, I will find a way to cure him."

Raptor sighed, then began to get the ice bath ready.

Andy focused on flying for a few minutes while just keeping an eye on Kiba's vitals. She started to fight the temperature again when she noticed it starting to slowly climb again.

Kiba fought being placed in the tub, though his movements were uncoordinated. "Let me go!"

His eyes opened and tried to focus unsuccessfully. "My friends will rescue me! You won't get away with this!"

"Shh, calm down, Kiba. We're trying to help you," Andy spoke softly. She hoped if he cooled down soon he'd quit freaking out. She considered trying to get into his head and help him, but she needed to focus on cooling him off more. She made a couple clones that helped Raptor hold Kiba in the ice, while she scanned him over and tried to use her energy to cool him.

The clone flying the voyager landed near the hidden Shocker base. After grabbing charges, she went invisible and headed into the base. She snuck around and found a computer. After waiting a few minutes for the person to leave, she approached and started typing information about DeStruct, hoping something might pop up.

Andy felt herself growing dizzy, using so much energy to control the clones and help Kiba. She focused a moment and tried to gather energy in. Her head was already starting to hurt, but once she started the gathering process the pain spiked. She knelt on the ground next to the tub and kept working through the pain.

Kiba quieted as his temperature dropped. His eyes focused slowly. "Andy? What's going on?"

He tried to climb out of the tub as his own headache began to spike. "Andy?!"

She groaned at the loudness, "Sit down. Your temperature was too high."

He blinked at her. "Oh."

Raptor spoke up, "The medicine we've been giving you is losing its effectiveness."

Andy sighed, "I'm working on it. Just relax."

Kiba leaned back in the tub. "Why am I always in these situations? I'm starting to believe I need a babysitter." He groaned as a lance of pain jabbed into his brain. "Can't even think straight."

"I know," Andy answered. One of her clones went and grabbed two syringes of pain medicine. She gently injected one into Kiba's arm before Andy stabbed the other one into her own leg. She then tried to focus on helping the medicine work through Kiba's body.

The clone in the Shocker base kept typing in different phrases, finally finding information about the virus.

One of the clones by Kiba spoke up, "It's definitely a Shocker virus. Working on finding a cure now."

Andy's head was screaming as she tried to focus on all of the tasks. Finally, the clones in the infirmary disappeared, leaving just Andy and the clone in the base.

Kiba's head slowly cleared as the medicine began taking effect. He climbed out of the tub and back onto the bed. Taking a deep breath, the rider closed his eyes. Suddenly he began coughing, freezing when blood appeared on his palm. "Uh...Andy?"

Andy stood and looked over, cursing when she noticed the blood. She pulled a chair next to his bed and went back to pushing energy into him. Her glowing eyes closed as she put all of her focus into healing him. She tried to ignore the headache and the nausea it was causing.

Not too long after, she realized her clone had found some information. After the real Andy listed off ingredients to Raptor, the clone worked on setting the charges.

She lost her hold on the clone as the pain in her head spiked. She took a deep breath and tried to keep working on Kiba, but the pain was too much. The glowing stopped and she held tightly onto the edge of the bed to try to keep herself steady. Soon though, her grip weakened as she fell unconscious, sliding off the chair onto the floor.

"Andy! Raptor, Andy needs help!" Kiba frantically called the android. He kept watching Andy for any movement, but was having trouble staying conscious. Finally, his eyes rolled up and he collapsed on the bed. Seconds later he began having seizures as his temperature shot up dangerously.

Raptor looked up at the scene before calling Stinger to the infirmary. She kept working on the medicine, knowing it would be the best thing for Kiba and knowing Andy would be mad at her if she didn't help him first.

Stinger arrived and froze. He saw Andy on the floor and rushed to her side. Gently he lifted her to a bed before attempting to keep Kiba still. He cursed when the rider suddenly went limp in his hands. Holding his breath, the ranger felt for a pulse. Finding it extremely weak, he suddenly realized Kiba had stopped breathing. "Dammit!" He grabbed an oxygen mask and the things he needed for the ventilator. Once he had everything hooked to Kiba, he turned back to Andy.

"Beautiful? Can you hear me?"

Raptor approached Kiba with the new medicine and injected it into him before moving to Andy's side. Andy was completely still, except the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. After scanning her over, Raptor looked at Stinger, "I think it's from the energy again. She shouldn't be using it until her head has fully healed." She looked at the unconscious form, "I do mean that physically. She might not ever remember everything, but she is doing really well. Too bad she shouldn't use the energy because she could probably just heal herself."

Stinger slowly sat down between the beds. "They'll be okay right?" He looked at Raptor worriedly. "I'm not losing them, am I?"

"Andy will be fine if she just keeps resting. Kiba... should be fine? Andy told me what to put into the medicine so hopefully it works."

"I was right? This was another Shocker attempt, wasn't it?" Stinger watched the ventilator force air into Kiba's lungs.

Raptor nodded, "Yes. But Andy kept him well long enough to find a cure. I'm just hoping it works now that it's in his system."

Stinger sighed and rubbed his face. "We're still headed toward the Shocker base she infiltrated. I don't know if she was able to blow it. If she wasn't, I'm going to have to do it." He stood and headed for the door. "Let me know the minute either of them regain consciousness."

A few hours later, Raptor noticed Kiba start to stir, so she called Stinger back. She scanned Kiba over, noticing he seemed almost back to normal. She unhooked him from the ventilator so he'd be able to move when he was fully awake.

Stinger quickly reentered the infirmary just as Kiba's eyes blinked open. "Hey. You gave me quite a scare there, problem child."

Kiba's voice was soft. "Sorry. How's Andy?"

Stinger looked over briefly, then back at Kiba. "She's still out. But she's okay. How are you feeling?"

The rider took a deep breath. "Much better. The base?"

Stinger frowned. "Still standing. I was about to blow it, and tractor Andy's voyager. Why?"

Kiba shook his head. "Just wondering." His eyes began to close.

Stinger softly chuckled as he left, heading for the bridge. Once there, he remotely set off the charges and tractored the Iruka voyager into the bay. Then he hit warp away from the base.

When Andy woke, her head was still aching, but it was nothing compared to earlier. She pushed her eyes open to look for Kiba to make sure he was okay. She smiled when she noticed he was alive and okay. "Kiba?"

"Andy!" He grinned as he stood from the chair beside her bed. "Are you alright?" He was still slightly pale, but nothing like he'd been before she passed out.

"Better. How are you feeling?"

"Almost normal. Could use a week of sleep, but don't feel like I have the world's worst flu anymore." He yawned widely. "And even better now that you're awake."

"Good. I was worried about you," she admitted.

"I was more worried about you than myself honestly. When you collapsed, it was like seeing you hurt all over again." Kiba sighed.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to worry you. I was trying really hard to help you but my head hurt so bad."

"You were using a lot of energy." He looked at her. "Raptor was worried it would cause more problems for your memory."

"As long as I don't lose any more I'll be fine," Andy sighed. "I have enough right now to get by and I'm making new memories so I can survive if I don't remember more."


	36. Saving the Dolphins

"I hope this helps me remember more," Andy commented.

"You already remember some about Eshana, but at least if you don't we'll have a nice vacation and Scorpio gets his first beach trip," Azra responded.

"I do remember you like the beach," Andy glanced over at Stinger, "Didn't we get engaged on a beach?"

Stinger smiled. "Yeah, we did. On Atria while we were taking a much deserved vacation."

Andy chuckled, "Any vacation we get is well deserved, because being on partial retirement means nothing."

She watched the planet approaching in the window, seeing lots of sand and water.

They arrived in the Andy and Stinger arrived in the Iruka voyager and Azra brought Scorpio in the Hakuchou voyager.

After landing, Andy took Scorpio from Azra and started walking toward the village. Soon, they saw Evian approaching looking worried.

"Evian? What's wrong?" Stinger frowned.

"It's the dolphins..."

"What's wrong with them?" Azra wondered.

"Jark Matter says they can help them get better if we work with them. We don't want to but we don't know what to do," Evian admitted. She glanced at Azra, "maybe you can help."

"We'll do whatever we can to help them," Andy assured.

Stinger drew Andy aside. "You know Jark Matter probably did something right?"

"We need to find them if they're still here," Andy answered. "I can take a sample of the water and analyze it to see if there's anything abnormal in it."

Stinger nodded. "Kiba and I will snoop around, see if anyone is hanging around." He moved away, activating his comm and talking quietly into it.

"Mom? Evian is going to take me to see the dolphins. My kyutama may help us find out what is going on."

"I'm going to get a water sample and take Scorpio back to the ship. I'll let you know if I figure anything out." She grabbed a vial from her bag and scooped up some water before heading back to her voyager.

She waved as Kiba appeared on the beach. He waved back as he headed for Stinger's location.

"What's going on?"

Stinger was eyeing the surroundings. "Jark may have poisoned the dolphins. We need to look around, see if we find anyone shady."

Kiba growled. "If it is Jark, then they'll be sorry they came up with this idea. Where should we start?"

Stinger considered the options. "I'm going to shadow Evian and Azra. See if anyone takes an interest in them. You should snoop around the village."

Kiba gave him a salute as he headed toward the village. When he arrived, he mingled with the villagers, eyes scanning for anyone that seemed interested in the dolphin problem. He glimpsed a middle aged man who tried to act uninterested. It would have worked, except when their eyes met the man began inching toward a nearby alley.

Kiba began moving slowly in the same direction, giving a chuckle under his breath when the man lost all pretense and ran down the alley. He chased after, cornering the man in a dead end. "Why are you running? You wouldn't know anything about what's going on, would you?"

The rider continued to approach until the man smiled. Kiba froze as the barrel of a blaster poked him in the back. He raised his hands. Then the world went black.

Evian walked forward, with Azra next to her, "You've grown a lot, child. And it seems like a lot has changed since you were last here."

Azra nodded, "Definitely." She sighed, "Are the dolphins hurting?"

"They've been acting strange and have been sick. We've never seen anything like it."

"Hopefully my kyutama can help them." She turned when she heard a noise nearby.

Two men began running toward them, both armed. Stinger charged forward, slamming into both. Knocking them to the sand, he rolled to his feet. "Evian, take Azra and hide. I'll take care of these two!"

Stinger grabbed one of the men's legs, quickly slamming a fist into the back of his head. As the man went limp, the sound of a blaster being cocked stopped him. "What do you want?"

"You take her and go back to your ship. Leave the dolphins alone and your friend won't die."

Stinger's head whipped around. "What did you to him?"

"He's alive. For now. Leave or he won't stay that way. This is your only warning. And to make sure you get the message..." The man fired into Stinger's shoulder, running the other direction as Stinger dropped to the sand gasping in pain.

Azra rushed to his side before calling Andy, "Mom, we need you. Dad's hurt."

"Be right there," Andy left the water sample she'd been analyzing and made sure Champ was keeping an eye on the baby before she headed back to the planet.

"Dad, how can I help?" Azra asked with panic in her voice.

"Calm down for one thing. I'm not dying. Just put pressure here." Stinger showed her how.

He tried to slow his breathing.

Azra took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Will Uncle Kiba be okay?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Unless of course he pisses them off. But we'll find him, don't worry."

Stinger sighed. "At least we know this isn't just some random illness attacking the dolphins now."

Evian walked closer, "Move, child," she spoke softly to Azra before starting to heal Stinger.

Andy arrived, "What's going on?"

"Two guys tried to attack Azra. One of them shot me after telling me to take Azra and leave. They say they have Kiba and will kill him if we don't quit looking into the dolphin sickness."

Andy sighed and spoke quietly, "Make it look like we've left. After climbing into the voyager, I'll go invisible and Azra can shift into something small like a fly, and then we'll go rescue Kiba while you fly off."

Stinger frowned. "Are you sure that's wise? Azra isn't really a fighter."

"She has a kyutama, she's not useless. Unless you'd rather just bring her back when I'm done so she can help the dolphins?"

"They were targeting her, so I'd feel better if she waited on the Orion for now. My main worry is Kiba. They said he was alive, but implied he wasn't well." Stinger took a deep breath.

"Then I'll go get him. You take Azra back," she headed toward the voyagers to make it look like she was leaving too.

Evian nodded, "I'll be in the village."

Stinger and Azra headed for the voyagers as well. A few minutes later, they lifted off and headed back to the Orion.

Kiba groaned, opening his eyes. He raised his head, noting the number of men guarding him. "Guess I'm popular today." He moved his arms, realizing he was securely bound hand and foot.

His head was throbbing, his eyesight blurry. "Hate getting stunned." He laid his head on the floor of the room and closed his eyes.

Andy snuck in the direction Stinger had pointed her in. She moved forward, keeping an eye out for any sign of Kiba or Jark Matter. Finally, she found a small building and glanced in the window, seeing Kiba surrounded by guards.

"Why don't we turn him in? He's got a huge reward and it's dead or alive." One of the men approached Kiba, turning him over with one foot.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just let me go? I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement."

The man laughed. "Doubt you have anything worth your life or the reward. Now shut up!" He lifted his leg, viciously kicking Kiba in the face. Kiba's eyes closed, his body going limp as he passed out. The man then kicked him several times in the chest and stomach before walking back to the others.

"Why don't we give him what we gave the dolphins?" Another man lifted a flask of black fluid with a grin. The one who had kicked Kiba gave a slow creepy smile, taking the flask and reapproaching Kiba. "Wake up." He slapped Kiba, waiting until his eyes fluttered open to straddle him. The man who had suggested it came over and knelt next to the rider.

Kiba's eyes went wide with alarm as his mouth was forced open and some of the contents poured in. He tried not to swallow but the second man held his nose and mouth, forcing him to either do it or suffocate. When he'd swallowed, both men let him go.

The liquid burned and Kiba coughed. Then the pain hit. He arched his back, crying out as his heart pounded and his veins felt like magma was being poured through them. He thrashed as the pain grew worse. He felt like his heart was going to explode.

The men laughed as they watched. "I'd love to give this to that bitch Evian. Let her join her precious dolphins."

Andy was already angry that they kidnapped Kiba, but now she was pissed. Without even going into the building yet, her eyes glowed and she drained four of the five guards of their energy. She then entered through the door, staring at the remaining guard. "Is there an antidote for the poison? You better speak or you'll be dead just like them," she motioned to the bodies on the floor.

The man shook in fear. "Kalson has it." He pointed to the man who had poisoned Kiba. "In his jacket."

Andy kept her eyes on the man as she went toward the body. She only looked down to find the bottle. She found a vial of a different color than the poison. "Is this it?" She looked back up at the still cowering man.

He nodded quickly, keeping as much distance from her as he could.

Andy grabbed a syringe from her bag and filled it before sticking it into Kiba's arm. She then started healing Kiba. She could sense the man's energy so she kept an eye on where he was. After a minute she sighed, "I'm not going to kill you, just knock you out, okay?" She didn't wait for a response, just drained enough energy from him to push him into unconsciousness. She kept focusing on Kiba, healing up what she could and realigning any broken bones.

After about ten minutes she remembered to call the others, "Stinger, you can bring Azra back. I'm working on Kiba now."

On the Orion, Stinger looked at Azra and Champ. "What do you mean, working on Kiba? He get himself hurt _again_?"

"Poisoned and beat up. Gave him the antidote and am still healing him up. He's a lot better now though." She paused a moment, "There's one guard left, he's unconscious. Come to my coordinates while Azra goes with Evian."

"Okyu." Stinger and Azra headed for his voyager.

Thirty minutes later, Stinger was kneeling beside her and the unconscious Kiba. "How the hell did he get poisoned?"

"They gave it to him," Andy shrugged. She pointed to one of the men, "He's alive. I told him _I_ wouldn't kill him. So I don't know if you want to or if you want to be nice and arrest him."

"Leave him for Evian. How is Kiba?"

She finally dropped her hands and her eyes quit glowing, "He's fine now. Physically at least."

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "Something you're not telling me?"

She shook her head, "I just mean, I don't know what the poison did to him in the few minutes before he got the antidote. He looked in pain though. Just unsure how he will be feeling mentally, you know?" She sighed and moved into a sitting position.

Stinger rubbed her back as he watched Kiba. Seeing him begin to stir, the ranger cradled the rider. "Kiba? You with us?"

Kiba slowly blinked, noticing the pain was gone. "Stinger? What happened? Last thing I remember is a foul liquid being forced down my throat."

"That would be poison," Andy answered. "I gave you an antidote though."

Stinger helped Kiba sit up slowly. "Thanks for that. Was it the same stuff as the dolphins or something different?" He leaned against Stinger. "I feel so drained."

"I think the same," Andy answered. "And being poisoned will do that to you." She rubbed her head, trying to force the growing headache away.

Stinger watched the pair with concern. "Should I take you two back to the ship?"

"I'll be fine. I want to see if Azra helped the dolphins," Andy answered.

Kiba took a deep breath. "I might take you up on that..." He tried to stand and passed out.

Andy sighed, "Yeah, definitely take him back. He just needs rest."

Stinger nodded, lifting Kiba easily. "I'll be back. You'll be with Azra?"

"Yeah, I'll head over there. I just need a minute."

Stinger shrugged, leaving the building with Kiba. He quickly got him into Sasori voyager and headed back to the Orion. After leaving him in the infirmary and explaining things to Raptor, the scorpion flew back. Landing on the beach, he headed for Azra's location.

Light from Azra's kyutama spread out across the water, reaching all of the sick sea creatures. "They'll be fine now, right?" Azra glanced at Evian.

"With you helping them, they'll be great in no time," Evian answered.

Azra glanced over when she noticed Stinger approaching, "How's Uncle Kiba?"

"He'll be fine after some sleep. How are the dolphins?"

"I think they're doing better. I haven't gotten in to check them yet," she admitted. "Where did mom go?"

"She said she was heading here..." Stinger looked at Azra. "You haven't seen her?"

Azra shook her head, "No, it's just been Evian and I."

Stinger cursed, heading back toward the village. He made a beeline for the building he'd last seen Andy in. "Beautiful?"

Andy looked up at the noise, "I tried to get up but things won't quit spinning..." She held a hand to her head.

Stinger quickly bent and lifted her into his arms. "You are going back to the ship. No arguments. And before you ask, it looks like the dolphins will be fine. Azra's taking good care of them."

Andy tried to nod, but her head quickly protested. She rested against Stinger as he carried her. Soon though her mind started seeing glimpses of past memories as they walked through the trees. "Can we stop here a second?" She frowned as memories of the void between appeared. Soon though, some better memories were shown, such as her learning from Mariana and her tumor being cured. Stinger noticed the range of emotions her face was making and looked at her in confusion.

"Beautiful? Andy, are you okay?"

"Memories..." was all Andy responded as more images appeared. She soon saw Benny and Azra having fun on the beach, and she knew at the time she should have felt happy but she only felt sadness. That's when she connected the time to the year they thought Kiba was dead. After another minute Andy looked up at Stinger and added, "I hate how spotty things are. It's like a giant puzzle but I'm only given a few pieces at a time."

Stinger squeezed her gently. "But it's coming back. I was really worried it wouldn't."

She rested her head back against him again, "I think I'm good to go now. Apparently Eshana was a good idea for memories. Too bad Scorpio couldn't have a beach day."

"Maybe after Azra's done healing the dolphins we can bring him down. We'll drag problem child down too." Stinger gave her a crooked grin. "We're not on the clock right now."

"We can have a family vacation!" Andy said a bit too excitedly, before she frowned again, "Too bad Hammy isn't here. Then we'd have everyone."

"Maybe next time she can come. Let's get you to bed." Stinger continued to his voyager. After getting her inside, he set course to the Orion.

Andy rested her head against Stinger, "I hope these headaches go away."

"Yeah." Stinger gave her a kiss. "Just rest."

Andy closed her eyes and soon fell asleep, dreaming of the good memories she'd remembered.


	37. Trip with an Ambassador

Stinger joined the crew in the kitchen with a sigh. "New assignment. We are to deliver a Federation ambassador to a planet who wishes entrance. Should be a milk run, but with our luck…."

He winked at Andy. "Let's _try_ to get there in one piece and no problems okyu?"

The crew laughed and a resounding "OKYU" was heard from Balance and Champ.

Stinger sat down next to Andy, shaking his head in fond exasperation. "Remind me again why I am in charge?"

"Because Shou thought you'd be good at it. And you must like it or you'd have actually resigned by now."

Stinger welcomed the pair on board. "I'm Commander Stinger. This is Head Medic Andy."

The diplomat was tall and regal looking, with chestnut hair and bright green eyes. "Ambassador Arianna Silk." She introduced her aide as Rodon Bishop. "I'm sure you are in a hurry to get underway, Commander."

Stinger shook his head. "Not at all, Ambassador."

She laughed. "You're too kind, Commander. I know this is not a favorite type of assignment."

Stinger and Andy exchanged glances, then burst into laughter. Stinger gave the ambassador a smile. "Ambassador Silk, this is a welcome change to our typical missions. Maybe we'll even get to relax."

"Definitely a welcome change," Andy grinned.

The ambassador smiled. "Commander, is there a place I can get some coffee and maybe a meal?"

Stinger escorted the ambassador to the kitchen. After giving her a cup of coffee, Stinger excused himself. "You'll be in good hands. Andy is my wife and a fantastic cook." He gave Andy a kiss before leaving.

"Is there any type of food you like best?" Andy wondered as she started getting out a couple pans.

"I'll eat anything not moving." Arianna laughed.

Andy started grabbing out ingredients to figure out what she could make. She smiled as she noticed her friends laughing at something Balance said.

"So what is your planet like, ambassador?" Azra finally spoke up.

"Similar to Earth, except we never have a winter season. It was quite a surprise when I visited and saw snow for the first time." She sipped her coffee as she examined the others. "This crew is quite diverse isn't it?"

"Yeah. And this is just who's here now. We have Champ, the robot bull, Balance, a mechanical lifeform, Naga, from the Hebitsukai system, Kotaro, an earthling, Raptor, an android, and then you've already met my parents. And I'm a shapeshifter, and my brother is like Dad." Azra smiled. "Half the team isn't here and they are just as diverse."

Just as she finished speaking, a portal opened and Kiba stepped through. "Hey guys!"

Arianna choked, coughing harshly.

"Are you okay?" Azra asked quickly.

Andy chuckled and glanced at Kiba, "You show up uninjured? I'm surprised. Please be on your best behavior, as we have an important guest."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "You know I don't _always_ get hurt. And when am I ever not on my best behavior? I'm in need of sustenance."

"Did you really just stop by to eat?" Andy smiled. "Did you see Hammy?"

"Yes, I saw her. And not _just_ to eat. But it's an added bonus. I'm bored." He sat down next to Azra after kissing her cheek. "How are you doing, munchkin?"

"Good. How are you, Uncle Kiba?" Azra wondered. "It's been quiet while you've been gone."

"Other than being bored, I'm fine." He looked at Arianna, then at Andy. "Your important visitor?"

He laughed at Arianna's shocked expression. "I'm in trouble now, aren't I?"

"I think you scared her," Azra admitted. "She's an ambassador."

"Oops." He stood, bowing to her. "Forgive me. I'm Kiba. Before you ask, think of me as the Orion's stray tomcat." He sat down again as Arianna chuckled.

"You're forgiven. That's a very interesting description and mode of transportation you have."

Kiba grinned. "It comes in handy. And Andy can verify the description fits."

Andy smiled as she started grabbing out some plates.

She looked over when Raptor smacked Balance's arm, "You can't just ask someone about what treasure their planet has!"

Balance laughed, "I thought it would be worth a try."

"We'll find some good treasure on a planet we aren't bringing into the federation," Naga assured.

Kiba was trying not to laugh, face buried in Azra's shoulder. He whispered "My dad isn't even_ that _forward."

Azra giggled at the thieves, before glancing at the confused ambassador, "He _really _likes shiny things."

Arianna just raised an eyebrow. She changed topics, looking at Kiba. "What is your kyutama?"

Kiba looked at Andy with a grimace. "Um…"

"He's not actually a kyuranger," Andy answered. "Like he said, he's basically just our stray."

Arianna stared at them. "How did he become crew?"

Kiba frowned. "Not sure you want to hear that story. In fact, most stories involving me you don't want to hear." His eyes begged Andy to rescue him.

"Kiba? Come help me take the plates to the table, and see if Stinger wants any food," she smiled. "Also, Azra, when did Scorpio last eat?"

"I'll go make him a bottle," Azra nodded.

Kiba practically ran to help shuttle plates, then left the kitchen.

"Will your aide want any food?" Andy wondered as she finished the last plates.

Arianna shook her head. "He has his own, thank you. Did I say something wrong to your friend? He seemed eager to leave before eating."

"He just has... an interesting past. And he doesn't really like bringing any of it up, especially with new people," Andy smiled. "He'll be fine."

Azra brought in Scorpio, and Andy held him as Azra warmed up a bottle. She took a few bites of her own food before feeding the baby, while the others started eating.

A few minutes later, Kiba returned. "Stinger says he's fine right now." He slid into the seat next to Andy, cooing at the baby. Then he looked at Arianna. "Forgive me again. I'm not used to discussing my past. Let's just say we have some friends in common who introduced us a few years ago." He began to eat as the ambassador nodded.

"A few years? It's been at least ten," Andy reminded before smiling at the ambassador, "Plus, he's engaged to my sister who is a kyuranger, so he's just family anyway."

Kiba chuckled. "I wasn't trying to be accurate." He sighed as he ate. "I still can't believe it's been that long."

"There's still some blank spots, I like to be totally accurate about timelines so I don't get confused," Andy nudged him. "And believe it, because it'll be at least another forty or fifty if we live that long."

He gave her a wry smile. "Keep forgetting your issues." He kissed her cheek before rising with his empty plate. "And I wasn't being completely truthful earlier."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Get in a fight and need some healing?"

"Maybe…" He hung his head. "It wasn't my fault. And no, I wasn't on a job either. It concerns my _other_ problem."

'_Shocker or the bounty on your head?'_ She thought to him. "Are you good enough to stay in here, because if you are, you can keep feeding him while I heal you."

"I'm not dying, so yeah I can stay." He looked at her and thought _'Bounty. Right after I left Hammy. Got a little too relaxed. I took care of the major stuff. Already stitched. Another reason why I needed to eat.'_

Andy handed over the baby after Kiba sat down. She took another couple bites of her food before raising her hands up to scan him over. "Nothing terrible. It won't take too long," she focused her own energy into him, rebuilding the cells and fusing the broken skin back together.

Arianna watched in amazement as Kiba kept feeding the baby.

When Azra got up, Andy smiled over at her, "Can you start filling the sink? I'll do dishes when I'm done."

"I've got it, Mom," Azra picked up Naga and Arianna's plate before Kotaro followed with his own.

As Azra washed the dishes, Kotaro dried them and put them away.

After a few minutes, Andy dropped her hands, "Should be all better. How do you feel?"

Kiba grinned as he burped Scorpio. "Much better. Though I'm probably going to take a nap after this. Unless Stinger is free."

Andy smiled, "Are you just staying today or are you going to stick around again?" She took another bite of her food.

Kiba shrugged. "Don't have anything going on. Probably will stick around for a while." He looked at Arianna, who was confused.

"You just come and go whenever you want?"

Kiba laughed. "Stray, remember? I do other things when I'm not here."

The ambassador motioned to Andy. "What do you do that gets you hurt? I gather it happens a lot."

Kiba bent his head in embarrassment as Andy laughed.

"He has a lot going on outside of here, but honestly most of our team comes and goes whenever they want. Unless Stinger calls them for a mission, they're here of their own free will. Champ, Stinger and I are almost always the main crew. Azra is also a ranger but she's our daughter so she just sticks around anyway. And obviously Scorpio can't go on his own anywhere."

Arianna smiled at them. "Guess I'm too curious for my own good."

Kiba gave her a small smile, then handed the baby to Azra. He kissed Andy's cheek, then stood. "I'm heading to bed." He left the kitchen with a whistle.

Azra took Andy's plate and washed it.

Andy smiled at the ambassador, "I have to go put Scorpio to sleep, but if you need anything, Azra can help you."

Arianna bowed her head. "Thank you. I think I'll go to my quarters."

Kiba was halfway to his room when he glimpsed a short alien male headed toward the engines. A bad feeling began insisting Kiba follow him. The rider slowly crept closer, trying to appear inconspicuous. After the next corner revealed an empty hallway, the feeling got stronger. Kiba ran toward the engine room, skidding to a halt as he witnessed the man attaching small charges to the engines. "Get away from there!"

The man froze, then whirled. There was a loud noise and Kiba suddenly realized the man had been armed. The rider looked down to see a bloodstain spreading over his shirt. _'Andy! We have a big problem! There's a bomb-'_

Kiba froze as the needle was removed from his neck. "What- was in that?"

The man's voice was guttural. "You no think warning."

Kiba's eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor as the man bound him, then began to drag him deeper into the engine room.

Andy cursed before picking up her comm, "Stinger, we have trouble." She went into the hall and locked the door to the room Scorpio was in before heading to the nearest computer to scan for life signs.

Stinger frowned. "Beautiful? What is it?" He exchanged glances with Champ anxiously.

"Kiba sent me a panicked thought. Something about a bomb," She looked at the screen. "There's someone in the engine room. I'm going to go check it out."

"Andy, wait for me." Stinger left the bridge at a dead run. "All Kiba said was a bomb? Nothing else?"

"He got cut off, I think he's hurt," she admitted before starting to head toward the engine room.

"Damn it." Stinger cursed as he ran.

Kiba regained consciousness, cursing as he realized he was securely bound to one of the engine pipes. He looked down, noting the sizable blood puddle beside him. Sighing, he attempted to contact Andy. The only thing he gained was a spike of pain through his head. The rider couldn't resist a whimper as he tried to take a deep breath. Suddenly the alien was in front of him, a large fist slamming into his temple. His head dropped to his chest as he lost consciousness once again.

Andy got near the engine room and started sneaking into the room. She glanced back and saw Stinger approaching.

"Andy? Any sign?" Stinger carefully made his way over, whispering to her.

She shook her head, "Not yet, but I've not gotten far." She moved forward, finally spotting the alien. "It's the ambassador's aide."

Stinger growled. "Go invisible. I'll distract him, then you can take him down." Stinger was about to stand up when he glimpsed a blotch of bright red on the floor. "We better hurry."

Andy nodded and went invisible, waiting to see what Stinger would do.

Stinger stood fully, then loudly called "Kiba? You in here? You didn't meet me like you said you were going to."

The alien whirled. Stinger dove to the ground as he saw the blaster in its hand.

Andy snuck closer and put a kunai up to the alien's throat, "Drop the blaster." She originally would have just killed him but she realized they didn't know who he was working for or why he was attacking.

Within seconds, he spun and shot at Andy. She quickly cursed and sliced through his throat, dropping him to the floor.

Stinger quickly rose, approaching the engines. "We know what he was trying to do." The ranger carefully removed the charges. "Any sign of Kiba?" He pointed to the blood spot worriedly. "If that's his, he's in trouble."

Andy's eyes glowed as she searched for signs of his energy. She finally found where he was and moved to his side, "Call Raptor to get a transfusion ready." She worked a moment to get him untied from the pipes before adding, "Get Champ or Balance to make sure he didn't do anything else in here. Tell Azra to check on Scorpio. And you probably should go interrogate the ambassador and see if she knows anything about it." She started trying to heal Kiba a bit before they moved him.

"An..dy.. Ca..n't thi..nk. Nee..dle.." Kiba's voice was a whisper.

Stinger left the room, rapidly speaking into his comm.

"Shh, don't worry. I'll take care of it, okay?" She brushed his hair from his face with one hand as she healed him with the other. After a minute, she made a clone who got a blood sample and went to analyze what was in it. Andy focused on trying to close up the biggest vessels before closing up the blaster wound.

"Bomb..on engines…." Kiba attempted to move, then sucked in a weak breath. "Have to stop.."

His eyes fluttered closed as he lost consciousness.

"Shh, we took care of it," she spoke softly. After a few minutes, Raptor appeared to carry Kiba to the infirmary and Champ appeared to look over the engines.

Champ spent some time in the room, then exited speaking into his comm.. "All clear, aibou."

Raptor rapidly attached the transfusion bag to Kiba, shaking her head sadly. "Andy.. he's really bad. His vitals are almost nonexistent."

"I'll take care of him," Andy assured. She closed her eyes again and focused on gathering in energy. She found a few nearby stars and started pulling energy from them to work on keeping his vitals constant while the transfusion entered his body.

Stinger stared at the Ambassador angrily. "We just had to kill your aide. He planted charges on our engines." At her shocked look, he gave a disbelieving glare. "Don't tell me you didn't know anything."

Arianna shook her head pleadingly. "I didn't. You _have_ to believe me. Rodon was new, he hadn't been with me very long."

Stinger huffed. "My brother in law may die because of your aide. I _don't_ _have_ to believe anything you say." He left the room, calling Balance. "I want everything you can find on the Ambassador and her aide."

"Okyu." Balance's voice was quiet. "Any word on Kiba?"

Stinger sighed. "No. That's why I'm worried." He headed for the infirmary, hoping for good news.

"Beautiful?"

"He's doing better now that the transfusion is working. He's not perfect yet but he'll live," she assured, eyes still glowing as she healed him further. Andy ignored her own growing pain, making sure Kiba would be okay.

Stinger watched her suspiciously. "Andy! Stop, you're hurt." He grabbed her hands.

She looked at him slowly, the glowing fading away, "I had to make sure he was okay."

"And I have to make sure you're okay. Raptor, help us please."

"I'll be fine," Andy assured.

Raptor approached, "How can I help?"

Stinger held Andy so she didn't fall. "She's hurt but I don't know how badly."

Raptor shook her head, "Andy, why didn't you say anything?"

Andy ignored her question but moved and sat on a bed. Raptor scanned her over, "Pretty bad blaster shot, but luckily not a lot of bleeding."

Stinger frowned. "You can't help Kiba if you're in the bed next to him. You know that, beautiful. So why did you hide this?"

"I wasn't exactly trying to hide it. But he needed more help," Andy answered.

Stinger sighed. "Just let Raptor take care of you now." He nodded to the android as he headed for the bridge. "Balance, do you have the information I asked for?"

"Here's everything I have," he handed Stinger his tablet. "She looks fine. He worked for Jark Matter."

Stinger growled. "Nice trick. Jark Matter would have gotten rid of the ambassador and us in one move. It's only thanks to Kiba we found out about the plot. The charges were timed to explode when we hit warp."

"What should we do about the ambassador? See if she knows anything else or just leave her alone?" Naga approached.

"I don't believe she knew anything. At this point, I think we should warp to our destination. Just in case. I'll be in the infirmary if anyone needs me."

He returned to the infirmary to find Andy barking orders.

"We need to knock him out!" Andy said frantically. She then noticed Stinger, "Just sting him." She sighed, "The drug they gave him won't let me get into his mind and he's freaking out."

Stinger grew alarmed, his tail immediately doing as asked. "What happened?"

"He was having a nightmare," she answered. "He was panicking about the bomb."

"So why couldn't you do what you do normally? What drug?"

"We made an antidote but he's still dealing with some effects. It screws with psychic stuff."

"Is that going to mess with his portal ability?" Stinger watched his friend worriedly.

"I don't know. But with the antidote, the effects should wear off before he'd need to portal," she yawned.

"Get some sleep. I'll be here when you two wake." He sat down between the beds.

Kiba woke slowly and groaned. His head felt fuzzy, as if it were wrapped in cotton. Then everything came rushing back and he shot up off the bed. "The bomb!"

Stinger appeared in front of him. "Calm down. We took care of it." He gently pushed him back onto the bed. "You need to rest. You were hurt pretty badly." He looked at Andy, who walked over with a smile.

"You're going to be fine, but you _do _need to keep resting," she added.

Kiba sighed. "What happened after? I could feel you trying to get in my head, but it was like there was something preventing it." He touched his temple. "Like everything was chained up."

"The drug he gave you screwed it up," she informed before thinking, _'Can you hear me now?'_

'_Dimly, but yeah. What the hell was that drug?'_

"I've never seen anything like it, honestly."

"I never want to see it again." He looked down at himself. "I was pretty sure I was going to die before alerting you guys."

"You got enough of a warning out," Andy assured. "And you didn't die."

Kiba chuckles weakly. "Why was he trying to blow us up anyway?"

Stinger snorted. "He was Jark Matter."

Kiba face palmed, then closed his eyes. "Figures."


	38. Attack of the Clones

Andy was restocking the infirmary when a portal formed. It shook unstably as Kiba fell through.

He was bloody and appeared to have some burns as well. He urgently called her name as he landed, his voice weak. "Andy! You have to save her!"

"Save who?" She rushed to his side to scan him over.

"Shocker... has Hammy." Kiba's eyes slid shut as he went limp in her arms.

Andy's heart sank but she quickly got to work and started healing him.

Hammy struggled against the restraints as the Shocker doctor approached. "Stay away from me!"

The doctor laughed, then looked at a figure in the shadows. At the figure's nod, the doctor announced "Operation commencing."

Hammy screamed, then went silent as she was injected with a gold liquid.

Kiba groggily opened his eyes. The infirmary spun and he groaned as a bolt of pain ripped through him. "Hammy…" He whispered before passing out once more.

Andy cursed before calling Stinger, "I need you in the infirmary, now."

Stinger acknowledged, quickly heading there. "Andy? What's- Ah hell. How bad?" He looked at Kiba worriedly.

"Can you set him on a bed?" She took a second and made a clone. The real Andy went back to healing Kiba while the clone showed her panic, "He'll live. But he said Shocker has Hammy." The clone was trying to take deep breaths to avoid a panic attack.

Stinger carefully lifted Kiba onto a bed, then turned to the clone. "Relax. We'll get her back. You know we will, right? We need him to tell us more though. Any chance you can get him conscious?"

Andy focused on healing Kiba further, while the clone fidgeted. After about ten minutes, the clone grabbed a medicine and handed it to Andy before vanishing. Andy carefully injected it, "This should wake him up. He's a lot better so he shouldn't be hurting too much."

Stinger watched as Kiba's eyelids twitched a few times, then opened slowly. "Have to find Hammy…" He slurred before becoming completely conscious.

Stinger gave him an apologetic smile. "Kiba, we need to know what happened."

_Vacation cottage, Lumiere 2_

"All I'm saying is we don't need to invite _everyone_ in the Rebellion. Just do the wedding like Stinger and Andy's. Keep it small." Kiba gave Hammy a lopsided grin. "You know, on a _budget_."

Hammy frowned. "I hate that word. What good is a wedding if you don't go overboard?"

Kiba tried not to laugh as he texted Stinger._ 'I made her angry...'_

The answering text made him lose the battle. _'Had to use the B word, didn't you?' _

Hammy threw a pillow at him.

"Fine. Shou can't yell at _me_." Kiba wrapped her in a hug just as the cottage door exploded inward.

Both of them reached for their weapons, but a black blur suddenly plowed into them. Hammy flew into the wall, getting knocked out in the process. Kiba tried to attack, but was slashed several times, sending him to his knees. "Who...are you?"

The blur vanished as a monstrous half man half tiger appeared.

Kiba swore. "Shocker."

The creature laughed, approaching Hammy.

"Get away from her!" Kiba tried to protect her, but the blur reappeared.

Kiba went down under a flurry of slashes. He lay gasping as the creature walked out, Hammy under one arm. The blur followed, then turned and threw a grenade into the cottage. The Shocker henchman disappeared as the cottage exploded.

The recall stopped, Kiba's eyes closing from the strain.

"We don't know what they want with her, do we?" Andy asked, worry evident in her voice.

Stinger growled. "Whatever it is, it won't be good."

Kiba forced his eyes to open again as he tried to get off the bed. "Have to find her…"

Stinger held him down. "We will. I swear it. But you're in no shape to go looking for her alone."

Kiba shoved him away. "It's MY fault!" He pushed himself halfway up, shaking as his bandages began spotting through. "I can't…"

Andy grabbed a sedative and stuck the needle in his arm, "We'll get her, okay? Just let's get you healed up a bit more." She went back to trying to heal him as he fell back unconscious.

Stinger sighed. "I'll look into any reports around Lumiere 2. Maybe we'll get lucky." He headed for his office.

Stinger carefully searched through the latest intelligence reports. He tried to stay calm, but every second he didn't find something was another second Hammy was in Shocker's hands. Bad enough Kiba was lying half dead in the infirmary, he wouldn't, couldn't let something happen to Hammy as well. He had to find Shocker _now_.

Suddenly a report jumped out at him. Rebellion members had reported seeing a large unfamiliar ship landing on Arcadius. There were no Jark Matter bases there, so the report was filed without an alarm. On closer reading, the ship dovetailed with every other Shocker ship they'd seen in the time the kyurangers had been fighting. Stinger hit the comm. "Champ, I want a course plotted to Arcadius. Use warp." After he received acknowledgement, Stinger sighed and stood. He knew neither Andy or Kiba would heed his caution, but he had to give it a shot.

Kiba was still asleep when Stinger entered. "How is he doing?"

"He's a bit better," she answered quietly.

"Andy, I think I've found her. But I need you to stay calm and listen to me. I think you should stay here with Kiba. I will go get her. I promise I will bring her back. But Kiba needs you right now."

"You don't really expect me to let you go into a Shocker base alone, do you?"

Stinger sighed. "I'm more than capable of getting Hammy back."

"I can't lose you and my sister," Andy shook her head. "I'd be too worried while you were gone."

Kiba's voice came from the bed. "I'm going. Don't try to stop me. She was taken because they want her for something and I'll be damned if I stay up here while she's in danger." He raised up slowly, glaring at Stinger.

Stinger threw his hands up. "I had to give it a try. Just be careful alright?"

Kiba gave him a grin. "Define careful."

Stinger groaned.

"So what's the plan?" Andy looked at Stinger and Kiba.

"Two choices. We can either sneak in and try to get her with a minimum of fighting. Or we can go in guns blazing." Stinger sent a glare toward Kiba. "I know which one _you'd_ pick. But you aren't thinking clearly because you're angry."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. I can always come back and burn the base to ashes later. I won't risk Hammy's life for revenge."

Stinger looked unconvinced. They glared at each other across the room as Andy sighed.

"As much as guns blazing would be nice, we do better with stealth," Andy answered. "All three of us will go, and we'll get Hammy and all four of us will make it out safe. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Both men chorused in unison.

Kiba paused, looking at Stinger. "He doesn't have invisibility though. Might be a problem."

Stinger frowned. "That's true. But there can't be guards _everywhere_. I'll just have to find someplace I can sneak in."

"Plus, he can just sting them," Andy shrugged with a smirk.

Kiba chuckled. "Kinda wish I had a tail right now." He winced as he shifted on the bed. "But I guess I can't have everything. Can't wait to see their faces when I show up." He grew pensive. "They spent so much time trying to grab me, but this time they didn't. I'm afraid to find out why."

"They're probably trying to use Hammy for something against us," Andy thought before changing the subject and grinning, "You could borrow my tail."

Kiba laughed. "Not a good idea, ninja girl. I'd probably go sting crazy." He gave them a grin. "When do we leave?"

"Let me heal you up a bit more, then we can get going," Andy answered.

"Alright." He closed his eyes. He hated to admit it, but he was not in the best of shape for attacking a heavily fortified base. Not yet anyway.

Andy went back to healing him, trying to get him ready for battle. Hopefully they could sneak Hammy out with not much fighting, but knowing their luck, they were in for a big battle.

Stinger frowned, watching them. Going into battle blind was a bad idea, but going in wounded was a worse one. The scorpion knew his pleas for Kiba to stay put was a futile effort though. He just hoped it wouldn't be a fatal mistake for either of them.

The comm suddenly came to life. "Guys! Is anyone there?"

Kiba's eyes flew open. "Hammy?! Is that really you?"

"Kiba? Thank the gods! Are you okay?"

He sagged in relief. "Now I am. Where are you?"

Her voice was apologetic. "In the Shocker base. I'm hiding in one of the comm rooms. Kiba, I'm scared."

"I'm coming to get you. Don't move unless you have to, okay?" Kiba slowly stood.

"Alright." The comm went silent as Kiba looked at the two rangers. "I'm portaling. Are you taking the voyagers?"

Stinger sighed, exchanging a glance with Andy. "I'll take mine, since you two have a better chance of finding her without getting discovered. I'll land near the base and meet you two outside, then be backup if needed."

Andy nodded, "We'll go get her."

Kiba waved his hand, pleased to see the portal was stable this time. "Shall we?"

He held his hand out to her.

Andy took it and they disappeared as Stinger headed for the voyager bay.

The two reappeared in a deserted alley. Kiba peeked around the corner, spotting several mooks guarding a gate. In the distance, the Shocker base loomed dark and foreboding.

"Okay. We wait here for scorpion boy, then go in and find Hammy. Sound good?" The rider turned to Andy.

Andy nodded, "He shouldn't be too long."

Stinger landed Sasori voyager gently in a field. He could see buildings close by and hoped he'd be able to find Andy and Kiba quickly. He did not want Kiba getting impatient and going in without backup.

Kiba frowned, tapping his foot. "Where is he? Better not have stopped for coffee."

Andy chuckled, "I want to save her as much as you, I know you're worried. Everything will be okay."

Stinger grinned as he approached them silently. Reaching out, he grabbed Andy while sweeping Kiba off his feet. "Waiting on me?"

Kiba growled as he rose. "Very funny. Can we go now?"

Andy chuckled, "Come on."

Kiba reached for his phone, going invisible. He didn't wait, immediately heading past the mooks and through the gate. He entered the base, methodically searching each room he came across.

Reaching one marked **Communications**, he took a deep breath and went visible. "Hammy?" He whispered.

"Kiba?!" She emerged from under a table and ran into his arms.

"Thank the gods." He tightly embraced her for a minute, then released. "Let's get out of here."

He touched his comm as he turned away. "I found her. Heading your way." As he closed the channel, he felt a needle prick his neck, then the world faded.

Stinger and Andy had exchanged smiles when they heard Kiba's transmission, but when there was no sign of either he or Hammy they began to worry.

"I'm going to find them." Stinger reached for his kyutama and morphed.

Andy nodded and morphed, following him, "I'm going with."

Kiba stirred slowly. His head pounded and his mouth was dry. His eyelids were _so _heavy. He heard shouting, recognized Andy and Stinger's voices but couldn't make his eyes open to see what was going on. Then he heard Hammy laugh. It wasn't the happy laugh he loved, instead a cruel and petty sound. Kiba tried to move, realizing he couldn't with a groan. The effort sapped what little strength he had and he fell back into the darkness.

"Hammy, what's going on?" Andy asked worried.

Hammy laughed again, bringing something from behind her back. "Why don't you come fight for the winning team? I have…" She caressed the weapon gently, then aimed it at Andy.

Stinger jumped in front of Andy as the weapon fired. The scorpion froze, then sank to his knees. His head drooped for a moment, then he stood quickly. Turning, Stinger aimed his spear at Andy as well.

"Stinger?" Andy backed up slightly, "What's going on?"

"Pledge allegiance to Shocker or die..." Stinger began to advance until a "NO!" rang out. Stinger stopped, turning back to Hammy.

A figure now stood next to the Chameleon ranger. A figure Andy had hoped she'd never see again.

Andy froze, "How...?"

General Zol laughed. "We have finally perfected our cloning process." He looked over at the unconscious Kiba. "It took us more time than I wanted, but we now have the ability to clone anyone."

"So what do you want from us? Just use us in your army?"

"For now, I want your mind. I already have hers and the scorpion's." He looked at Hammy. "Do it."

Hammy giggled, aiming and firing in one motion.

Andy felt herself being pushed back quickly in her mind. She blinked a few times and realized she was trapped in her own head. There was a barrier blocking her from moving forward, unable to actually control her body. She could still see what was happening outside, but she was trapped inside without control. Struggling, she tried to use the techniques she used to get into others heads to try to take over her own, but every time she tried, the barrier pushed back further. Soon, she heard speaking and her body turned to the noise.

The General smiled as he saw both rangers turn to him. "Very good. Here are your orders. Fight each other until only one remains."

Stinger immediately turned and kicked Andy backwards. She tumbled over Kiba's body, then rolled to her feet.

She shot at him with her seiza blaster before pulling out her own weapon. Running forward, she sliced at him, trying to hit the vital areas to take him out.

He backpedaled, bringing his spear up to block her strike.

Kiba opened his eyes, growing alarmed as he witnessed the fighting. Glancing over, he saw the General and felt his blood turn to ice. 'SHIT...how is he back?' The rider tried to control the panic building in his chest. Then he saw the weapon in Hammy's hand. Discovering his feet unbound, Kiba slowly stood and moved into Andy's view. He closed his eyes and opened the psychic link.

'_Ninja girl? You in here?'_

Andy heard the voice and tried to answer, but she knew it wasn't going out to him. She kept trying though, as her body moved to attack Stinger again.

'_Dammit Andy! Are you really letting that bastard win? Fight this!' _

Stinger ducked under Andy's swing, then ran her into the wall. He tucked the handle of his spear under her chin and pressed down on her throat.

Andy felt a rush as her body started drawing in energy from around her. She soon saw Stinger drop to the floor.

'_Kiba?'_ he heard her weakly as she tried to use the energy to push through the barrier.

'_Thank the gods. Give me your hand.'_

Andy saw Kiba through the barrier and she tried to push through it to reach him, but it wasn't budging, '_I can't! I'm trying...' _she sobbed as she struggled, as well as worried about Stinger and Hammy.

Outside, Kiba began to approach Andy's trembling form. He stopped just short of touching her, squeezing his eyes shut as a spike of pain erupted in his head. He hadn't fully recovered from the drug he'd been dosed with during the diplomatic mission and he cursed the timing. He forced himself to keep the link open. _"Fight it Andy… I have faith..." _ He extended his hand in Andy's mind.

The General snarled, running toward him. Opening his eyes, Kiba raised his gun and fired. The bullet hit between the eyes and he dropped to the floor dead. The rider exhaled slowly. He turned back to Andy, closing his eyes and pushing all his energy to keeping the link open. "Come on, ninja girl" he muttered under his breath. He felt a dim pain in his side, but didn't open his eyes to check.

Andy used all her energy to finally push through the barrier and take Kiba's hand. She soon realized her body's hand was now reaching out as well. She took a moment before she finally fully felt back in control of her body. Moving her fingers to check that she could actually move as she wanted. "Kiba!" She noticed Hammy right behind him.

"Wh-" The word was cut off as he stiffened. Looking down, he slowly registered the sword emerging from his chest. "Andy?" He raised his eyes to her as Hammy roughly pulled the sword out and he began to sink to the floor. Blood began trickling out of his mouth, more spreading on his shirt. He began to shake, the pain washing over him. His eyes began slowly close as Andy accompanied him to the ground.

"Kiba!" She moved to try to heal him but soon realized Hammy now had her eyes trained on her.

"You shouldn't bother worrying about him." Hammy's smile was twisted as she watched the rider bleed out. As he shuddered and stopped breathing, she shrugged. "See? You should worry about yourself."

Andy jumped up and pulled out her weapon. She paused, realizing she was preparing to fight her own sister. Could she really do this? She took a moment and tried to focus on Hammy's mind to try to break her free like Kiba did, but she found no trace of Hammy to hold onto.

Hammy laughed and charged forward. Her sword was aimed at Andy's neck, but she overshot. The blade whizzed by Andy's cheek.

Andy worked on stepping back and blocking the hits coming at her, still unsure how she could take down Hammy without killing her. She considered draining enough of her energy to knock her out, but she didn't know how long that would keep her down.

Hammy paused, surveying the bodies on the floor. "How did it feel draining poor Stinger? Bet it was fun."

Andy growled and sliced at Hammy's arm. She then stepped back, surprised at her reaction to her own sister. "Shut up."

"And then you got poor tormented Kiba killed. He tried to help you and now he's dead. Everyone dies who cares about you. First our parents, then Avery, because you weren't good enough. You aren't even a good ninja, much less medic. What kind of medic kills their own family?" Hammy laughed hysterically at Andy's face.

Andy went through a range of emotions. She was shocked at what Hammy said, sad because she lost so many people, angry that someone would say something like that, and upset, believing it was true. "Just shut up!" Andy ran at her, trying to slice at her again, but Hammy easily dodged the attack.

"Is little Andaka angry? Don't you want to see everyone again? I can arrange it. Oh wait... They won't want to see their murderer will they?" Hammy prepared to attack with her speed.

Andy's eyes quickly started glowing before she drained Hammy, dropping her to the floor. The glowing stopped and her eyes widened as she realized what she'd done. Dropping to her knees, she started sobbing. Hammy was right, these three people she cared about were dead because of her. Benny was dead because she couldn't save him. Her parents and Avery were dead because she couldn't save them. Her unborn baby was dead because she flew off without thinking. The only people she cared about that were left were Azra and Scorpio. And Azra was basically already raising him anyway. She wanted kids right? She'd be a better parent than Andy ever would be.

She moved toward Stinger and stared at him for a moment before raising her seiza blaster to her head. She kept sobbing, barely getting any air in. Knowing the pain would end if she would just die, she prepared to fire.

"DAKA!" Hammy's voice screamed as the blaster was knocked away. The chameleon ranger grabbed her tight. "Don't you dare leave me."

Andy fought against the grip, "You can't trick me. You just wanted me gone, don't act like you're friendly now."

Hammy drew back, her own face tear stained. "Daka... Shocker had me hostage in a cell. I just now got free. What are you talking about?" She glanced over and saw the body that looked like her. "Oh god… that wasn't me, Daka. That was a clone…"

Andy just kept sobbing, not even able to form more words. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't trying to wipe any of the tears away.

Hammy held her close, her own eyesight blurring as she saw Stinger's body. After a few minutes, she raised her head. She froze as she noticed Kiba's body. Letting Andy go, she screamed the rider's name and raced over. She cradled Kiba's head, desperately searching for a pulse. "No..no..no. Please open your eyes…" She brushed his bangs back and rocked him wordlessly.

Andy sobbed harder when she heard Hammy scream. She wanted to talk, to say she was sorry, but nothing would come out. Soon though she heard a voice, "Stop crying child. They can be saved."

She coughed and looked around before noticing a light from her kyutama. "Mariana?" The light spread out to Stinger and Kiba and surrounded them.

Stinger blinked, then looked at Andy. "Beautiful? What happened?" He rose to a sitting position and waited for her to answer.

She looked up at him with bleary eyes and whispered, "Are you real?"

He gave her a puzzled look. "Last I checked. Where's Hammy and Kiba?"

She finally looked over, "Hammy... Is he...?"

Hammy slowly nodded. "He's breathing, but he won't wake up." She continued to cradle him, watching for a sign he was regaining consciousness. "Why won't he wake up?"

Andy took a deep breath and finally wiped some of the tears from her eyes. She reached into her bag and pulled a syringe out before standing and approaching. She held it out to Hammy, "Try this."

Hammy took it from her nervously. She took the cap off and carefully injected the contents into Kiba's neck. Laying it aside, the ranger held her breath.

Kiba twitched, then coughed and opened his eyes. "Hammy? Are you alright?"

She gave him a relieved smile and nodded before giving him a hug.

Kiba looked at Andy wearily. "You look like hell. Can we go home now? My bed wants to have a talk with me."

Andy nodded, not trusting her voice to talk again.

Hammy helped Kiba stand and walk over to the General's body. He looked down with a cold smile. "Guess who won, you bastard. Hope you enjoy hell again." Kiba looked up and his smile grew warm as he met Hammy's eyes. "Let's go home."

Stinger stood and walked over to Andy, gently wrapping his arm around her. "Come on, beautiful."

She started walking, knowing she should be happy they all made it out alive. All she could feel though was an odd numbness. She'd been easily controlled and just as easily took out Stinger and the clone of Hammy. She knew she could easily take out an army of people. She really lucked out only killing a couple people, what if they set her on a whole planet? She'd be able to. No one should have that power. She knew it. No one should be able to kill that many people so easily. She had to take herself out to prevent anything bad happening. Following Stinger, she tried to come up with a plan to make it happen.

Kiba leaned heavily on Hammy as they left the base. He felt weak, the headache that had plagued him earlier returning full force as soon as he had stood. He sighed and stopped walking. "I'm portaling with Hammy. Anyone else coming?" He rested his eyes and waited for answers.

Stinger shook his head. "I'm going to retrieve Sasori voyager. Beautiful?"

Andy gave a nod, "I'll go with you."

Kiba swayed for a minute, then took a deep breath. The portal appeared, the pair disappearing into it.

Stinger began walking toward the field he'd left the voyager parked in. "You didn't tell me what happened."

Andy sighed, "Do you remember being controlled?"

His lips twisted. "Vaguely. Almost like a dream. I can tell you I hate the feeling."

Andy stopped walking a moment, "I... I killed you. And then Kiba died. And then I killed the clone of Hammy but I didn't know it was a clone..."

Stinger turned sharply, wrapping Andy in a hug. "Gods, beautiful. I can't imagine...I'm sorry."

Andy took a deep breath, "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't you." Stinger kissed her head. "Let's go home."

He let her go and began walking again.

When he arrived at Sasori voyager, he stopped. "Andy?" He turned, finding her gone. "Beautiful? Where are you?" He began retracing his steps, finding her standing where he'd left her. "Beautiful, are you alright?"

She looked up at him blankly, finally just registering words being said to her before asking, "What?"

"Let's go home." He took her arm and led her to the voyager. As she climbed in, he sighed.

He was getting worried about her. He shook his head, climbed in and lifted off.

Kiba stumbled, almost falling when they emerged onto the Orion. Hammy steadied him, her arm locked around his waist. "You are going to the infirmary."

Kiba rolled his eyes tiredly. "It's just a headache. I'll be fine once I get some sleep."

Hammy shook her head. "You just died. There was a problem bringing you back. You're going to the infirmary and I won't take no for an answer."

Kiba sighed, then grimaced as the headache spiked once again. "Fine." He allowed her to walk him there, eyes squeezed shut against the bright lights.

He lay down on a bed, letting out a whimper as the act caused lights to explode behind his eyelids.

Hammy brushed his bangs back, fighting tears as she watched him grimace in pain. She didn't dare give him anything, worried it would make things worse.

Andy climbed out of the voyager when it landed and headed toward the infirmary. She looked at Kiba and Hammy for a moment, not really wanting to interact with people, but finally asked, "Is he okay?"

Hammy shook her head. "He says it's just a headache, but almost lost hold on the portal before we got here. I'm scared, Daka."

Kiba gave no sign he heard the conversation, his eyes still squeezed shut and quiet whimpers escaping his lips.

Andy walked over and scanned him before going to grab a couple different vials. She gave him two injections, "This should help. He's going to be fine."

Kiba relaxed, his features smoothing into sleep as the injections took effect. Hammy gave a soft smile as she sat by his bed. She took one of his hands while her other kept carding through his hair. "What's wrong with him? The headaches are almost constant, usually after he uses his abilities."

"He'd been given something we'd not seen before that affects his psychic abilities," Andy admitted. "I made an antidote but it is still affecting him. I gave him more of the antidote now with the pain meds."

Hammy sighed. "I love him so much, but he is a handful."

Andy just nodded before heading back out of the infirmary. She wandered down the hall, not sure what she wanted to do or if she even had the energy to care. She knew she'd have nightmares though so she didn't want to sleep. What she really _wanted_ to do involved stuff in the infirmary but with Hammy and Kiba there, she couldn't. She finally found herself in one of the rec rooms and just stared out at the stars.

Stinger sat on the bridge, staring at his hands. Worry for Andy was settled like a brick in his stomach, but he had no idea how he could help. The last time she'd been like this was after Benny had died. He grimaced as he remembered how that had turned out. He did not want to find Andy in a similar situation again. He debated going to find her, but wasn't sure what kind of reception he'd receive. He sighed, then stood up and went to the computer. He quickly found Andy's location and left the bridge.

Andy didn't even notice that someone entered the room, she just kept staring out the window, her mind blank from having thought too much earlier.

Stinger slowly approached. "Beautiful?" He called out, not wanting to startle her. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" She finally looked over, "I'm fine."

Stinger rolled his eyes, sitting down beside her. "I recognize the thousand-yard stare, beautiful. I saw it in my mirror for years. And we both know what kind of ideas go along with it. Please stop lying to me. You're not fine. It's okay not to be. We just went through an awful traumatic experience. It's bound to leave some mental scars." He sighed, looking at his hands again. "I don't remember much consciously, but I know my subconscious does. I'm terrified of sleeping."

"Just... everything the clone of Hammy said... and they got control of me. Do you know how much damage I could do if they wanted me to take over a planet?"

"Beautiful, that won't happen. The General is dead and I'm going to go back and destroy that gun. No one is going to be taking anyone over. And whatever the clone said is not true. You know that right?" Stinger looked up at her, searching her face. "Don't you dare start believing whatever she said."

"They cloned him once, they could do it again."

"Then we'll just keep killing him. I know right now I'm going to blow up that base. Maybe it will help us all sleep better." Stinger gave her a kiss, then rose and left the rec room. Returning to the bridge, he loaded the cannon and fired at the shocker base. He took a deep breath as he watched it burn.

Andy finally fell asleep on the couch of the rec room, too exhausted from the day to even dream.

Kiba opened his eyes slowly. Sitting up, he found himself alone. With a sigh he climbed off the bed. His headache was gone, but he still felt disconnected somehow. He walked over to the window, watching the stars go by. He felt like he didn't really exist anywhere anymore, like he was a ghostly remainder. If he _was_ a ghost, then he had to end it. He didn't want to be haunting everyone he loved anymore. He looked at the medicine cabinet, nodding to himself. If he just went to sleep, his ghost would disappear. Everyone would finally move on. Being gone for a year would soon be five, ten, even fifteen years. Peace would come.

He quickly opened the cabinet, grabbing two vials and one syringe. Half and half soon filled it and Kiba returned to the bed before injecting himself. Closing his eyes, the syringe fell from his hand as he slowly sank into darkness.

Hammy's eyes shot open as she felt Kiba's hand go limp. Standing, she shakily touched his face. "Kiba?" Getting no response, she reached for a scanner. What it revealed cause her to bite back a scream and hit her comm. "ANDY! RAPTOR! I NEED YOU!"

Andy woke and rushed to the infirmary, "What's wrong?"

Hammy handed her the scanner and began to sob.

Andy looked at it in confusion for a second before shaking her head and getting medicine to counteract the problem. She stuck in the needle and then kept a watch over his vitals.

Hammy looked at her. "What happened? He was sleeping, then suddenly…"

"Anything that happens in his dreams affects his real body," Andy sighed. "So if he's struggling in a nightmare or gets a shot in a nightmare it's going to affect him out here."

"Why would he try to kill himself in a nightmare?" Hammy was confused.

"Someone else _could _have done it but he's been through a lot, it wouldn't be close to the first attempt he's had. He might not realize he's even dreaming."

Hammy became hysterical. "He's done this before? Even after that time with your breakdown? How many times?"

Andy sighed, "Between all the times both he and I have thought about or actually attempted, I can't keep track. He's been through a lot, and that trauma doesn't just go away, Hammy. He is happy and loves you but when things get hard, it's tough to even see the good things. It's... You begin to think everyone around you would be better off without you. I can't explain it better and if you've never felt it yourself I'd imagine it's hard to understand. Just... assure him he's loved and wanted." She headed out of the infirmary without waiting for a response.

Hammy tried to catch her breath, but couldn't stop crying. How could Kiba believe everyone would be better off without him? How badly_ was_ Kiba traumatized? She sat down and clutched Kiba's hand tightly. Suddenly an idea occurred to her. She reached for the infirmary tablet and typed in Kiba's name. His file appeared and she began to read.

Two hours later, Hammy's face was pale. She put the tablet down with a trembling hand just as Kiba's eyelids twitched. She hurriedly tried to wipe her eyes as his opened.

"Why am I not gone?" Kiba's eyes were confused. "Why haven't I disappeared?"

"Disappeared? What do you mean?" Hammy asked softly.

"I'm just a ghost. I need to disappear so everyone moves on."

Hammy fought back a sob, "You're not a ghost. You're alive."

He shook his head emphatically. "I've been dead for a year. Andy told me so. I died in the Jark Matter factory. Somehow Andy rescued me, but I'm just a ghost pretending to be alive. I need to finally disappear so I don't haunt you anymore and everyone can be happy again."

Hammy stared at him in shock before slapping him, "You really think we'd be happy without you?! You're alive. You survived! And we want you here!"

Kiba touched his cheek, his eyes sad. "How could you be happy with a murderer?" He slid off the opposite side of the bed, going to the window. "I need to atone, but the universe won't let me. Maybe I _am_ dead and this is purgatory?" He sighed and fell silent.

Hammy approached him and grabbed onto his hand, "You are _not _a murderer. Shocker was controlling you. You're alive and I want you here with me."

He turned to her and shook his head. "I don't deserve to be happy. I have to atone for my sins, but you don't. Let me go and be happy." He produced his gun, placing it to his temple. "Look away, Hammy. Please." His finger began to tighten on the trigger.

Hammy moved quickly and pushed his arm away so the gun wasn't pointed at him. "The only way I'll be happy is if you're alive. So if you want me happy, don't do this." Tears were streaming down her face.

The gun went off, the bullet embedding itself in the wall. Kiba gave a deep sigh and made the gun disappear. "Guess I have no choice." He embraced Hammy, then pressed a pressure point on her neck. He gently placed her on a bed after she passed out. He left the infirmary and headed for his room.

Stinger entered the infirmary ten minutes later and cursed. He got on the comm. "Andy? We have a situation." He gently checked Hammy and sighed in relief as he found a strong pulse.

"What's wrong?" She answered.

"Hammy is unconscious and Kiba's missing. Should I be worried?" He checked the computer. "Strike that. Kiba is in his room...shit! I'm heading there now. Bring your bag and meet me."

Stinger raced to the rider's room, keying in his override code when the door didn't open. What he found chilled his blood. Kiba lay in a slowly expanding puddle of blood. "KIBA!"

The ranger quickly knelt, looking for the source of the blood, discovering the rider had slit both wrists deeply. An empty syringe lay nearby. Stinger swore and tried to staunch the bleeding unsuccessfully. "Dammit, what did you do?"

Kiba's voice was faint. "I'm moving on. I-I won't be a ghost haunting you anymore." His eyes closed and he went limp in Stinger's arms.

Andy entered the room and took in the scene, just sighing. "Get him to the infirmary." She headed down the hall and got stuff ready. When Stinger entered with Kiba, she got to work, sewing up the wounds, hooking up a transfusion, and giving him serum. She worked in silence and then finally looked at Stinger, "So, apparently we can't leave Hammy to watch suicidal Kiba... I kind of wonder if they'll even make it to getting married at this point if Kiba keeps doing dumb things."

Stinger frowned as he watched Kiba. "He called himself a ghost. Said he was done haunting us. I have no idea what he was talking about."

Hammy spoke softly. "He told me he'd died in the factory. He said Daka saved him but he was just a ghost pretending to be alive. He tried to shoot himself before he knocked me out. It was like he was unaware that time had passed since then."

"So, he had a mental break..." Andy sighed. "Hopefully he'll be fine when he wakes again." She glanced at Hammy, "I'm sorry I didn't stay and try to help before this happened..."

Hammy shook her head. "I read some of his medical file. You have helped him so much. I just wish I could."

Stinger looked at Andy. "Why did he inject sedative if he was going to cut his wrists?"

"It wasn't sedative, it was an anticoagulant," Andy didn't look up, typing the new medical report into his file.

"So even if he didn't cut deep enough, he'd still keep bleeding." Hammy's voice was horrified. "He wants to die _that _badly?"

Stinger sat down heavily. "He's got a pretty messed up head, Hammy."

"Like I told you earlier, when you want to do_ that_, you think it's the best option. And when you've been discovered a few too many times, like Kiba, you get creative with making sure it finally sticks."

Hammy sat up, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "But _why_? I thought he was happy. Why is his past still haunting him? And why does his mind keep breaking?" She looked at Andy. "I read your report on his regression. Did the General reappearing cause this?"

"I don't know that part, I just know brains are difficult and with that much trauma there's bound to be trouble." She sighed and looked away, "It doesn't matter if some things make you happy. Remember when I said you do it because you think it's the best choice? You think the people around you will be better off without you. Or you just want the pain to end."

Hammy gave a look to Stinger.

Stinger returned it puzzled. He was about to ask when Kiba groaned. He waited till the rider's eyes opened, then glared at him.

Kiba swore as he realized where he was. He returned the glare full force. "Why? Why can't you just let me go?!" He began to sit up, reaching for the transfusion IV.

Andy got up and grabbed his hand, "Because. Hammy cares about you. We care about you. And you are alive and not a ghost. I don't care how many times we have to bring you back, we are going to keep bringing you back."

Kiba growled and tried to shake her hand off, continuing to attempt to remove the IV and get off the bed. "Let me go."

Andy grew conflicted. She wanted to end her own life, so who was she to stop someone else from doing the same? And if he wasn't staying strong and staying alive, she didn't have to either. But then she looked at the worried, panicked look on her sisters face and remembered her place as a medic. She reached back before punching Kiba in the face.

Kiba stared at her in shock as he touched his busted lip. "Andy, what the hell!"

"I don't care how much you want to die, or for whatever reasons. I'm not letting you hurt Hammy. So I am going to keep you alive. That doesn't mean I'm going to be nice about it if you keep fighting me though."

"Screw you." He pushed her away. "Hammy is better off without me and you damn well know it." He pulled the IV out and stood, heading for the door angrily. He paused and spoke again. "Hammy, I'm sorry. Just forget about me." He began walking again, but was blocked by a furious Stinger.

"How dare you say that to her! You honestly believe we _could ever_ forget you? Your head must be scrambled worse than I thought. So you have a shit past? Welcome to the fucking club. You don't have a monopoly on that. And I'm sick of you acting like you do. You wanna die? Maybe we should let you. But not let you get off easy. You should feel like we will when you're gone. All the pain we'll be feeling, you should feel before you get what you want." Stinger's eyes were blazing as he got into Kiba's face.

Kiba glared at him. "You'd chicken out. You threaten but you don't have the guts. So just get the hell out of my way before I make you move."

Andy growled, her eyes starting to glow. "Stinger's right. If you do want to die, you should feel that pain." She made him scream as she broke two of his bones. She then showed him memories of when they thought he died before and how they all felt before breaking a few more bones. "You know, Stinger, I think maybe you should sting him." She broke a couple more. She wasn't shattering them but she did enough damage to hurt him. "And you guys say you trust me with these powers. Wondering if you're still thinking that."

Hammy screamed. "Daka, stop it!"

Stinger nodded. "Think you're right." His tail whipped around and stung Kiba in the back. He looked at Andy. "I will always trust you."

Kiba's eyes rolled up and he collapsed to the floor. He shook uncontrollably as the venom coursed through him.

Hammy jumped off the bed, kneeling beside her fiancé. She fixed a look on the two rangers. "How could you?"

Stinger shrugged. "He needs a lesson."

"He really does. I feel like this is the hundredth time he's attempted suicide. Probably not actually a hundred, but it feels like it," Andy shrugged as well. "You know I can heal him."

Hammy tried to control her anger. "You've told me before you can't heal poison. And I'm starting to believe you won't because you're tired of dealing with him."

"Don't you dare say that," Andy spat back. "I care about him just as much as you do. The _only _thing I am sick of is him telling me to stay strong and then he can't even do the same thing." She went over and got the antivenin from the cabinet and filled a syringe.

Kiba stopped shaking, his body beginning to shut down. Hammy cradled his head frantically as his breathing began to slow. "Stay with me, Kiba. Please…"

Andy knelt on the other side of him and injected the antivenin before making her eyes glow again and started healing the bones back together.

Hammy was quiet, running her fingers through Kiba's hair as Andy worked. She was angry at her, but after reading some of Kiba's medical file could almost understand the other ranger's feelings.

After a bit, Andy dropped her hands, "He's going to be fine." She looked at Stinger, "Want to move him to a bed?"

Stinger knelt and took him from Hammy, easily putting him on the nearest bed. He grimaced, running a hand through his hair. "Think he'll forgive us?"

Andy shrugged, "He can be mad at me all he wants."

Kiba's eyes cracked open. "I'm not mad. I'm the one who should be asking forgiveness."

Hammy frowned at him. "How can you say that? They almost killed you."

Kiba gave a small chuckle. "I kinda goaded them into it. Don't be mad at them, okay?"

"Sorry, I think I had a little too much fun..." Andy spoke quietly.

"I deserved it. I don't blame either one of you." His eyes closed again as he fell asleep.

Hammy shook her head. "I don't understand any of you."

Andy smirked, "Let me know if he needs anything." She headed out of the room.

Stinger gave Hammy a wry smile. "Now you know how I feel. I'll be on the bridge."

Hammy watched as he left, then turned to Kiba. Seating herself beside his bed, she took a deep breath and reached for the tablet once again.

Time jump-

Raptor called Stinger, "Commander? Can you come to the infirmary please?" She stared at the computer screen.

Stinger frowned, but did as he was asked. When he arrived, he found the android agitated. "Raptor? What's wrong?"

Raptor showed him the screen, "Andy had this set up to mix. None of these medicines go together... If someone took it, it'd be a quick death. I wasn't sure if I should try talking to her or not..."

Stinger's face went pale. Then he looked at Raptor. "I'll talk to her. Don't tell anyone else."

Andy was in the rec room when she heard someone come in. She gave a soft smile when she noticed Stinger, "You hungry? I was thinking about making lunch."

"Can we talk first? I found something worrisome on the computer system."

She frowned, "What's up?"

"I found a list of drugs and notes on mixing them. Not sure who wrote it or when." Stinger looked at her. "Do you?" He asked softly.

Andy shrugged, "We mix medicines all the time."

"Not when if they are mixed they kill you. You think Kiba made the list?"

"If he's going to kill himself he'll probably use sedative or anticoagulants... At least that's what he's done in the past. I can ask him if you want?"

Stinger frowned and shook his head. "I may ask him later. Thought our little demonstration had gotten through his head though." He looked at her. "What were you planning to make for lunch?"

Andy shrugged again, "Does anything sound good to you?"

"Grilled cheese." He gave her a smile.

She smiled, "I'll go start on it then." She gave him a quick kiss before heading to the kitchen.

Stinger lost the smile. He hadn't wanted to believe it, but the evidence was right in front of his face. Andy hadn't asked what the drugs on the list had been. He took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions. He'd have to watch her and hope he could prevent whatever she was planning before it was too late.

Hammy entered the kitchen, a pensive look on her face. "Oh hey Daka. Need some help?"

She shrugged, "Just making grilled cheese. It's easy." She looked at her, "What's up?"

"How do you help Kiba sleep?" Hammy sat down.

"Unless you learn how to get into his dreams... Sedate him?"

"Isn't that bad for his body?"

"The sedative? Only if you give him too much."

"Can you show me? He's barely slept since we got back from the base. He goes to bed, then wakes me yelling about the General. He then goes and sits in a corner until he passes out. I'm worried about him."

Andy nodded, "I'll show you after lunch and give you a dose or two to keep on you."

Hammy gave her a small smile. "I asked if he wanted me to get you and he refused. Said you had enough issues, you didn't need to worry about him."

Stinger came in and stopped as he heard Hammy's comment. "He's a real idiot isn't he?"

"Seriously, I don't mind helping him. If you think he needs help, or the sedative doesn't work, come get me, okay?"

Hammy nodded and rose as Stinger sat down. "I'm going to check on him real quick." She left the kitchen as Stinger sighed. "She's not taking his issues well, is she?"

"It's my fault... Though he straight up tried to kill himself in front of her, so I guess it doesn't matter that I let it slip that it was a common issue..." Andy sighed. "I worry about them. I worry about all of Kiba's issues, and I worry that Hammy can't handle them. I know she's strong but..."

Stinger nodded. "Sometimes I think she adjusted best to civilian life. She became a teacher and settled down. She doesn't understand the issues the rest of us have. Though I don't think the rest of the kyurangers actually have as many as we do."

"Yeah, I mean, most of the team has some issues, but they haven't dealt with most of the stuff after Armage... Even though Armage is gone, Jark Matter, and then Shocker, have been causing almost as much trouble as they always did."

Stinger sighed. "Do you ever wonder if it was wise introducing them?" He looked down at the table. "I know they seem happy, but don't you worry that we've caused more pain for her in the long run?"

Andy grabbed the plates down, "Kiba says she's his soulmate... And she's stuck with him through everything. The pain must be worth it, right?"

Stinger's lips twisted. "I suppose so." He looked at the door. "I just hope she feels the same way."

Hammy entered Kiba's room quietly. Approaching the bed, she sighed as she saw him.

He was curled in a tight ball, his hair sweat soaked. His pale face was tear stained, his eyelids flickering rapidly as he whimpered. Hammy desperately wanted to comfort him, but after he recoiled the first time she'd tried, the ranger had kept her distance. It hurt to see him this way and she sincerely hoped the sedative would allow him some peace. She let herself out and returned to the kitchen.

She gave the two rangers a sad smile. "He's sleeping, but it isn't peaceful. For the time being he isn't screaming at people who aren't there though."

Andy nodded, "Well, that's a step in the right direction at least." She held out a plate.

Hammy took it and sat down. "How do you stand it? I only see the outside trauma. You go into his mind and get the full view… I can't imagine not breaking down."

Andy shrugged, "I guess when you have your own trauma, you just understand and feel sad for them. You're pretty much trauma free, so you don't imagine anything being that bad, you know?"

Hammy chewed thoughtfully. "I finished his file. Had to read it in parts because what he went through is so horrifying to me. The regression report made me physically sick."

"When he regressed, I just wanted to adopt him, you know?" Andy chuckled. "I felt bad that he went through those things, but at that point, nothing he could say would really shock me."

Hammy shook her head as she finished eating. "I guess I can understand why he wants to die in a twisted way. But I have trouble reconciling the Kiba who says he loves me and the desperate one I saw in the infirmary."

"That's why he never really wanted us to tell you what he'd been through," Andy admitted. "He just doesn't want to hurt you."

Hammy was about to reply when Raptor's voice came over the comm. "Hammy, you need to go to Kiba's room."

"Raptor, what's wrong?" Hammy was out of her chair in seconds.

"His heart rate is fluctuating dangerously." The android couldn't hide the worry in her voice. "If it doesn't stabilize, we may have a problem."

Hammy ran out of the kitchen.

Andy glanced at Stinger with a frown, "He's probably having some kind of nightmare... I should probably go help, shouldn't I?" She sighed as she stood and took the plates to the sink.

Stinger stood and wrapped her in a hug. "Let Hammy try first."

Hammy pushed the door open to find Kiba huddled in a corner, his hands wildly flailing.

"Get away! I won't let you use her!" He stood unsteadily, then began to approach Hammy. She froze as he raised a hand, his gun suddenly appearing. "You won't hurt either one of them anymore, you bastard. I'll kill you as many times as I need to keep the girls safe." He began to aim as Hammy ducked under the barrel.

"Kiba? Kiba, you're safe. Wake up please." She jumped as the gun fired over her head. She quickly scrambled away and touched her comm. "Stinger! I need help. Kiba's shooting at me."

Andy heard it and looked up at him, "Should I try to wake him, or do you just want to sting him?" She sighed, "Or I could try to get in there with an actual sedative."

"You probably should try to wake him before he does something he regrets." Stinger stood. "I'll come with you as a last resort."

Andy nodded and went into the room, noticing Kiba holding a gun, "Kiba? It's Andy. I need you to wake up."

"You're one of _them_. I want to know where the real Andy is."

Hammy frantically waved at her. "He thinks we're clones!"

'_Kiba, it's really me. Could a clone talk to you like this?' _She didn't move closer but thought at him, hoping it would knock some sense into him.

'_Shocker could copy the link. You can't fool me. Now where is she?' _ Kiba aimed the gun at her head.

"How can I prove to you that I'm real?" Andy wondered.

He stopped, looking at her in confusion. "The General programmed you well. You act just like her."

"Well, that's because I'm the real Andy and not a clone. But if it would make you feel better, you can shoot me anyway," she answered.

"I don't want to shoot you. It's not your fault you were created. You're like me. I want to shoot _him_. But I can't find him unless I find _her_. So just tell me where she is so I can save her. Please."

"I _am_ the real Andy. I don't know what else to say. I can't make you believe me, but it is true."

Kiba looked at her, then closed his eyes. _'Andy? You swear you're really her?'_

'_I swear. I swear on Stinger, and Scorpio, and Azra, and Hammy. I am really Andy.'_

He opened his eyes and looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. He looked at the gun in horror, dropping it to the floor. "Andy? What's happening to me?"

"You were... Having a nightmare? Almost?" She tried to explain.

Kiba sank to the floor and put his head in his hands. "I could have shot you." He sighed. "I don't know if Hammy told you, but I haven't been sleeping well. I'm exhausted, but my mind…" He trailed off.

"I know, she did mention it. I can give you sedative if you want, or I can try to help you through your nightmares. But you do need to actually sleep," Andy sighed. "And I know you could have shot me. That isn't going to stop me from trying to help you."

He raised his head. "Seeing _**him**_ again...I think my mind just can't deal with it. Every time I close my eyes, my head threatens to explode and I hear his voice in my head." He looked at her through pain filled eyes. "I thought I was fine after my recall before we went and destroyed the other weapons cache. But now… I have to resist the urge to eat my gun."

Andy approached and hugged him, "I know it's hard. But everything is going to be okay. You know I'm here to help, and Hammy wants to help too."

He clung to her desperately. "I _don't _want to die. But he's in my head again and I don't know if I can fight him. _Help me_."

Andy nodded, "You can fight him. You took him down once. I took him down once. We can take him down in your head too, okay?"

He nodded sleepily, then grabbed his head. "No..can't sleep. Hurts.." He let go of Andy, curling into a ball. "Go away…"

Andy sighed and grabbed out some sedative before sticking the needle into his arm. She then looked up at Hammy, "I'll stick around in case he has a nightmare, but he should be okay for a while with this in his system."

Hammy looked devastated. "What is he talking about? Who is in his head? He says he doesn't want to die, but then he slashed his wrists after I stopped him from shooting himself. What is _wrong _with him?"

"I'm pretty sure he means the General." Andy thought for a moment trying to figure out what exactly was going on in Kiba's head. She sighed, "I wonder if I could just hypnotize him to forget about the General... Obviously though, I'm not good at hypnotism."

Hammy stared at her. "What do you mean? Why would you need to hypnotize him?"

Andy cursed, "Look, don't tell him this, okay? I was in his mind one day, trying to just hypnotize him to get information. But I saw memories of him being hypnotized by the General. I don't think he remembers it at all. So I just tried to hypnotize the problem out of him..." She sighed, "Part of the reason he's tried to commit suicide so much, is he was hypnotized to take himself out if DeStruct failed. So I tried to hypnotize him into not killing himself, but obviously I failed because he's tried multiple times now..."

Hammy looked at Kiba for a minute, then spoke. "Could seeing the General in the base have triggered the subliminal programming again? Because before I was captured, he hadn't attempted anything. He was even sleeping better."

"That's what I was wondering. I thought killing the General clone would help him get past everything but obviously there's still issues..." She sighed. "We'll see what happens when he does have a nightmare."

Hammy cringed. "Does he still get violent during them? I remember reading that he stabbed himself once."

Andy shrugged, "Not as much, but he can. He'd really pretty unpredictable."

Hammy sighed and sat down on the bed. "I feel so useless."

"I can teach you how to get into his nightmares if you want. Or how to heal? That way I'm not the only one who'll be able to help him."

"Do you think I can learn it?" Hammy was looking more confident now.

Andy nodded before sending a thought to Shishi. Soon the cat appeared.

"Ok, you're going to have to learn the absolute basic start of healing, which is sensing energy. Close your eyes, and start by feeling your own energy. Then, put your hands on Shishi and try to feel hers."

Hammy nodded, closing her eyes. She sat motionless for several minutes, then reached out and touched Shishi. Another minute passed before Hammy spoke. "I feel her. What now?"

"Okay, do you see her? With your eyes closed? Focus on inside of her and see if you can sense her skeleton or organs." Andy spoke, hoping she was making sense. It'd been years since she learned from Aggie, and Hammy was normally the teacher, not Andy.

Hammy's forehead creased, then she grinned. "I can see her! She's old isn't she?"

"Yeah she is," Andy smiled fondly. "And guess what, your hands are glowing now."

"Really?!" Hammy opened her eyes in amazement.

"So, for actually healing, you'd need to learn the body systems and how everything works. But for now, let's get to what you want to know more." She smiled at Shishi and sent her a thought. "Now, focus on Shishi's mind. Try to see what she's thinking. I know it sounds complicated but it's a lot easier than it seems. When you can see her energy, focus on her brain and take in whatever visions come to you."

Hammy closed her eyes again and concentrated. "I see water. And I feel a sharp pain. Here."

She touched Shishi's paw. "And I see _you_?"

Andy focused for a moment and smiled, "That's when I met her."

Hammy opened her eyes. "I just saw her memory?"

"Yeah. And for the longest time, I could only send memories instead of talking psychically so that might be all you can do for a while. I'll teach you about dreams later. And I'll let you read my memory too. But you probably should rest. You might not seem exhausted yet, but it does use a bit of energy to do this, and with you just starting, your body won't be used to it."

Hammy nodded, then looked at Kiba. "You think he'll be alright?"

"I hope so." She sighed, "But I'll do everything I can to help him."

Stinger spoke from the doorway. "Do you want me to put him on the bed or move him to the infirmary in case he wakes again?"

Andy sighed, "There's less for him to harm himself with here, but if he can summon his gun it doesn't matter. We might want to restrain him, but I don't want to cause more issues by doing that." She looked at Hammy, "What do you think?"

Hammy frowned. "The infirmary is where you usually help him, right?"

She nodded, "I guess take him there. I'll stick around there and keep an eye on him."

Stinger nodded, lifting the rider over his shoulder and disappearing. He headed for the infirmary as Kiba began to twitch.

The twitch became a full blown struggle just as Stinger reached the room. Quickly putting him down on a bed, the ranger restrained the rider and then sent Andy a thought.

Andy soon appeared and sat next to Kiba's bed.

"No..I won't listen! You're dead!" Kiba fought the restraints.

Andy found herself back in the Shocker base. She saw the General standing over Kiba who was bound.

"You failed your mission. You know what you have to do." He was laughing as Kiba shook his head. "You can't resist. I made sure of that."

"I CAN resist. I killed you. You can't make me…" Kiba screamed as the General knelt and touched his temple.

"You can't resist me, DeStruct. I created you and I will destroy you if I so choose." He untied Kiba and handed him a sword. "Now do what you're told."

Kiba's eyes went blank and he aimed the sword at his heart.

Andy rushed to him and grabbed his hand, "Kiba, this is a dream. It's not real. He's not real."

Kiba shook his head. "He's right. I can't resist..." He began to press the tip through his shirt.

Andy grabbed the sword, not caring if it cut her hand. She pulled it away from him, "You will not kill yourself. You will not listen to the General. He's not real."

Kiba's hands shook. "I can't resist. His voice is too loud. Make it stop, Andy!"

"Kiba, I'm trying but you have to stand up to him yourself. Take that sword and kill him. Yes, he's a dream but if he's real to you, you need to get rid of him. Just as easy as you shot his clone, just reach out and stab him." She moved and held his hand around the sword handle. "We can do it together, okay?"

Kiba nodded, his eyes frightened. He shook as he looked at the General. "I won't listen to you anymore!" He charged toward him, sword aimed at the General's heart.

The General stood there and laughed. "You can't get free that easy, DeStruct."

Kiba gave a yell. "THAT'S NOT MY NAME!" He stabbed the sword through the General.

The man grabbed Kiba's head. "You'll die with me then."

Kiba screamed, releasing the blade as the General disappeared in a flash of light.

"Kiba? Are you okay?" Andy asked softly.

Kiba looked at her. "I don't know. I don't hear him in my head anymore. But my body doesn't feel right." He stumbled into her. "He did something…"

"Shh, I'll take care of it." She helped him sit. She quickly made a clone who started searching through the Shocker files she had looking for any clue as to what the General did.

Kiba started to hyperventilate, his lips turning blue. He looked at Andy in terror. Then he began to convulse, falling into her arms.

Andy tried to help hold him still, and brushed his hair from his face while her clone worked. Finally, the clone found something and quickly mixed up the antidote. She injected it into Kiba's arm and waited, keeping an eye on his vitals.

Kiba's eyes were closed, but his lips returned to normal. He stopped convulsing, but gave no sign of waking. His breathing was steady and he appeared to be out of danger, until the clone scanned him and froze.

Stinger walked in and stopped as he took in the scene. "Andy, what's wrong?"

Andy shook her head. "Let me try something. If it works, there isn't anything to be worried about. If it doesn't…" She closed her eyes and focused.

She opened them, finding herself in the safe room. Looking around, she spied Kiba lying motionless in a corner. Rushing over, she lifted his torso into her lap. Brushing his hair back, she softly called his name. When he didn't respond, she shook him and repeated his name louder.

Slowly his eyes opened. They were unfocused and held none of the spark she associated with the fun loving rider. "An..dy?" His voice was weak.

"Hey, yeah it's me," she said quietly.

"My head... I'm so tired." Kiba's eyes finally focused on her. "Why can't I move?" He began to close his eyes again, but she shook him awake.

"You were poisoned," Andy answered. "It's complicated."

He frowned. "The General… he did it, didn't he? He finally killed me."

"You're not dead. You're asleep and need to wake up," Andy answered. "I gave you an antidote, you should be okay. I just need you to wake up."

He struggled to keep his eyes open. "I-I don't know if I can...I'm so tired. My head just wants to shut off. What happens if I can't wake up?"

Andy sighed, "You'll probably die." Her eyes started glowing as she pulled energy from sources outside of the Orion and pushed it into Kiba. "You better not die on me. Again."

"Trying my best..." Kiba felt the energy course through him, strengthening his body. But his mind began feeling weaker. "Something's wrong. My mind… I'm slipping away. It's like in the hospital. I'm-I'm losing myself. Andy, help me. I don't want to disappear…" He looked at her frantically as his eyes began to lose focus again.

The General suddenly reappeared in front of them. "I told you. You will die with me. Your mind was created by us. The poison may have been stopped, but your mind is already dying. You can't stop it." He laughed, then vanished.

Kiba screamed as multiple spikes of pain erupted in his head. "Andy, help me… I can't fight this…"

She held him tightly, still pushing energy into him. Her clone rushed and grabbed some of the serum Andy created to heal Kiba. She injected a dose into him as well as a medicine to help wake him.

"You're going to be fine, stay with me," Andy begged.

Kiba trembled uncontrollably, whimpers escaping as he fought the pain. He held on to the sound of Andy's voice even though he could no longer make out the words. His eyes slipped closed as he lost the strength to keep them open. He tried to speak, but couldn't. A massive rush of pain struck and he stiffened for a few seconds, then darkness swept over him and he went limp.

Andy cursed as she pushed more energy into him. She noticed her kyutama glowing and a light started to surround Kiba. Andy kept working on him as Mariana worked on him through the kyutama.

Kiba felt warmth surrounding him and he blinked his eyes open to see a soft blue light. He watched in disbelief as a woman emerged from it. "Who are you?"

"A friend," Mariana gave a nod. "I'm the spirit of the dolphin."

His eyes brightened as he realized who she was. "Andy's kyutama… You're Mariana." He looked at her. "You're trying to heal me, aren't you?"

She smiled softly and just said, "Yes."

He chuckled sadly. "I don't think it will work. I can feel my mind going dark." He sighed and gave her a look. "I don't know how long I'll be able to even talk with you."

"You know, living is a choice. Are you really fighting hard enough to live? Or are you already giving up?" She spoke.

His eyes blazed. "I _want_ to live! More than anything, I want to live. I want to marry Hammy. I want to keep annoying ninja girl and her idiot scorpion. But every time I take a step forward, my past comes and drags me eight steps back. The General, or DeStruct come back and my life is thrown into chaos again." He clasped his fist in his hand. "I can't escape who I was."

"No, you can't. You can either accept what happened or not, but accepting it will be better in the long run. Your past happened, and things will remind you of it forever. What you need to do is focus on the future. What can you look forward to?" She sighed, "Accepting the past is hard for some, especially those with a hard past. But it's not something that can be escaped. That doesn't mean you should run from it by dying, it just means it's something to accept about yourself, just like the color of your hair, or the color of your eyes, it can't be changed."

Kiba sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I have accepted it. I just want it behind me and it seems that's the one thing I can't get. I have a family, a woman I love and who loves me. I have everything I ever wanted, but there's this darkness. I can't seem to get rid of it. Sometimes it creeps in and I feel like the only way to escape is to die. I _don't want to_, but it won't let me go!"

He turned to face the darkness creeping over Mariana's light. "I... I can't fight alone...but ninja girl has her own issues and I hate burdening her."

"The big question is, is it not letting you go, or are you not letting it go?" Mariana spoke wisely before commenting, "Yes, our ninja girl has a lot of issues, and more than you probably are aware of. But, she doesn't think of helping you as a burden. I think it's probably best for her to get a distraction from her own mind to help you." She sighed, "You also have more than just her to help you. Even those who can't get into your head can help you fight the darkness, just in their own ways. Rely on them as well, not just Andy."

The rider sighed, then turned back to her. "I think you're right. I've never really let my past go. I thought the reminder of what I'd done gave me fuel to fight. Now I realize it chained me to Shocker as much as any manacle ever did." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I want to **live**. I will try to let my _whole_ family in." He took a final look over his shoulder at the darkness which had begun to recede. "Help me?"

Mariana pushed light back, making the darkness recede further. She then smiled, "Now you just need to wake up." She quickly added, "And keep an eye on Andy. She needs help right now too, and I can only do so much from inside a kyutama."

Kiba looked her in the eye. "You have my word. I won't let her do anything if I can prevent it." He gave her a smile, then closed his eyes.

He reopened them, seeing the walls of his safe room first. Then he saw Andy and gave her a smile. "Hey, ninja girl. Ready to blow this pop stand?"

She took a deep breath and smiled, "Are you feeling better?"

"Thanks to you and your friend, I feel better than I have in years. I'm sorry for scaring you."

Andy grinned and shook her head, "I'm just glad you're feeling well."

He smiled again. "See you in the real world." He closed his eyes.

He blinked, waiting for his eyes to focus. The infirmary ceiling stared down at him and he chuckled relievedly. Looking over, he saw Andy opening her eyes. As she looked up at him, Kiba waggled his eyebrows. "You're getting slow, ninja girl. Since when do I wake up first?"

Andy chuckled and rolled her eyes. She noticed Hammy smiling that Kiba was awake.

Kiba noticed too, giving his fiancée a bright smile. "Hey darling. Sorry I scared you." He frowned at the restraints. "I'd give you a hug, but…"

Hammy shook her head, wiping tears as she ran over and hugged him tightly. "Don't you ever do that again." She whispered in his ear.

"Don't plan to. I love you so much. I want to get married now." He whispered back past the lump in his throat. "If not today, tomorrow."

She pulled back and looked at him. "You're serious."

He nodded. "Stinger can perform the ceremony. We can have a big wedding later, I promise. But I want-need- to do this."

Hammy gave him a smile. "Let's do it." She looked at Andy. "Be my maid of honor?"

Andy smiled softly and nodded, "If you want it, I still have mom's dress."

Hammy gave her a grateful smile.

Kiba wiggled one hand out of the restraints and grinned. "Don't mind me. You girls keep planning. I'll let myself out." He turned to the other hand.

Time skip-

Kiba fidgeted with the tie as Stinger watched. "If you don't stop, I'm going to sting you."

Kiba paused, chuckling. "I'm tempted to let you. I'm so nervous, I think I'm going to pass out."

Stinger let out a laugh. "The girls would never let you live it down."

Kiba bit his lip, stifling a laugh as Andy appeared. "Yeah, they'd beat me to death for ruining the wedding."

Andy raised an eyebrow. "You guys almost ready?"

"Yes." They answered in unison, Kiba finally losing his composure and laughing at Stinger.

Andy kissed Stinger, "Have you ever even performed a wedding before?"

"First time for everything." He answered. "If I screw it up, blame lover boy here for not wanting to wait for Shou or Tsurugi."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Is Hammy ready?"

Andy nodded, "Whenever you are ready, she's good to go."

He looked at her with a smile. "Let's do this."

The wedding was over quickly, then they ate a s'more cake Azra made.

Azra approached Stinger the next day, "Hey Dad?"

"Yeah, munchkin?" Stinger gave her a smile.

"Is Mom okay? I've not seen her much lately. Yesterday was the most I'd seen her since you guys went on that mission..."

"She's okay. Just working through a few things. That reminds me of something I need to do though." He gave Azra a hug, then headed for the infirmary. After making sure it was empty, he called both Kiba and Hammy to meet him. He typed in a request on the computer while he waited.

When they arrived, Stinger took a deep breath. "Raptor showed me this a few days ago. We had a few things happen so I couldn't show you two until now." He handed the tablet to Hammy. He had to step back as both family members exploded.

"Why would she do this?" Hammy was upset, her eyes filling with tears.

"Where is she? I'm going to kick her ass through the entire ship." Kiba was so angry he vibrated.

"Last I checked, in our quarters sleeping." Stinger answered.

Kiba spun, heading out the door and down the hall. When he reached the room, he keyed in the override code and wrenched the door open. "Ninja girl? You better wake up before I pour water on you..."

Andy groaned, "Why are you in my room?"

"Because I just saw something that I'm hoping to all the gods is just a list. Because if it isn't, the two of us are going to have words." Kiba's words were clipped, his voice tight.

Andy sighed, "What list?"

"A list of drugs that should _never_ be mixed, unless of course the person who does it wants to die quickly before anyone notices." He tried to hold back his anger.

"Ah that list." Andy pushed herself into a sitting position. "What about it?"

Kiba's eyes burned into hers. "You better tell me why that list exists or I might just do what I told your husband I was going to and start kicking your ass."

Andy sighed and looked down at the bed, "I've just been worrying. If someone got control of me, who knows what I could do. I can take people out in seconds, burn out entire stars, and who knows what else. I don't want to be the cause of someone getting hurt because someone is controlling me."

Kiba exploded. "You fought me when I continuously said the same thing! 'Stay alive Kiba. I'll help you fight, Kiba…You're nothing but a hypocrite! You won't fight for yourself yet you expect everyone else to fight their demons!" He stalked toward the bed, hands clenched into fists. "I should hit you for this stunt…"

He stopped and took a deep breath. "That would hurt Hammy though. Instead, I'm going to do this." He created a portal and looked at Andy. "When you're ready to apologize and actually try living like I am, let me know." He walked through and disappeared.

Andy had broken into tears when he started but was now sobbing uncontrollably. Did he really think she _wasn't_ trying to fight? He didn't even wait for her to explain anything else. Maybe she was keeping it for if she got kidnapped? It _had _crossed her mind as an option. She hadn't entirely even decided what she was going to do with it and when but he never waited for her to say that. Every time she helped him she listened, right? Couldn't she get the same treatment? She cried harder, unsure of what to do or say to anyone. Who knows who'd seen the list? They probably all wanted to come after her. She probably deserved it, didn't she? Too bad she couldn't just portal herself out of the ship. She curled into the blanket and cried herself back to sleep.

Hammy and Stinger waited for Kiba to return. When an hour had passed without any sign, Hammy looked at her brother in law and announced "I'm going to check on Daka. Hopefully, they're just talking."

Stinger sighed. "I'm coming with you."

They headed for the quarters, growing slightly alarmed that the door was ajar. Stinger pushed it open slowly. "Beautiful? You in here?"

Andy mumbled under the blanket, "I've already been yelled at once. Do you want to yell at me too?"

Stinger and Hammy exchanged glances, then he answered. "We don't want to yell at you. We just want to help. Did Kiba yell at you? Is that why he didn't come back?"

Andy pushed the blanket off of her face but made no attempt at moving, "He portalled away somewhere. I don't know where he went."

Hammy sighed. "At least he didn't do what he was threatening to." She sat down on the bed. "Talk to us, Daka. Please."

Andy moved back into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard. She pulled the blanket up so it was covering everything but her face. They could tell she'd been crying a lot from the redness around her eyes. "Yes, I made the mix. But I hadn't figured out when or if I'd even use it." She kept her eyes trained on the bed, not wanting to see the disappointment on their faces.

Stinger approached her slowly. "Beautiful. Why do you do this instead of talking to us? We want to help, but you keep pushing us away. It scares us. Azra was asking if you were alright because she hadn't seen you in days." He sat on the bed beside her.

Andy shrugged, "You guys have other things going on. Kiba has his own problems to deal with. They just got married. I don't want to bother anyone with my problems." She sniffled. "I'm worried about being controlled again. No one should have the power to drain stars or make someone drop instantly, but especially not the bad guys. Yeah we killed this clone of the General. Yeah, we destroyed this chip. That doesn't mean they won't try to make more."

Stinger lifted her chin so her eyes met his. "Then we will keep destroying them. Do you doubt me when I say I won't let anyone control you? Because if you doubt me, we'll really have a problem. I hear my past self in some of those words. You know why it's my past self? Because of you and your refusal to let me go. Even when I saw nothing but darkness in myself, you showed me I wasn't alone and that I had light just waiting to be released. Let me be your light now."

Andy just nodded, tears streaking down her face. After a minute she asked, "You're not mad at me?"

"No, beautiful. Just sad." Stinger wrapped his arms around her as Hammy fought back tears.

"We love you Daka. Don't run away from us."

Andy gave a sad chuckle when she noticed their cat Daka approach Hammy because she heard her name. She wiped some of the tears from her eyes, "I didn't mean to make you sad. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing or I'm going to spank you for real." Stinger whispered in her ear.

"But Kiba said he won't come back until I apologize..." Andy petted Daka who curled up against her leg. She let out a quiet sob, "He's right, I am a bit of a hypocrite, aren't I?"

Hammy chuckled. "He always says that. When he cools off, he'll be back. And even odds, he'll end up apologizing to you."

Andy sniffled again. "Not to completely change the subject... but are you guys hungry?"

Stinger chuckled and looked at Hammy. "Starved."

Time jump-

Stinger growled as he read the latest intelligence report. Yet another Jark Matter facility had gone up in flames, no one taking credit for it. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew who _was _behind it, but until the suspected person got his ass back to the Orion, there was no way he could prove it.

"Hey aibou?" His comm spoke.

"What is it Champ?" He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Why is there a fading life sign in the voyager bay?"

Stinger jumped to his feet, opening a channel to the infirmary. "Beautiful, I need you to meet me in the bay now!"

Andy rushed to see what he needed.

Stinger skidded to a stop as he saw a figure lying motionless on the floor of the bay. He took a quick breath, then moved to its side. Turning it over, he cursed as his fears were realized.

Kiba lay still in his arms, his face and body riddled with cuts and burns. Upon closer inspection, the ranger could see the remains of bandages that had covered other healing wounds.

"Dammit Kiba." Stinger searched for a pulse. It was slow and faint and the ranger prayed Andy would appear soon.

Andy entered the room and spotted the pair, kneeling by Kiba and starting to heal him.

"I'm going to kick his ass when he wakes up." Stinger watched as she worked. "Damn fool."

Andy sighed and kept healing him but finally glanced up at Stinger, "He's not been back since he yelled at me... This is my fault, isn't it?"

"You're seriously trying to blame his little scorched earth policy on yourself?"

"He wouldn't have left if I hadn't..." She sighed, "He should have been with Hammy instead of wherever he's been. They got married and the next day he disappears because of me, and then he shows up injured, of course I'm going to blame myself."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "He _chose_ to leave in a fit of rage. Just like he's been choosing to blow up any Jark Matter facility he comes across. It looks like it backfired on him. How badly_ is _he hurt?"

"He's almost healed already," Andy answered. "Lots of small injuries, a couple broken bones, only a couple decent sized injuries. He's going to be fine. I can tell he's exhausted though."

Stinger sighed. "In other words, let him sleep before I go nuclear. Gotcha." He looked down at the rider. "Infirmary or quarters?"

Andy shrugged, "His room is probably more comfortable. I'll keep tabs on his vitals from my tablet just in case."

Stinger nodded, rising to his feet with Kiba in his arms. "Not to make you any more anxious, but I think he's lost weight too."

Andy sighed and headed to get her tablet. She then went to the rec room and fed Scorpio while keeping an eye on Kiba. She was conflicted as she thought about the last month and where he could have been. She still thought it was her fault, yeah Stinger was right, Kiba chose to leave. But he wouldn't have chosen that if she hadn't made that mix. She hadn't wanted to face him, but now she really didn't. The other part of her wanted to just care for him like normal, pretending that he never yelled at her and left.

Her mind went to Hammy, knowing her sister worried when Kiba was gone, but he'd lost weight and came back injured, of course she was going to worry more when she found out. Would Hammy blame Andy like she blamed herself? Or would she be like Stinger and say it was Kiba's choice?

And what would she say if he brought up their last conversation? She wasn't completely past the idea of suicide, but she was trying to live and to not let her worries get to her. And with Hammy and Stinger helping her and keeping an eye on her, she was starting to realize she wasn't alone in her fight. She smiled down at Scorpio before looking back at the tablet. The one thing she hadn't admitted was how she had been starting to feel like she wasn't needed, so having them worry helped show her she was.

She figured Scorpio had Azra, and with Hammy learning to be able to heal and go into minds, she knew Kiba wouldn't need her much, so she wondered why she should even be there. Andy sighed, trying to push the negative thoughts away and just focus on the good ones. Her worry for Kiba though, and for facing him were still in the forefront of her mind as she rocked Scorpio to sleep.

Stinger sighed as he closed the door to Kiba's room. He touched his comm in concern. "Andy? Have his vitals changed at all?"

She answered, "No, I've pretty much kept my eyes on the tablet this whole time. Why?"

"Other than breathing, he hasn't moved at all. Starting to worry."

Andy frowned a second, "It could just be the exhaustion?"

Stinger took a deep breath. "Alright. But if he doesn't show up for dinner tomorrow, then I'm going to physically wake him."

Andy nodded even though she knew he couldn't see, "I'll let you know if anything changes."

Stinger closed the channel, heading back to the bridge.

Several hours later, Kiba blinked his eyes open and stared in confusion. How had he gotten in his room? Looking down, he discovered his injuries healed. With a sigh, he sat up. She'd healed him even after he'd been vicious to her, abandoning her when she needed him. He was truly the idiot they always said he was.

He stood, heading for the shower. Ten minutes later, he emerged and started dressing. The rest had helped considerably, but he was still tired. He debated going back to bed, but the growling in his stomach won out. He looked at his boots, but decided to forgo them and headed for the kitchen.

Andy was at the stove cooking when Kiba entered. She looked up a second at him before glancing at Scorpio who was staring at a small toy in front of him. She then went back to cooking.

Kiba sighed. "The silent treatment? Guess I deserve it." He began to turn away. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I overreacted. I wanted to say thank you for healing me even though I was horrible to you before I left. It's obvious I'm not welcome, so I'll leave now."

Andy sighed, "Kiba, sit down." She grabbed down a few plates, "I'm not giving you the silent treatment, I just didn't think you'd want to talk to me."

Kiba gave a small chuckle. "Like I said, I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. I overreacted and was a complete idiot. You needed me to support you and instead I blamed you and threatened to hurt you. Yet when I show up again, you healed me with no reservations. I should have my ass kicked off the ship. I know you guys won't, so I'll do it myself."

He gave her a sad smile. "You guys take care okay? I'll stay with Hammy but you won't ever have to see me again. Promise." He headed for the door.

Andy now had tears in her eyes, "Kiba, why do you keep trying to leave? Have you ever considered that we want you here?" She wiped her eyes, "Look, I won't keep you here if you don't want to be here. At least eat before you leave, though. You look like you haven't eaten in days. And you probably _should_ go see your wife, so I won't ask for more of your time. Just eat something, okay?"

Kiba stopped and turned. "I _don't _want to leave. But I said awful things to you. I don't deserve to stay." He leaned against the counter with a half-smile. "I spent a week with Hammy before I decided I needed to let off my anger. So she's not worried. Not unless you contacted her and told her I was hurt?"

"_I _didn't tell her anything. I don't know if Stinger did though. You can ask him if he remembers to show up to eat." Andy smirked, "And when do I ever care if you think you don't deserve something? And you were probably right about some of it, I _am_ a hypocrite. And you only threatened to hurt me, Stinger and I actually _did _hurt you."

Kiba shrugged. "I was practically begging for it, so…" He looked at the food as his stomach growled. "To be honest, you're off on your estimate. Last time I ate was a week ago... I think. Haven't kept track after I left Hammy."

Stinger walked into the kitchen in time to hear Kiba's admission. "Gods, I think you need a refresher in survival training. Didn't I teach you to eat whether you were hungry or not?" He smacked Kiba in the back of the head.

Kiba smiled ruefully. "I know. But I wasn't thinking real straight. And the injuries kept happening, so I just wanted to rest. Food wasn't a high priority."

Andy sighed and filled the plates before handing them out. She then sat with her own and started eating, giving a smile to the yawning Scorpio.

Kiba tried to pace himself. He knew he had to give his body time to adjust to eating again, but couldn't stop himself from quickly clearing the plate. He stopped and took a deep breath, willing his stomach not to revolt.

Andy raised an eyebrow at him, "I might have something to help you if you want it. Also wondering if I should give you an IV of nutrients to get you back to a normal level..." She trailed off before taking another bite.

"Think I better take you up on that, cause my stomach is _not _as happy as I thought it would be right now." Kiba took another deep breath, closing his eyes dizzily.

Andy finished up her food quickly and put their plates in the sink. She gave Stinger a smile, "Keep an eye on him?" She motioned to the baby. She then went up to Kiba and held her hand out, "Let's get you to the infirmary."

Kiba opened his eyes. "You should just pick a bed and write my name on it permanently." He slowly took her hand and stood. "I should have stayed in bed."

After getting him to the infirmary, she hooked up an IV with nutrients and medicine to help his stomach. She inserted the IV into his arm before sitting down and scanning him over to make sure everything else was fine.

"If I tell you something, promise not to tell Grumpy or Hammy?"

"I'll try not to," she gave a small smile. "What's up?"

"Right after I left Hammy, the first planet I hit I contracted some kind of bug. Put me down for several days. Not sure what it was, just that it was nasty and I thought I was dying." He gave her a smile. "And before you say it, this was different. I literally had no strength to do anything. Just wanted to let you know so I don't get yelled at later."

Andy sighed, "Hopefully it was just a normal sickness..." She thought for a moment, "How is your stomach feeling now?"

"Much better, thanks." He sighed. "Feel drained though. Like I could sleep for a year without waking."

"Well, you've been sick and then not eating and injured... You're going to not feel normal for a while. Just rest, and if you need anything I'll be here to help," she smiled.

He grinned at her. Then he closed his eyes, slipping into sleep.

Andy left a clone in there if he woke and needed anything while she went back to the kitchen to do the dishes. She gave Stinger a kiss as she walked passed him, "He's sleeping."

"He going to be alright?" Stinger cuddled the half asleep Scorpio as he watched her.

"He should be fine. I'm still keeping an eye on him."

Stinger nodded, standing up carefully. "I'm putting the little man here down for a nap."

He headed for the door, then paused. "Did Kiba say anything about the facilities he hit?"

She shook her head, "You can talk to him about it when he wakes up."

Stinger sighed, then continued out of the kitchen.

Kiba woke up with a start. He rubbed a hand over his face, sat up. He noticed a fresh IV bag hanging and raised an eyebrow. "You do know I'm naturally skinny right?"

Andy chuckled, "Nutrients won't change your weight much. Just want to make sure your body gets to a normal, healthy level."

He chuckled. "Mother hen."

Stinger walked in. "Good, you're awake. I need to ask about the facilities you destroyed."

Kiba shrugged. "What do you need?"

Stinger looked at him. "What were they manufacturing? We hadn't had any solid info on all of them."

Kiba shrugged again. "The last three were weapons. I got caught in the last one's blast because the guards were faster on the draw."

"And the first one?" Stinger's eyes narrowed as Kiba fiddled with the IV.

Kiba finally sighed and reached for his tablet. "They were manufacturing some kind of gas." He typed for a moment, then handed it to Stinger. "That's the formula."

"Which planet was that?"

Kiba thought for a minute. "Aporia." He looked at Andy, then opened the link. _'Same planet I got sick on.' _

'_They had a gas?! That's probably what made you sick!'_

'_Wouldn't it have killed me if that was the case?' _ Kiba watched Stinger give the tablet to her. He gave her a look as her face paled. _'Ninja girl? What's wrong?'_

"This could easily kill people if they got a chance to use it," she answered aloud before thinking, '_You're really fucking lucky.'_

'_The gas is that bad? The notes mentioned it was meant for the Rebellion HQ.'_

"Kiba! They would be trying to wipe them out, yes it's that bad! If they are making this anywhere else or if any got out before you took them down, a lot of people are in danger," Her eyes widened when she realized she was speaking aloud. She then sighed, "We _could _formulate an antidote, but they'd probably die before they could use it."

Kiba shook his head. _'I meant it only made me sick. Didn't know it could have killed me. I haven't come across any other facilities manufacturing it, so maybe I destroyed the only one?'_

'_You better have,' _Andy sighed again. "We need to figure out their plans. It's been a few years and we still haven't had any major events, but we know Akashi has to be planning something."

"I've been hearing rumors but you won't like them. I'm hoping they are just rumors cause if they aren't..." Kiba gave a shudder. "I visited a few other places to see if I could gather intel. One planet's people swore they were seeing their loved ones at odd places, even though the mentioned people equally swore they had no idea what they were talking about."

"There were a few rumors that riders were going missing...and that a gold and white armored figure always appeared beforehand." He looked at the bed, his eyes haunted.

"So... Shocker is cloning people, including DeStruct?" She tried to figure out their plans. "Are Shocker and Jark Matter working together still?"

Stinger frowned. "I don't know. But I'll inform Shou and the Rebellion to watch for any intel that links them. I think we have a bigger problem though."

"How are we going to know if anyone we meet is a clone or not...?" Andy frowned. "And if they did make a new DeStruct... How are we going to keep Kiba safe if people try to come after him?"

Stinger nodded. "This makes it essential that he stays with us. I'll comm Hammy after I talk to Shou. You need to take care of him right now."

Andy looked at Kiba before raising her hands to scan him over, "Take deep breaths, Kiba. Slowly, in and out." She tried to help him slow his breathing by pushing her energy into him, "We're going to take care of everything, okay?"

"He'sback...He'sbackandI'mgoingtogetblamed…" The rider was trembling, the words rushed, almost garbled as he fought for air. He grabbed for Andy, his eyes frantic. "Don'tletthemhurtme…"

Andy wrapped her arms around him, "Deep breaths, Kiba. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. We'll explain to anyone who comes after you that it's not really you, and if they don't believe us, then we'll figure something out. But _no one_ is going to hurt you while Stinger and I are here, okay?"

Kiba finally took a breath, then another. He calmed, the trembling slowing. He didn't let go of Andy, even when his eyes closed.

Stinger looked at the pair. "Is he okay?"

Andy gave a nod, "He's okay, and we're going to keep him safe." She half spoke to Stinger and half to Kiba. She ran a hand through Kiba's hair to comfort him.

Stinger nodded, then left the infirmary.

Kiba spoke sleepily. "Sorry about that. I don't know why, but it just hit me." He took a deep breath and opened his eyes to look at her.

"It's okay. Just rest and relax. We're going to take care of everything okay?" She smiled softly. "We should probably go warn your dads soon though, just in case."

His eyes went wide and he tried to get off the bed. "Let me go! I won't let it happen again!"

"Shh, Kiba, calm down. Calm down. We can go talk to them now if you want, but you need to calm down," she sighed.

"You DON'T understand! They'll think it's me… and they'll get killed again!" He began sobbing in her arms. "Shocker will have won…"

"Kiba, I do understand. We'll go talk to them as soon as you're calm, okay?" She ran her hand through his hair again.

"I'm not sure I can," he tried to stop crying. "It's like my head is replaying the memory only it is them dying instead of the ones from my world. And I can't think…"

"Could you portal right now? It might be best to calm you if we can see that they're safe, okay?" She suggested.

He took a shuddery breath, then nodded. He waved one hand, the portal appearing. "I'm okay…"

Andy nodded before touching her comm, "Stinger? We're going to check on the Studio. We'll be back soon."

"Be careful."

Suddenly another portal appeared, the two riders in question emerging with matching worried faces.

Kiba sagged, relief washing over him as he realized who it was. He waved his own portal away, then tried to stand. His eyes rolled up and he passed out in Andy's arms.

Both riders cried his name in unison, rushing to the bedside.

Andy scanned him over, "He'll be fine. He's just exhausted." She commed Stinger again, "Change of plans, they came here instead."

Stinger chuckled. "Same idea huh? Probably better than him going at the moment."

Daiki looked at Andy. "Why is he exhausted? He looked like he was panicking."

"He was panicking. Before that though, he'd been out taking down Jark Matter bases by himself. Even with me healing him, he needs rest."

Daiki rolled his eyes, while Tsukasa looked thoughtful. "He heard the rumors didn't he?"

Daiki froze. "Ah shit. He was freaking about us, wasn't he? That's why he looked relieved when we showed up."

Andy nodded, "We were just going to come check on you so he'd calm down."

Tsukasa reached for one of Kiba's hands and gripped it tight. "He should be worried about himself, but he's more worried about everyone else." He gave a fond smile at the sleeping rider.

"He was worried about himself a bit, but we assured him we would keep him safe," Andy gave a soft smile.

"Alright. He's seen us. Will he be calm enough to discuss these rumors? Or is that a bad idea?" Daiki frowned as he sat down.

Andy looked thoughtful, "Why don't we go talk to Stinger about all of this then we will see how Kiba is when he wakes back up."

The two riders nodded at her.

She made a clone to keep watch over Kiba before she led them down to Stinger's office. She knocked on the open door, "Love? Do you have a minute?"

Stinger looked up. "What do you need?"

"We need to figure out some kind of plan to keep Kiba safe, and figure out how many people Shocker has cloned. We don't want to wake up Kiba yet, so I figured we can make a plan then talk to him when he does wake. Plus, it'll be better if we have something planned so we can better reassure him."

Stinger frowned. "Easier said than done. Given that most of the reports are from only one planet and DeStruct isn't even part of our universe, we may not be able to figure it out."

Tsukasa raised an eyebrow. "I can verify the DeStruct sightings. I almost fought him, but his handler pulled him back. Guess they are worried I can destroy him."

Daiki stared at the other rider. "You didn't tell me that."

Tsukasa shrugged, making Daiki growl under his breath. "Dammit Tsukasa."

Stinger sighed. "That's not going to relieve Kiba any." He reached for his tablet and typed something in. "The only planet that raised an alarm was Nantak. When a Rebellion member went to check, everyone who originally reported said they'd been mistaken. So I think the whole planet may be under Jark and Shocker's control now."

Andy took a deep breath, "None of this helps us help Kiba... Do we have reports on other clones or just DeStruct?"

Stinger looked at Tsukasa. "No other clones in our universe. But DeStruct had already destroyed five new versions of riders before I ran into him. That was a few days ago. Who knows when he'll show up here."

Daiki finally spoke. "We may not be able to protect Kiba until something happens. Other than keeping him here. Personally, I'm hoping his fear keeps him from doing something stupid."

"If it doesn't, you know I'll be the first one following him in his stupid plan, so I'll do the best I can," Andy assured.

Both riders and Stinger chuckled.


	39. Kamen Riders DeStruct and Void

Kiba peered around the corner, checking the hallway. No sign of Andy and he released the breath he'd been holding. She had been glued to his side ever since his dads had left, so he hadn't been able to leave the ship. He had to find his-no, DeStruct's clone- and destroy him before anyone else got killed. It was his fault this was happening in the first place. He stepped into the hallway, preparing to summon the portal when he heard a noise and froze.

Andy stopped when she saw Kiba. Sighing, she spoke softly, "Where ya trying to go?"

He jumped, then answered. "Stop following me. I'm going to find DeStruct and end this."

Andy shook her head, "I'm not going to stop following you, but I'm not going to stop you from going."

He turned in shock. "Since when? You have been doing it for the past week, why stop now?"

"I know you're getting restless, so I'll let you go. But, I'm going too."

He shook his head. "Too dangerous. Your husband would have my hide. I can't let you come along."

"Either take me with or you don't get to go," Andy answered.

"Are you kidding me?" Kiba exploded. "You think you can face DeStruct just because he surfaced a few times with me?" He stalked toward her. "This clone is completely ruthless. Think Kojan as a rider. No empathy, no compassion. Just a killing machine. There's no guarantee I'll win against him, and you want to tag along?!"

"You'll have a better chance of surviving if it's two against one!" Andy growled.

"What if he kills you?" The anger in his voice disappeared, replaced by an agonized whisper. "I couldn't take that."

"You think I can take him killing you?!" Andy asked with pain in her voice. "I lost you once, I can't handle that again. I'm not saying we'd be completely out of danger, I'm just saying it'd be a better chance for us to survive with more people. Even if it is just us two, because I don't think Stinger would approve of a mission like this."

Kiba gave a small chuckle. "I can guarantee he won't. Fine. If you want to risk his wrath, come along." He waved, summoning the portal as he watched her.

Andy nodded. She took a second and pressed her comm, "Stinger? Kiba and I will be back soon, I hope. I love you." She smiled at Kiba, "Let's go before he stops us."

Kiba fought a smile and walked into the portal. Andy followed right behind.

_**Tethannis Prime **_

The two of them emerged into a small square. The citizens of the world didn't even look up as they appeared, making Kiba frown.

Andy looked around, "Something feels off."

He nodded, looking around warily. "I don't think this was one of my best ideas. Maybe we should go back."

Andy nodded in agreement, "Let's go, then we can get a group together instead."

She turned when she heard a noise behind them, the citizens finally staring at them. Andy fell back as she felt pain erupting in her shoulder. Before she knew what was happening, she was surrounded by citizens who were standing between her and Kiba. She tried to push herself up but felt a prick in her neck before the world went black.

Another shot rang out, hitting Kiba. He soon heard the cruel laugh of DeStruct. He raised his eyes, freezing as he saw the familiar armor reaching for Andy. "Leave her alone!" He struggled to his feet, one hand clamped to his side.

DeStruct cocked his head. "Make me. You'll have to catch me first." He proceeded to pick the ranger up over his shoulder. He looked at the citizens. "Kill him." He portalled away as the citizens grabbed Kiba, quickly binding him.

He was dragged to a large stake in the ground. He fought as hard as he could, but one of the citizens punched him in his side. He gasped, legs buckling as they bound him securely to the stake. He took a breath, coming to a horrifying realization as the women began piling brush around his feet and the men lit torches.

He desperately tried to get free as the men dropped the torches onto the brush. The brush ignited slowly, the smoke thick and acrid in Kiba's throat. He tried not to breathe, but couldn't stop himself. Between his injury and the smoke, he finally passed out.

Seconds later, a portal opened. Tsukasa and Daiki ran out shooting. Several citizens went down, the rest scattering. Tsukasa swore, stomping on the brush to extinguish the small flames as Daiki worked to get Kiba unbound.

"Kiba?" They lowered him to the ground, Daiki softly tapping his cheek.

"He's...got Andy." Kiba's voice was rough, punctuated by heavy coughing.

"Who has Andy?" Tsukasa asked, fearing the answer.

"DeStruct... He ambushed us…." Kiba passed out again, the other riders suddenly noticing the bloodstain on his shirt.

Daiki lifted him somberly as Tsukasa opened a portal back to the ship.

When they arrived, Tsukasa went to Stinger's office. "We have some problems."

Stinger sighed, "Andy said they'd be back soon but never told me where they were going. What happened?"

"According to Kiba, DeStruct ambushed them and took her. The citizens then attempted to burn Kiba at the stake. Kaitou and I barely rescued him in time. Raptor is taking care of his injuries. I'm guessing Tethannis prime has been cloned to support Shocker."

Stinger cursed angrily, "We have to find her." He typed something onto the screen in front of him, "Looks like her blaster is still registering to being on the planet, so there's a good chance she's still around there. I'll call Shou and see what kind of backup we can get if the whole planet really is Shocker."

Tsukasa nodded, leaving the office and heading for the infirmary. He entered to find Daiki trying to restrain Kiba, who was yelling "Let me go! I have to find her! Dammit let me go!"

The senior rider rolled his eyes, walking over to Kiba and grabbing his chin. "Calm down. Let your wound be treated, then we can discuss you coming along."

Kiba growled at him. "You don't understand. She came along to protect me. Instead I got her captured. This is my fault." He continued to struggle until Raptor injected him with a sedative.

She sighed. "I was almost done with the stitches, but I'll have to do them all over again. Kaitou, can you please restrain him?"

Daiki nodded and she was back to work in a few minutes.

Andy groaned as she came back to consciousness. She found herself in a cell, tied up to a wall. Trying to use energy to make a clone she soon realized the ties were energy draining. She fought against the ties, making her wrists raw. She didn't know how long she'd been out but she knew she couldn't let them control her. She cursed, thinking of the syringe in her pocket, which she'd taken to carrying in case she found herself in a situation like this. She wasn't going to let them use her. But her hands couldn't reach. She sighed and tried to relax against the wall but her shoulder soon started aching and she remembered she was injured. She closed her eyes and tried to rest the best she could, knowing if she used too much energy it would just drain her faster.

Kiba regained consciousness with a groan. Forcing his eyes open, he found himself alone in the infirmary. Looking down, he saw the bandage taped around his middle and his arms restrained. He gave a small chuckle. Raising his eyes, he saw the IV and blood bag above him. He guessed the others had decided keeping him restrained was the best course of action. Too bad they weren't as smart as he was. He wriggled his lock pick out of his jeans and set to work unlocking the restraints. When he was free, he took a minute to rest before removing the IV and summoning a portal. Hearing a noise, he jumped through seconds before Raptor entered the room.

"Commander! Kiba's missing!"

All three men in the office rolled their eyes and swore.

Daiki spoke first. "At least we know where he's going."

Tsukasa glared at him. "He has a side full of stitches and his lungs aren't one hundred percent. He's going to get himself killed."

Stinger looked at the map dejectedly. "Wouldn't be the first time. But he's on his own for now. There's still two hours before our backup arrives."

Kiba stepped out of the portal, crouching against the wall as a guard walked by. When the footsteps disappeared, he headed further into the base, keeping to the shadows. He finally reached the cellblock, spying Andy in one of them. _'Ninja girl? You okay?'_

She opened her eyes to try to look for him, _'Kiba? Can you hear me?'_

'_Loud and clear. Give me a minute, then we'll go see your really grumpy scorpion.' _ The lock clicked open, then he was giving her a bright smile. "Ready to go?"

"As soon as you get me out of these," she shook the ties a bit.

"No problem." He began untying the ties.

"They're energy draining ones..." she sighed. "I'd have been at least out of the ties sooner if I could have made a clone."

Kiba growled. "I'm definitely finding the creator of these and tying one around his neck. Just lean on me." He got her down, helping her stand.

"Let's get out of here before we run into more trouble," she spoke softly.

"No arguments." He coughed softly as he summoned the portal.

After walking through, they found a very surprised Raptor staring at them. "Andy!"

She chuckled and moved to a bed, rolling on to it.

Raptor quickly called Stinger.

He arrived at a run, skidding to a stop as he took in the scene.

Andy lay semi-conscious on one bed, while Raptor was cajoling Kiba into using an oxygen mask as he coughed repeatedly. He approached Andy with a soft worried smile. "Hey beautiful. You scared me. _Again_."

She gave a quiet chuckle, "sorry."

He bent over and kissed her, then fixed Kiba with an annoyed look. "Not that I'm not grateful, but the next time you run off like that I'm welding those restraints to you."

Kiba had the good sense to blush. "Okay, okay. I won't do it again." When Stinger had returned his attention to Andy, the rider added softly "maybe..."

Stinger glared, causing Kiba to laugh then dissolve into coughs. Raptor went to get something to help him.

Andy glanced at Stinger, "What's wrong with him? Is he okay?"

"Fifteen stitches and smoke inhalation." Stinger watched Raptor help him drink an orange liquid. "Tethannis' citizens tried to burn him alive."

Andy winced, "I'll heal him up but I need a few minutes..."

Kiba spoke after removing the mask. "Concentrate on yourself, ninja girl." His voice was raw.

He laid back after Raptor forced the mask back on and closed his eyes.

Andy yawned before looking at Stinger again, "My shoulder probably needs stitches..."

"I'll take care of it. Just rest." He kissed her forehead.

Andy saw people in front of her, fear in their eyes before they fell dead at her feet. Glancing over, DeStruct was next to her.

Flashes of silver appeared around her before she saw a reflection of herself, eyes glowing black.

A few riders she'd never seen before were now at her feet, their armor dissolving.

Andy opened her eyes confused at the scenes she'd seen in her nightmares. Her nightmares were always past memories or her fears. Was she just afraid of being controlled and being forced to work with DeStruct?

The nightmares continued for a few days before she decided to talk to Kiba. "Hey," she approached.

"What's up?" He tried to act nonchalant, but failed.

"Have you been having really odd dreams? I didn't know if it was a weird link thing or what..." Andy sat next to him. "They've been happening the last few nights."

He paled as he heard her question. "You too?" He shook his head. "Dammit."

Andy sighed, "It's weird, like I've seen myself but I'm not me. And DeStruct is there too..." She leaned back, "I've not been able to sleep well since this started."

Kiba hadn't moved. Softly he answered "They aren't dreams, Andy."

She froze, "They cloned me, didn't they?"

He forced himself to nod, his face tight. The paleness of his skin contrasted sharply with the dark circles under his eyes. He clutched his coffee cup so tight, his knuckles whitened. "They cloned you and now we're causing havoc in both universes."

Andy rubbed her forehead before growling, "This is exactly what I wanted to prevent, but would you guys let me kill myself?! No!" She took a deep breath, "Sorry... You probably feel the same, don't you?" She was quiet for a moment, "I keep hearing Void. Is that what they're calling my clone?"

Kiba nodded again. "I don't know what's worse. Living in terror that he'd take me over or knowing he's apart from me. Either way he's killing riders. And I'm to blame..._again_. I should have stayed dead the first time. I wish that serum didn't exist." He threw the cup across the room angrily. "I should never have been created!" He looked at Andy. "I can't win. The deck is completely stacked against me. Why do I even try?"

Andy sighed, "The only thing we can do is go take them out or die trying. And if you want, blame me, because I brought you back so many times."

Kiba shook his head. "I'm the one who hung around after we faked Jark out. If I had left…"

He raised anguished eyes to hers. "_My_ plan is I will take DeStruct out **and** die at the same time. They'll never be able to twist me again."

Andy held her hand out to him, "We'll take out DeStruct _and _Void, then each other. Like I said before, no one should be able to kill people like I can."

He clasped her hand tight. "Let's go before anyone knows. They're on Loeria."

"I'll leave a clone long enough to write out small notes to Hammy, Stinger, and the kids," Andy nodded and made a clone, "Let's go."

Kiba waved his hand, the portal appearing. He led Andy to it, then looked at her. "No turning back once we leave. You sure? I can take her out alone."

"You sure about that?" Andy smirked before giving him a serious look, "We'll need both of us to take them out."

Kiba gave her a half smile. "Yeah, I'm probably getting an inflated ego like Tsukasa. We'll do this together. Make sure you tell Hammy I'm sorry too." They walked into the portal, hands clasped.

They entered out into a forest, and Andy looked around with a frown, "Are we really in the right place?" She started forward.

Void looked over at DeStruct, "They're here." The last body dropped from the group she was taking out. "We should probably give them a welcoming party."

DeStruct laughed. "I know. A hello-goodbye party perhaps?" He took her hand. "We'll show them what they could have been."

She smiled, "Sounds fun."

Kiba crept warily behind Andy. "Man, I hate forests..."

"I like the one at home but we don't end up having the best experiences in them, do we? Almost as bad as abandoned ghost towns."

"I'm almost wishing neither existed right now. Too many places to hide."

He raised an eyebrow at Andy. "Stinger found us yet?"

Andy shook her head, "I just finished the letters. I'm going to leave them on his desk if he's not in there."

The rider sighed as they came to a clearing. "You think we should wait here? Or keep going?"

"I get the sense they're on their way," Andy answered.

She focused on her clone a moment who snuck into Stinger's office. She heard him enter and quickly turned around.

"Beautiful? Why are you sneaking around in here?" Stinger frowned at her.

She came over and gave him a kiss, before setting the letters on the desk, "I'm sorry love."

He gave an alarmed look and reached for her hand. "Andy, what the hell is going on?"

She shook her head, "They cloned me... Kiba and I are going to take out our clones."

"Alone? Why didn't you wait for us?"

She shook her head again, "This is just something we have to do..." She kissed him again before disappearing.

"Beautiful…" He sat down, reaching for the letter with shaking hands.

Andy looked over at Kiba, "Stinger knows, but I don't think he fully realizes what we intend to do yet."

"I can't lie. If we were coming back, I'd be worried." Kiba forced a smile. "But I think we have other things to concentrate on." He pointed to the armored clones approaching. "Ready?"

She nodded before smirking, "The silver _does _look pretty cool..."

He shook his head with a chuckle. "Too bad you can't keep it. Give scorpion boy a heart attack."

"_If _we were going to try to make it out of here, I'd actually consider it," she chuckled before putting her kyutama in and morphing.

Kiba pulled out the charges he'd brought. Setting them for ninety seconds, he ran toward DeStruct.

The armored clone cocked its head. "You're not going to transform? You're making it too easy."

He charged forward as well, sword ready.

Kiba skidded beneath him, attaching the charges and rolling away.

DeStruct looked down, seeing the timer count down and let out a yell of rage. He stabbed the blade just as Kiba stood, lodging it in his back on the left side.

Kiba groaned, falling to the ground as the charges went off. DeStruct fell backwards, his armor dissolving.

Void let out a scream, "You're going to pay for that!" She ran forward, swinging her blade at Kiba.

Andy rushed forward shooting at Void, and then she scanned DeStruct's energy, noticing it naturally depleting, before she drained the rest out of him.

Void screamed again and tried to drain Andy but Andy did the same to her and they canceled each other out.

Void then started slowly draining Kiba, so Andy forced energy through their link.

Kiba pushed himself to his knees, giving Void a weak smile. "Guess making a clone of a clone isn't the best idea Shocker ever had. Haven't they ever considered more copies means weaker copies?" He coughed, blood spattering the ground. "He was too easy. Bet Andy turns you into a tin can quick."

Void growled at him and kicked at him, "He was a lot better than you'll ever be!" She kicked him again before turning back toward Andy, "And** I'm** a lot better than _you'll_ ever be. You have power but you're too afraid to use it as much as you could and that makes you weak." She ran toward Andy who blocked her hit. "All you had to do is join Shocker. You'd be able to use your power for a bigger purpose. But thankfully they made me to do the things you're too coward to."

Andy growled and shot at her again.

Kiba rolled his eyes as he began to get weaker. "Never knew you were such a narcissist, ninja girl."

Andy rolled her eyes in her helmet before rushing forward and slicing at Void. Void sliced at her as well, making them both fall, Andy's armor disappearing.

Andy rushed to drain Void as Void tried the same, once again coming to a standstill. Void grabbed her blaster and started shooting at Andy, who pulled out kunai and was dodging most of the hits as she advanced closer.

When Andy was in range, Void grabbed her arm, flipping her to the ground which knocked the air from Andy's lungs. Void then stepped on Andy's throat, "When I get through with you two, I'm going to go take out your whole family, just like you took out mine," she pointed at DeStruct's body. "Except maybe the baby. His poison would be a good tool for Shocker."

Andy struggled, clawing at Void's leg, trying to get a breath in. She finally stabbed one of the kunai into Void's leg making her stumble back. Andy took a large gasp of air, her throat aching.

Sparks flew from Void's armor. The clone turned to see Kiba shakily standing holding his gun. "Forgot about me, did you? You're **nothing**, bitch. Andy is better than a million of your sorry ass. So be nice and die, why don't you?" He began firing at her again.

He swore as his legs gave out, sending him to the ground.

Andy focused on Void and tried to drain her energy before she realized what was happening. She fell forward as her rider armor disappeared. Void stopped Andy's pull on her energy as she pushed herself up and started shooting at Andy. Andy shot back as she also pushed herself to her feet. Soon though, Andy pulled out her weapon to block the hits. Running forward, she shot at Void with one arm, weapon in the other. Void pulled her sword and prepared to strike. Once again, they dealt simultaneous hits. They both fell forward, bleeding heavily. Andy took a moment and drained Void's energy before she rolled over onto her back, "Kiba?"

"I'm here... "You… did good." He stopped moving halfway to her, head resting on one arm. "Sorry... ninja gi…" His voice trailed off.

Andy tried to roll to look at him, but the pain from her wounds stopped her. She laid her head back and stared at the sky, her eyes blurring together. '_If either of us wake up, I have that suicide cocktail shot in my pocket.' _She didn't know if he could hear her, but she figured she'd try anyway.

She felt the darkness washing over her, her eyes slowly closing as it took her.

Stinger landed the voyager, jumping out and racing towards the blip that marked Andy on his map. He didn't wait for Champ, didn't care if there were enemies lurking. All he cared about was the fact that the blip was getting weaker by the second. He'd be damned if she died on him.

He skidded to a stop as she came into view, lying motionless on her back. He couldn't tell if she was breathing. "Andy?" He forced his legs to move to her side, falling to his knees and slowly lifting her. "Beautiful, say something please." He brushed her hair out of her face as he fought back a sob at her injuries.

Champ's moo caught his attention and he moved his eyes to where his aibou was sadly checking Kiba. The rider lay face down in a large pool of blood. He wasn't moving and Champ shook his head at the ranger's unspoken question. "His pulse is almost nonexistent. He may not make it back to the ship."

Stinger snarled. "They _are __**not **_dying on us!" He lifted Andy, briefly glimpsing Champ do the same with Kiba, then concentrated on getting back to his voyager as fast as he could.

Andy was surprised when she woke to find herself on the Orion. She stared at the ceiling wondering if it was real or if she was actually dead. Her voice barely made sound when she whispered out, "Kiba?"

Raptor appeared, shaking her head. "He's hanging on, but I've done all I can. He lost a lot of blood in addition to his injuries." She sadly looked across the room at the equipment around one bed. "Just rest, Andy."

Andy sighed, if she was forced to stay alive then so was he. She pointed to the cabinet, "There should be a vial of green liquid? Give him some of that."

Raptor patted her shoulder, then retrieved the vial. Drawing some up, she injected it into Kiba's IV. Then the android returned to Andy's side. "Rest. That's an order."

Andy let the medicine she had in her own IV pull her back under. The next time she woke she tried to place the voices she was hearing. Finally, she realized one was Kiba.

"You had _no_ right! We made the decision together. Why can't anyone respect our wishes?"

"We had _no right_? Dad had _**every**_ right! She's _his_ wife! And my mother!" Azra's voice was angry, though Andy could hear the tears within. "According to Raptor, it was Mom who saved you when Raptor told her you were too far gone."

'_Only because we made a pact to go out together. If they're going to force me to stay alive you're stickin with me.' _Kiba could hear the tiredness through her mind.

'_Mind if I kill him? Because Stinger is pissing me off.'_

'_What's even going on? I woke up before and Raptor was here, now you're awake and Azra is yelling.' _

'_Whatever you had Raptor give me worked, because I woke up. Your vitals weren't doing so well, but Stinger ordered her to do whatever it took to keep you alive. Stinger and I had words, then he stormed out and Azra's been yelling at me ever since.' _ His mental voice was trembling, his anger barely contained.

'_Cuz they kept us alive?'_

'_Yeah. According to what Raptor told me, you were better than I was barely. Instead of letting us go… your husband told her to do anything and everything to keep us both breathing.' _Kiba's voice was resigned now. _'They just don't understand...I thought Stinger of all people would understand…'_ He went silent.

'_I'm sorry...' _She sighed and moved slightly, _'Can I just pretend I'm asleep forever so I don't have to get yelled at?'_

'_Too late. Here comes grumpy.' _

Stinger brushed Andy's hair back. "Come on, beautiful. You can't fool me. Open those baby blues."

"Only if you aren't going to yell," she whispered.

"I'm not going to yell… at you." He sighed and took her hand. "You scared me out of my mind. That letter…"

She finally blinked her eyes open but didn't meet his, "Sorry. And please don't yell at him either."

He grimaced, shooting daggers at Kiba's apparently sleeping form. "He started it. Opened his eyes and started threatening to kick my ass."

"To be fair, we weren't expecting to wake up," Andy stared at the ceiling.

"I gathered that from his reaction. I honestly thought he was past the suicide bullshit though." The ranger ran a hand through his hair. "I almost gave him what he wanted when he told me to let you go."

"We just don't want to be used again..." she sighed. "I could see some of what Void did... She killed so many people..."

Stinger hugged her softly. "I'm sorry. But I don't understand _why_ neither of you will let us protect you. You're not alone."

Andy sighed again, "I don't want you guys to get hurt because of me."

"Beautiful, we are Rangers. Our life is dangerous. You know I _never _expected to live this long. Just let us protect you." He sighed, looking over again at Kiba. "He's back to holding everyone at a distance. Hammy hasn't heard from him since he recovered from the injuries he received attacking the bases. He was really angry when he woke up this morning."

"He's been seeing what DeStruct is doing... Of course he'd be distant," Andy said like it was obvious. "He blames himself for everything DeStruct did just as I blame myself for what Void did."

Azra gave her father a look. "We're idiots, Dad. He's going through his own past _all over again_. Just this time, we ignored his pain."

"We just thought if we died with them, they wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else again and we wouldn't have to deal with the pain..."

Azra ran to her side. "Mom, please don't go. I understand how you feel, but we're here for you. Don't shut us out. Let us help." She gripped Andy's hand. "Let us take care of you and him."

The shapeshifter looked at Stinger. "We have some apologies to make when he wakes up."

Stinger nodded sadly. "I called him a coward. I told him you didn't need a friend like him." He went to Kiba's bed. "I ordered him to leave as soon as he was able and not to come back." He raised his eyes to Andy's. "What if he does?"

"You might want to restrain him until you apologize. And take the lock picks from his pockets..." Andy frowned. She looked at Azra, "I know... but you don't get it either. I wanted to kill myself a while ago to prevent something like this from happening. But they didn't let me and said no one would control me. Well they didn't control me but they made a clone who killed hundreds if not thousands of people because I didn't kill myself first. You can't imagine knowing that many people are gone and it's on your shoulders."

Stinger exhaled sharply. "Forgive us?" He turned and went back to her side. "I'm so sorry. But I will _never_ let anything happen to you again. Not while I'm breathing. Just please don't do anything alright?" He paused, then opened his mouth again.

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a soft tinkle of bells and a whoosh of air. He looked at the two women in confusion. "What was that?"

Azra raised her eyes and gasped. She pointed across the room to the now empty bed where Kiba had been.

Andy's breathing quickened when she noticed, "Where did he go?"

Stinger took her by the shoulders. "We'll find him, beautiful. I swear it."

Tears started to well up in her eyes, "But will he be alive when we do?"

Stinger sighed and growled. "He better be. Because I refuse to apologize to another grave."

_2 weeks later, Planet Jifa_

_Shocker cloning facility_

Kiba stared at the facility, his eyes unseeing. Unwanted memories flooded his mind, making him tremble. With a snarl, he forced them back into the locked area of his brain. Couldn't let anything distract him from this target. He hefted the pack of explosives and looked down at his driver. Fitting that the very thing they'd created would be what destroyed them. He transformed and disappeared.

Stinger entered the infirmary. "Andy, I found him."

Andy looked up quickly, "Where is he?"

"A planet called Jifa." He sat down beside her. "Don't go cheering yet."

"What's the planet like?"

"Shocker controlled. It's an active cloning facility." Stinger sighed. "He sent a message to me at the last planet we traced him too. He said he forgave me, but not to follow him. That he was finally going to atone."

"How far are we?" Her hands clenched tightly as she tried to stay calm.

"A few hours. Andy, he didn't look good."

She took a deep breath, still trying to push the oncoming panic away, "It'll be faster by voyager. I'm going after him." She stood and threw a few things then headed to the door.

Stinger nodded. "I'm coming too."

Andy headed down to the voyager bay, climbing into her voyager and waiting for Stinger. As soon as he joined her, she flew off. "I hope he's okay."

Kiba rubbed his neck as he paused, hiding in a storage room. He'd almost been too slow to notice the guard change while laying explosives in one of the generator rooms. Only the overwhelming feeling of being discovered had made him realize. He'd had to take refuge, hoping the guards gave up searching.

When there had been no alarm raised after twenty minutes, Kiba slowly approached the door and opened it. He crept slowly down the hall, breathing a sigh of relief. Then he turned the corner and the world went black.

He regained consciousness quickly, finding himself restrained to a gurney. A Shocker doctor he vaguely remembered gave him a smile. "Ah, look who's awake."

Kiba growled, fighting to get free.

"I'd say welcome home, but we don't need you anymore. So consider yourself disowned." The doctor laughed as he produced a syringe filled with red liquid.

Kiba screamed as the liquid was injected, thrashing as the doctor kept laughing. His mind was on fire, his memories turning to ash as he watched. He huddled in his safe room as the walls began to burn.

Outside, he slowly stopped moving, his eyes slowly becoming blank. The doctor shined a penlight into them, then nodded to the mooks. "Once his heart stops, take him to the area where we destroy the unfit clones.

The guards saluted as the doctor left whistling.

As soon as they landed, Andy's eyes started glowing as she scanned for Kiba's energy. She started heading in the direction of the most energy signatures and hoped she'd find him soon. They got to one of the entrances and she looked at Stinger, "Ready?"

Stinger gave her a nod, his eyes going cold and his tail elongating. "Let's find him."

She quickly took down the guards in the first hallway, trying to sense where Kiba was. Finally, she found his energy but noticed it was really weak. Running ahead, she took down all of the guards on the way there, dropping them to the ground in seconds as she focused on her mission. When she found Kiba, she froze, noticing how blank he looked. She scanned him over before giving him some green serum, hoping it would help. She then focused on his mind, trying to find him, _'Kiba?'_

Inside his safe room, Kiba raised his eyes as he dimly heard a voice. He didn't have the energy to respond though, besides what was the point? Even if someone found him here, they'd be strangers. Who would be looking anyway? He lowered them again, not wanting to see where he was. All he wanted was to sleep.

Andy focused harder and soon found him in his safe room. She looked around alarmed at the state of the room, "Kiba?! What's happening?"

He wearily opened his eyes, looking at her with no sign of recognition. "Who are you? How are you here?" He sighed. "Why are you here?"

"Kiba, I'm Andy. I'm a friend."

"I don't have friends. Go away. I want to sleep."

"Please, Kiba. You do have friends. If you don't remember me, we can start over? Will you please be my friend?"

He stared at her. "Why? I'm a weapon. At least that's what the stupid General says. I don't care about that. I just want everyone to leave me alone so I can sleep without the stupid doctors."

"I don't think you're a weapon. I think you're a person, and obviously you have feelings, so that is more evidence for you being a person." She sat next to him. "Do the doctors bother your sleeping?"

"Constantly. Their stupid shots make my head hurt and I can't sleep. I always end up in the med bay while they all talk about me like I'm not there. I'd run away, but the guards would probably catch me."

"I could help you run away," Andy suggested. "I'm pretty good at getting past guards, since I'm a ninja."

"What's that?" Kiba looked at her curiously. "And why would you help me? You'd get hurt if we were caught."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "Ninja's are hard to explain. They're sneaky, and can do some really cool tricks. And I know you don't really like doctors, but I'm a ninja medic, so my job is to help people. I _like _helping people, even if it causes me harm."

He gave her a small smile. "You don't sound like any doctor I know. I think I like you. I-" The words cut off as he grabbed his head and screamed. The walls began to flicker with flame as he writhed.

She wrapped her arms around him and ran a hand through his hair while trying to see if she could help him. She pushed energy into him, trying to help his head. "Shh. Everything is going to be okay." She tried to assure.

As quickly as it had begun, the attack stopped. Kiba lay quiet, his eyes half open. His breathing was slow, the flames matching his exhalations. "I wish... I could run away with you and see your tricks." He finally managed to say, his eyes meeting hers. "I would have liked having a friend."

His breath hitched for a moment, then he continued. "Can I sleep now?"

She hugged him, "I'm sorry, hun. You can't sleep yet. We can still run away and I can show you all my cool tricks."

"How? I'm so tired. Just for a little bit?"

Andy winced, wanting to say yes, but knowing that would probably not end well. "We'll sneak out of here and go to the spaceship I live on. We can see all kinds of cool places. What kind of place have you always wanted to go to?"

"The beach. It looks like fun in the magazines I hide in my room. But I'm never allowed outside."

He sighed heavily. "You really live on a spaceship?"

"Yeah. It's pretty fun. And I love the beach. Have you ever seen pictures of dolphins? They're my favorite to swim with and I know of a great beach that has hundreds of them around."

His eyes opened wider. "Really? You must go lots of cool places."

She smiled softly, "I do. And you can go to all those fun places with me."

He frowned, looking around at the room. "I can't get out of here. I don't know how." His breath sped up as the flames began to become visible. "Make it stop!"

Outside, Kiba began thrashing again, his heart racing.

Andy moved and held him in a hug as the version of her in his mind put her hands on his shoulders, "Take deep breaths. With me, in and out." She figured the breathing might stop the flames again. "I'll help you out of here. You just have to trust me, okay? Do you trust me?"

He nodded slowly, breathing deeply. "I trust you."

"Okay, this might sound crazy, but we're inside your head. We need you to wake up. I'm right there with you too, ready to run away with you and show you all kinds of fun things." She rubbed his back gently. "Just close your eyes and try to focus on your body. Imagine you opening your eyes and becoming connected again. And like I said, I'm right there with you, I'm not going to disappear."

He gave her a perplexed look, then closed his eyes.

"There's no one to worry about out there. Everything will be okay. Just focus on your own energy and feel yourself reconnect," she spoke softly.

He gave a single nod, then disappeared.

Andy opened her eyes in her body, still holding onto her friend, "Kiba? Are you with me?"

Kiba's eyes blinked open and he groaned. "How drunk was I last night? And why didn't you stop me?"

"Kiba... You weren't drinking. You know who we are though, right?" Andy spoke gently.

He raised an eyebrow. "Of course I do. And I sure feel like Tsurugi got me drunk."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Explanations later. Let's get out of here before the explosives go off.

He began untying the restraints as Kiba fought to stay conscious.

Kiba chuckled. "Probably a good idea."

Andy smiled before looking at Stinger, "You help take him ahead. I'll be right behind you in case guards come."

Stinger nodded, then helped Kiba stand. "Come on, problem child." They slowly left the room, heading for the facility exit. The ranger counted numbers in his head. "We've got five minutes to get out of here."

Andy followed down the hall, watching for guards. She took a few down but they didn't run into many. They were almost to the exit when Andy glanced into a room and froze. She knew it was a cloning facility but she never expected to see a massive army of DeStruct and Void. She quickly drained the energy from everyone in the room before going back to following Stinger and Kiba.

Stinger swore as Kiba's legs buckled mere feet away from the door. He hefted the rider, whispering "I'm going to kick your ass if you don't move."

Kiba weakly chuckled, forcing his legs to hold him up as they burst into the sunlight. He looked at Andy as she followed them out. "Can I sleep yet?"

She gave him a soft smile, "Let's get into the voyager, then I promise you can sleep."

He gave her a small grin, leaning heavily on Stinger as the three made their way back to the voyager.

As soon as they were all inside, the rider released his hold on consciousness. His head lay on Andy's shoulder as she lifted off.

She stayed in orbit for a minute, making sure the base exploded before flying back toward the Orion.

She drew some energy from stars they passed to work on further healing the rider, trying to make sure he would be okay.

When they arrived in the bay, Champ and Raptor were waiting. "Aibou, that was one large explosion. How much did you use?"

Stinger jerked a thumb at the sleeping Kiba. "Ask sleeping beauty. I just turned on his timers."

He turned to Andy. "I'm not sure what you were doing for so long. I know I was worried he wasn't going to make it. Is he alright?"

Andy sighed, "I don't know how he'll be when he wakes up. He regressed again, in his mind. When I finally got him to wake, he was how you saw him and he remembered us. He _should _be okay, but we just have to wait and see. What they gave him really screwed with him."

"Alright. We'll wait to see if there's any lasting effects." He gave a rueful smile. "You ever think you should have gotten into an easier line of work? Like herding cats?"

Andy chuckled before making a clone. The clone went with Raptor who took Kiba to the infirmary, while Andy followed Stinger, "How many more cloning facilities do we have information about?"

"Two. But you better not pull what he did or I'm going to kick both your asses." Stinger gave her a stern look. "I know this is a touchy mission, but that's exactly why we need to support each other. _Don't_ be like the idiot in the infirmary, who got his brain fried and almost died today."

"We need to take them out soon, especially if they are starting an army like the last one..."

"We will. Now I need an explanation. How does someone regress if they aren't awake?"

"Oh, there's this area in his head..." Andy started talking then paused a moment, "Look it's complicated, but there's this room in his mind and after nightmares or with other things, it's where we end up before he wakes. So the mental version of him was regressed."

"Fair enough. Why did you ask if he knew us when he woke up?"

"Remember when he regressed before and didn't know us? That's how it was again. So I didn't know if he'd be regressed or if he'd be back to normal."

"So how young this time? And what did they give him to mess him up so badly?"

"I think some kind of poison, but the medicine I gave him works well in his body so it helped counteract most of it. And I don't know, maybe ten?"

"Guess it's better than five." Stinger sighed. "Any new insights? Was he just as cheeky then as now?"

"He just wanted to sleep. And he seemed a little worried." She smiled, "He thought it was cool that I live on a spaceship and I promised I'd help him run away from there and show him lots of fun places."

Stinger couldn't help the chuckle. "No kid can resist a spaceship."

She sighed, "What information do we have on the cloning facilities? Did you know they were cloning DeStruct and Void?"

"I suspected DeStruct. Not Void, since they can't have endless material like they do for him. But Akashi is behind this, I'm sure of it."

"I know this sounds crazy, but it might be a good way to get more intel... If I can steal a driver for Void, Kiba and I could sneak in and see what we hear or find."

Stinger's eyes blazed. "Crazy, no. _Absolutely insane?_ Yes. Did I _not_ say we needed to do this together?"

"Well, that's why I brought it up instead of just doing it," Andy answered plainly. "You have better ideas?"

"No. But how would you sneak in? They're bound to know that the originals are dead by now."

"Go in invisible, grab driver. Find where more morphed Voids are, morph and join them while Kiba morphs to DeStruct, then see what intel we can find."

Stinger looked at her. "Can you do this without losing your cool? And we might want to wait until Kiba wakes before making plans."

Andy sighed, "It was just a suggestion. I mean, I could go and just wipe them all out and then check their computer systems, if you'd prefer. It'd probably be safer too."

"I much prefer option two. I don't really want to take my eyes off either of you. _And _it might be cathartic to use your gift to screw Shocker."

In the infirmary, Kiba blinked his eyes open. The headache was dull, not excruciating like before. He sighed, hoping whatever had happened hadn't caused too much trouble for Andy.

"Hey," Andy smiled when she noticed he was awake.

"Hey. I'm sorry I disappeared. It was stupid, but I was so angry. I didn't trust myself not to go after scorpion." He gave her a small smile. "I'm planning to apologize eventually. And I hope I didn't cause you guys embarrassment."

Andy sighed, "They want to apologize too. I just... After everything we'd just been through it was hard for me to not have you to talk to, you know?"

"I was only gone a week, you could have given me a heads up telepathically." Kiba chuckled.

She stared at him for a moment before speaking softly, "Hun, it's been three weeks..."

Kiba gave her a confused look. "Ninja girl, it's been a week. I even counted the days because I was going to come back after I took out the facility on Suiko."

She took a deep breath but he could notice tears growing in her eyes, "Kiba... You were on another suicide mission. It really has been three weeks. I think whatever Shocker gave you made you lose some of your memories..."

"Huh?" Kiba sat up quickly, then rubbed his temples. "Ouch. What do you mean, suicide mission? I was just taking out cloning facilities. I was planning on coming back, I swear. I won't do that unless it's with you. What do you mean, whatever Shocker gave me? What the hell happened?"

Andy sat next to him and held his hand for a moment before speaking again, "You sent a letter to Stinger, saying you were finally going to atone for your sins. We found you captured, on Jifa, and they'd given you something which would have killed you. That's also why your head hurts." She sighed, "I don't know what all you remember about the cloning facilities, but they're trying to make armies of DeStruct and Void..."

Kiba stared at her in horror. "Jifa?" He began to hyperventilate, his eyes wild. "No... I swore…I swore never to go back…"

She moved and wrapped her arms around him, gently rubbing his arm, "It's okay. It's okay. We blew it up with charges you'd set. I don't know what happened in the two weeks you're forgetting, but that's where you went."

He fought to speak, his voice finally coming out hoarse. "Jifa is where I was 'born'. That facility is where I was raised… I swore I'd never go back! Yet I couldn't resist, could I? I couldn't keep a promise I swore years ago…"

"Shh, it's okay," Andy spoke softly, trying to calm him. "You must have known how important it was to take it out, or else you wouldn't have gone." She ran a hand through his hair, "It's all going to be okay. You trust me, right?"

He buried his face in her shoulder. "Yeah." The answer was muffled, Kiba's shoulders relaxing as sleep began to drag him under.

She gently rubbed his back for a couple minutes, before moving him back into a lying position, "Just rest. I'll be here when you wake up, okay?" She wasn't sure if he was still even conscious so she spoke barely above a whisper.

He gave a tiny nod, barely awake. His breathing evened out as he fully crashed.

In the office, Stinger watched her eyes stray to the wall. He noticed tears welling up, but didn't want to break her concentration. After a few minutes, her eyes started to refocus and he cleared his throat. "Obviously he woke up. What's the problem?"

She wiped her eyes before answering, "He doesn't remember the last two weeks. And he swore he'd never go to Jifa, so something pushed him to go there. I'm hoping it was just him realizing how big of a problem the facility was? But that doesn't tell me why he was on a suicide mission..."

"Why would he swear never to go there? And he doesn't remember anything?"

"He said he was going to come back after a week, so something happened around then that caused him to keep on this rampage..." She closed her eyes a moment and refocused her thoughts, "He said he was 'born' on Jifa. That's the facility he was made in."

Stinger let out a curse. "No wonder he had so many explosives set." He paused, reaching for his tablet. "A week he said?" He typed some things in, then launched into an extended tirade of cursing. "Something set him off alright…"

He handed the tablet to her, a list of news items highlighted.

'Orphanage on Florian burns, no survivors'

'Banton Prime a ghost planet, all residents drained of life'

'Orias Kamen Rider drained, note left on body'

Andy's heart sank and she handed over the tablet with a shaky hand. Her breathing quickened, thinking of all of the damage her clones had done.

"The note apparently took responsibility for everything, praising the Jifa facility and presenting Kiba as a coward. It called him out." Stinger was livid, his voice trembling as he tried to keep it level.

Andy stared at the wall for a minute before finally speaking, "Should we even tell him?"

Stinger sighed. "My heart says not to. Spare him the mental anguish that drove him back there. But if he discovers we hid it, he'd go nuclear on us. Might drive him to do something even stupider. Something we may not be able to save him from. Now I really don't like the idea of letting him participate in your idea."

"Then we'll tell him. You tell him, I'll comfort him. Hopefully with both of us there, we can keep him calm enough to not do something stupid." She thought for a moment, "The draining idea I can do on my own. I just need to sense everyone there, drop them, then look around."

Stinger nodded. "Alright. Do you want to tell him before you do your own rampage? Or after?" The ranger frowned. "You might want to keep him here somehow. We saw that if you take your eyes off of him, he'll run in seconds."

"Well, there's two bases right? If we're close to one, I can take it out before he wakes up again. My clone can keep watching him. The second one though, if it's not as close, I don't know how we'd stop him from going."

"Is it bad that I wish we had a couple of those energy drain bindings? It would keep him from going anywhere. At this point, restraints don't seem to be working. Unless you want to drug him completely senseless." Stinger gave her a rueful chuckle.

"Let's see how he reacts to the news before we decide anything about the second base. How far are we to the first?"

"Eight hours give or take." Stinger stood and embraced Andy. "Do I have to worry about you going off the deep end?"

Andy shrugged, "I don't know, honestly..." She sighed, "I'll be fine to at least take out the base. Outside of that, I just need some time to process things... I know Void hurt a lot of people, but a whole army of Voids could easily take out a universe... We have to stop them."

Stinger sighed heavily, but nodded. "You're right as usual. I'd say get some rest but that would leave problem child unattended."

She looked up at him, "What are you going to do?"

"I have to update Shou on both Jifa's facility and our plan. Send some of Lucky's karma my way, will you?" He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't expect blowback, but depending on whether Tsurugi is breathing down his neck, he may yell a lot."

Andy nodded, "I'm going to go check on Scorpio... Maybe when you're done we can eat or something?"

Stinger nodded. "Sounds good."

Andy headed off and found Scorpio asleep. She smiled as she watched him for a few minutes. The clone in the infirmary sat there with her eyes closed, just listening for sounds in case Kiba woke. Wanting to be with more awake beings, she headed to the bridge to see if anyone was there.

Andy landed on the planet, eyes glowing as she scanned the energy readings around. Walking right into the base, she drained anyone she sensed in the building. She quickly found a computer and started looking up information. Luckily none of the clones had shipped out from this base, but they had already created a couple hundred clones.

She looked through a bit more information, not finding anything important. She then started wandering down the hallways, stepping over a few bodies of guards. She glanced in the different rooms, setting charges and looking for anything useful. She found a room where rows and rows of inactive clones were lined up. She took a deep breath and set charges before heading onto the next room. After a few more rooms, she found where they were manufacturing drivers. After swiping one of the Void drivers she set the charges. After rescanning for energy signatures she headed out to her voyager and lifted off before blowing it up.

Stinger was waiting for her in the voyager bay when she arrived. She gave a small smile, "Base is gone and none of the clones made here were shipped out."

Stinger grinned. "Fantastic. Any intel?"

"Nothing important," she shook her head.

"Alright. Base two is one warp jump away, so it will be hours before we hit orbit."

She nodded, "I'll be in the infirmary if you need me." When she got there, she released her clone and sat on one of the beds. She focused on drawing in a bit of energy so she could stay awake to keep an eye on Kiba.

The rider's visible eye was flickering under his lids, but he hadn't made a sound. His bangs were in his face, obscuring the other eye. His body remained relaxed, not giving any hint of what he was dreaming. He hadn't woken since his panic attack.

Suddenly his hands spasmed, fingers clenching. He began shaking violently, coming close to falling off the bed. He still didn't make a sound.

Andy heard the very slight sounds the movements made and she got up and scanned him over. She frowned and sat next to his bed before focusing on his mind.

Kiba appeared, bound to a gurney. His mouth was tightly gagged. Lab coats surrounded him, each one holding different colored syringes. He locked eyes with her, the dark orbs revealing terror. The gurney shook as he desperately tried to get free.

Andy rushed to his side, pushing the lab coats out of the way. She undid the tie on his mouth, "Kiba, this is just a dream. None of this is real."

He didn't answer, his trembling growing more violent as the lab coats reapproached. They walked through Andy and leaned over him. He squeezed his eyes shut as one of the needles was used.

He screamed wordlessly as the coats took notes.

Andy cursed and made a clone who went and grabbed the medicine she made to heal him, injecting it into Kiba. She hoped it would counteract whatever they had given him. The Andy in his head ran a hand through his hair gently, "Kiba, I know this is probably a memory, but it's just a nightmare. This isn't happening right now and you are going to be safe. You need to wake up."

He gave no sign of hearing her, his eyes opening to stare at the next doctor who approached. The next syringe was given, his eyes darting wildly toward Andy. There was still no sign he was seeing her though. After five minutes, everything was repeated. Finally, the last doctor approached with a demented smile. "DeStruct, you will wake up." He injected a thick black substance, laughing as Kiba writhed in agony. "Wake up or die."

Kiba's eyes met Andy's, for the first time. Then they closed and he stopped moving. The medical room vanished, leaving Kiba on the floor of the safe room.

His eyes cracked open. "Help… me?" His voice was weak, the words slurred.

She sat by him, holding her hands out to try to push energy into him and heal any damage the serums were doing. "Everything will be okay."

"Sorry… you have to take… care of me again. I remember now. Those planets are dead because of me…" Tears trickled from his eyes.

"Kiba, I care about you and so helping you is never a problem," she tried to smile before shaking her head, "Void is out there causing a lot of trouble too. Share the blame with me. You're not alone. And Stinger and the others want to help us take them out. Hell, I just took out another cloning facility a little bit ago. We need to share the responsibility of fixing this, which means we need to stay alive long enough to make sure all of the DeStructs and Voids are taken out."

"Void_** is **_my fault! If I hadn't wanted to leave, you wouldn't have come along. DeStruct would have never gotten you. You would never have been cloned. _Every_ death since is my fault!" He pushed her away, retreating to a corner of the room. "Just stop."

"If I hadn't decided to go, I wouldn't have gotten taken. If I had killed myself when I wanted, I wouldn't have gotten taken. Not _everything _is your fault. Things happen! We can't sit around for hours analyzing every single choice and how it led to the bad shit! We just have to realize that we can choose to fight against them. We can control our choices from now on. Humans make mistakes, not every choice will be perfect, but we have to make the choices anyway. Now you can choose to blame yourself and sit in the corner or you can choose to join me to try to take them out. I don't care if you feel it's all your fault, I feel like it's all my fault. I still feel like I shouldn't be alive right now. But I'm still trying to do something proactive about the problem and am choosing to stand up and fight them." She took a deep breath, "So what are you going to choose?"

Kiba coughed. "You ever think of recording your lectures?" He grimaced. "Fine. We share the blame. But I don't know if I have the strength to fight anymore. I'm tired, ninja girl. Tired of fighting, tired of failing. I just want to sleep for once with no dreams, no memories. Why can't I?"

"I know how you feel, but you can't entirely escape your memories. I know you're not one to settle, but honestly if you would settle down and just live somewhere peaceful, you wouldn't be reminded of your past as much. Quit fighting. Quit the war. Leave it to Stinger and I, and the rest of the active resistance. If you don't have the strength, I'll just work twice as hard and share your portion."

"I tried, Andy. I stayed with Hammy. Started teaching. The nightmares got worse, to the point I was camping at the Outlook every night. I kept waking Hammy and she couldn't handle it. I won't do that to her again. And I want to stop fighting... to live. I just…" He trailed off with another cough and reached for her. "We made a pact. But I don't know if I can wait."

She moved to hug him, "You know, Hammy is learning how to heal. And she's even trying to learn how to get into your nightmares. She's read through your file, wanting to better understand you and better help you. You might want to give her another chance, she's gotten stronger. Plus, you did just marry her not too long ago, you can't just disappear on her now," she sighed. "Not that I can say much seeing as we were both trying to kill ourselves a few weeks ago... Just... try to share the burden with me, and with the rest of our family. They want to help, even if they don't always know how, they want to help. We need to trust each other and trust them so the burden isn't entirely on your shoulders or mine."

Kiba sighed, closing his eyes. "I shouldn't have tied her to me." He sagged into her arms. "Don't leave, okay? It hurts... I'm trying to wake up, but I don't know if I can..." He coughed again.

"I won't leave," Andy assured before she started pushing energy into him again. "Hammy loves you with her whole heart. Even if you didn't marry her, she'd be waiting for you anyway."

He gave a pained chuckle. "How _did_ I get a pair of sisters so devoted to me?"

Andy smiled, "Because we know you have a good heart."

He gave her a small smile before his head fell forward onto her shoulder.

She looked at him a second before she was pushed out back to her body. She got another dose of the serum ready and gave it to him, hoping it would help him wake.

His eyes slowly flickered open. "Thanks for not leaving. And the lecture."

"I told you, I'm not leaving you," she smiled. "And apparently I'm just very good at lecturing."

He chuckled before yawning. "I just can't sleep enough lately. I'd think there was something wrong, but that would imply you weren't doing your job."

Andy rolled her eyes, "Well, you had the DeStruct nightmares, being injured, going on a rampage, and how many weird things injected into you. You probably won't feel totally back to normal for a while. You just need rest."

"Tell my memory to take a vacation, then." He sat up with a sigh. "I just want a week of uninterrupted sleep every night. Too much to ask?"

Andy smirked, "Probably. But I am here to help with your nightmares." She glanced at the time, "Why don't you get some more rest for now?"

He looked at her reluctantly. "Too terrified to even try right now. That memory scared me more the second time around, honestly."

"Ok, but I'm here to help if you do want to try sleeping," she gave a soft squeeze on his hand. "Well while you're up, you probably need something to eat."

He nodded, then he slid off the bed. He almost hit the floor, his legs buckling for a moment. He held onto the bed and took a deep breath. "I might need some help."

She moved to his side and wrapped an arm around his waist, "What do you want to eat?"

"Something simple." Kiba yawned again. "I apologize if I fall asleep in the kitchen."

Andy chuckled, "It's fine, I'll just get someone to carry you back to bed." They headed to the kitchen and she got him to the table before she started cooking.

He lay his head on one arm, half watching her. His voice was soft as he asked, "Don't my memories ever scare you?"

She shook her head, "Unless they involve something that can trigger me too, like Kojan, I just feel bad you had to go through that stuff. The only thing that scares me is worrying I won't be able to get you to wake up..."

He sighed. "I wish I could just forget, but I can't. The pain, the _terror_, it all comes back when I sleep. When I'm awake it's easier to push any memories away. Unless I happen to look at my body. For almost the entire first year after I escaped, I couldn't look in a full length mirror without having a panic attack. Especially if I looked at my back."

"I feel bad. As a medic I should be able to heal people, but I guess there's just some things even I can't heal. I wish I could just take all your pain away," she glanced over.

He gave her a sleepy smile. "I know. It constantly amazes me that you care this much. I'm just a stray, not really belonging anywhere. Yet you feed me and heal me when I do stupid shit. I really don't deserve any of you."

Andy gave him a soft smile, "You're our family and we love you. It's what family does."

He chuckled. "Imagine _me_ having a family… still makes me wonder if you're all crazy wanting me." He yawned and closed his eyes. "Wake me when you're done..."

A little bit later she placed a plate on the table in front of him before putting a hand on his shoulder, "Kiba? Can you wake up and eat a bit?"

He roused slowly, his eyes opening halfway. "I'm awake...I think." He lifted his head, then shook it.

His eyes met hers and he gave her a small smile. "I'm okay." Grabbing a fork, he began to eat.

She sat across from him with her own plate. Soon, Stinger appeared. She smiled, "There's more food if you want some."

Stinger returned the smile, then leaned over to kiss her. "Thanks, beautiful." He looked at Kiba critically. "You look like shit."

Kiba snorted. "Thanks a lot. Try getting about six hours of sleep in three weeks and see if you look any better."

Stinger exchanged glances with Andy worriedly, then he reached for a plate.

"I can give you some sedative if you want," Andy suggested before looking at Stinger, "How far are we?"

"Four hours. Is your plan still the same?"

Kiba listened to the exchange, his eyes narrowed. "Plan? What is going on?"

"I'm thinking I'll just do what I did at the last one," she answered before looking at Kiba, "Do you remember me saying I took down a base earlier?"

Kiba slowly nodded. "Wasn't sure what you were talking about, but yeah I remember."

"Well, we got intel about two more cloning facilities. I went to one, drained everyone, then blew it up," she spoke softly. "We're on our way to the other one to do the same."

Kiba's eyes widened. "You went _alone_?" He looked at Stinger. "What the _hell_, dude?"

Stinger shrugged. "It was safer than her first idea. And she's using her abilities for good. Might help her mindset." He glanced at Andy apologetically. "Sorry, beautiful."

"I took them down before they even knew I was coming," Andy shrugged, "And at least he knew where I was going, so if something happened, he'd know where to look."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Glad to know I'm not the only lunatic here. You still should have had someone watching your back."

"Well, then I can take someone with me this time," Andy answered.

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "That someone _better_ be me." He yawned again. "After I have two cups of Stinger's coffee, that is."

"It's four hours so nap a bit, then coffee," Andy ordered.

Kiba gave her a salute. "Yes ma'am. Mind if I sleep here?"

She chuckled, "I'm not stopping you."

Kiba chuckled, pushing his plate away. He lay his head on one arm and closed his eyes. His breathing evened out seconds later.

Andy made a clone who started washing dishes while she asked Stinger, "Did Shou say anything about these facilities?"

"Heavily guarded. Must be something real important inside." Stinger watched Kiba, a smile on his face. "You're really going to let him sleep there?"

Andy shrugged, "As long as he's sleeping, he'll be fine. I'd rather him pass out here and get rest than him trying to stay awake."

"True. But if he has a nightmare, he's going to get hurt falling off the bench." Stinger leaned against the counter. "You really think it's a good idea taking him?"

Andy nodded, "He wants to take out DeStruct as much as I want to take out Void. It might help him."

Stinger sighed. "I just don't want him trying to take out DeStruct to the point he takes himself out or puts you in danger. He's my friend, no. Scratch that- he's my brother. I **won't** lose another one to the darkness." He looked at her. "Same with you. I _**will not**_ lose either of you until you're old and gray."

She wrapped her arms around him, "I took out the last base fine by myself, we'll be fine here too." She then smirked, "I feel old already though."

Stinger snorted. "So do I. Mainly from him taking years off my life with his stunts." He gave a fond look toward the rider. "Still not sure how we ended up with him."

Andy smiled softly, "This is nothing like we imagined years ago. We were definitely supposed to be retired by now. But I'm happy with the family we've made, including our stray rider."

Stinger chuckled and kissed her. "Me too." He frowned as Kiba twitched slowly, his forehead creasing as his eyelids moved. "Maybe you should wake him."

Kiba found himself in a cell, Andy in front of the bars. "Ninja girl? Let me out." He froze as her eyes became black and she laughed coldly. "No. I'll relieve you of your burden though."

He felt his energy draining and he looked at her in terror. "Void."

She laughed again. "I told you that you would pay for taking my family." She intensified her glare and Kiba sank to the floor as his energy vanished. He was so tired... His eyes began to slip closed, Void's laughter ringing in his ears.

Andy's hand glowed as she scanned him over. She then cursed, eyes starting to glow as she pushed energy into him. As her body focused energy, Andy focused on Kiba's mind, trying to find him. She soon found herself facing Void.

"What do you want?" Andy growled.

"Revenge. You took my family. Now I'll take yours, starting with him." She looked at Kiba, lying motionless on the cell floor. "Though he wasn't much fun. Oh well. The others might give me more entertainment."

Andy stared daggers at her, "You aren't going to get them." She threw a kunai quickly, which hit Void.

She began to dissolve, mocking Andy a final time. "You can't save them anymore than you can save him." She vanished, leaving the two of them alone.

Andy knelt next to Kiba and pushed energy into him, even though her body was pushing energy in from the outside. She found a few random stars nearby and started draining them as she tried to revive Kiba.

Kiba could see a white light beckoning him. He began moving toward it, but paused when he felt energy suddenly being forced into him. He forced his eyes open to see Andy kneeling beside him. "Ninja girl?" His voice was weak and he couldn't be sure if he was even talking.

"Yeah, hun. I'm trying to help you out. You can't go out without me, remember?"

"Just... making sure." He tried to smile. "So weak..."

"I'm giving you energy, so you should be feeling better soon," She smiled as she focused on her task.

"Sorry about this. Seems like the universe doesn't want me sleeping. This _is_ a dream, right?"

"Yeah, but... Void is me... She can get into all of your heads. I don't know why I never thought of that," she started breathing quicker but tried to push the panic away as she pushed more energy into him.

"Shit, Andy. That settles it. You are staying on the ship. I'll take this base out. We don't need a replay of your fight on Loeria." Kiba pushed himself to his feet, swaying. "And I'm not listening to arguments."

"I'm going. I can at least take out everyone else in the base," Andy argued anyway. "I need you to wake up now though, I need to make sure you'll be okay before I try something."

He glared at her before closing his eyes and disappearing.

Andy focused back on her body and opened her eyes, scanning over Kiba again. She then sat down and closed her eyes, focusing on her energy. She drew in energy while simultaneously pushing energy outward. "Kiba? Do you have enough energy to try to telepathically talk to me? I'm trying to see if I can use my energy to create a barrier that she won't be able to get through."

'_I'm here. Still not fully charged as it were. I can't open my eyes, but I'm strong enough for this.'_

"Ok, I hear you. Try again," She pushed energy outward, trying to see if she'd still be able to hear him. After a minute she asked, "Did you try? Did this actually work? Just mumble if you can."

'_Yeah... think so.'_

Andy nodded and tried to push her energy outward to make a barrier large enough to surround the Orion. The clone she had made earlier was showing her panic as the real Andy was calm and focused.

The clone spoke, "Kiba, you can go back to sleep, she shouldn't bother you again. Though I'm not sure how much help I can be right now for your normal nightmares." She took a deep breath and looked at Stinger, "How far is Hammy from here?"

He pulled out his tablet, consulting the map. "Two days at warp. What the hell is going on?"

The clone was shaking, "Void... Stinger, I can get into people's minds! Why did I not think of her doing that?!"

Stinger took her shoulders gently. "Deep breaths. Then explain it calmly so I understand."

Kiba answered instead. "Void tried to kill me. And I wasn't dreaming."

After a minute she finally spoke, "Normally things that happen in Kiba's dreams affect his body anyway, but this seemed different..."

Kiba raised his head wearily. "One minute I was asleep, the next I was looking at Void. She literally hijacked my dream. Then she played 'steal the energy before mama wolf shows up'. I'm damned lucky." He sighed and looked at Andy. "Think that's the end of sleep for me. I'll just fill my head with caffeine before the raid."

"I've put a barrier around the ship, and I'll hold it as long as I can, so we'll be safe... but I'm worried about Hammy. Hopefully Void won't be as effective on her because Hammy and I don't share a psychic link like Kiba and I do." The clone took another deep breath. "She wants to come after our family because we took out hers."

Stinger was confused. "Took out hers?"

Kiba rose from his seat. "More like I took out hers. She means I blew DeStruct up on Loeria. I think they had some weird romantic thing going on." He got some coffee, then sat down again as he looked at Stinger. "Can I drink my coffee before you kill me for my clone being with your wife?"

"Yeah I got that vibe too," Andy admitted.

Stinger looked at Kiba with amusement. "Now why would I kill you for that? I'm more worried about you dying from sleep deprivation."

Kiba looked at him, then Andy. "Um... you want to answer that question, ninja girl? I'm going to drink my coffee before I die."

Andy's clone just smirked before disappearing. The smirk was then on the real Andy's face but she still had her eyes closed, focusing on the barrier.

"Traitor…" Kiba ruefully said before turning back to Stinger. "The thing is..."

Stinger cut him off. "You're in love with Andy? Dude, I've known that for years. So obviously DeStruct feels free enough to have a relationship with her clone. What's the big deal?"

Kiba almost fainted from embarrassment. "Uh... Don't get the wrong idea. I _was_ in love with Andy. But I'm in love with Hammy now." He paused to stare at the ranger. "Wait, so you're not mad?"

Stinger started to laugh. "Why would I be? You love her for the same reasons I do. And I know you're not a homewrecker." He glanced at Andy for a minute. "Though right now, I wish we were safe enough to kick your ass. Didn't she tell you to go back to sleep?"

Kiba nodded but then looked at her. "Prefer to be awake so she doesn't have to worry about me. This way, neither Void or anything else can mess with me."

Andy made a clone again, who commented, "Wait, we killed _that _Void. Are they hive mind if this Void remembers us killing DeStruct? And wouldn't having a new DeStruct make her happy? If she can actually be happy?"

Kiba shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me. And even if she is happy with the new DeStruct, wouldn't she still want revenge on us?" He drained his cup with a yawn, then looked at her. "You still have those stay awake pills in the infirmary?"

She thought for a moment, "I don't know about pills but I could formulate an energy shot. Let's go see what we can do to keep you awake for the mission." The clone headed into the hallway and waited for him.

He gave a salute to Stinger, then followed her out. "We need to figure out how to take all the facilities down fast. You can't keep that barrier up forever."

"I know... So far this next base is the only other one we know about. The last one didn't have much intel though, so maybe this one will lead us to more?"

"Hopefully." He headed toward the infirmary. "It's one thing when I keep myself up. Another thing when someone else is doing it." He stumbled, then leaned on the wall. "I'm going to crash hard soon. Don't freak out if I sleep a few days straight after this. The last time was years ago and I scared the person I was with."

"Well, I can always come check on you in your dreams too if I was worried. But I figure you'll sleep a lot. Are you sure you can handle this mission?" The clone's eyes started glowing as she pulled in a bit of energy from the real Andy and pushed it into Kiba. After a minute she looked at him, "Feel a bit better?"

He pushed himself to stand. "Yeah. I don't usually have dreams when I crash hard. And honestly, I'm beginning to doubt I can handle_ anything _right now. But I am more worried about you." He sighed as they reached the infirmary. "Hopefully, I can keep it together."

"As long as I can draw in energy, I'll be fine," Andy answered. "Just rest a minute while I make this." She went to a computer and started working.

The real Andy still didn't open her eyes, focused on her task. She sensed Stinger was still there, though, and asked, "You aren't mad at him for our clones being a thing, but are you mad at me at all?"

Stinger raised an eyebrow. "Whatever for?"

She gave a shrug, "Just wondered. Seeing as it's a clone of me being in love with a clone of my best friend, just... I don't know. I just wondered your thoughts."

"Your clones aren't you. And honestly, I could see a relationship between you two. It's just creepy that they are dedicated to Shocker as well." He gave a chuckle before continuing, his voice turning serious. "You really think he can do this mission alone in his condition?"

"I'm not letting him go alone," she said plainly.

Stinger sighed. "Does _he_ know that?"

"I told him that, so he _should_ know."

The clone approached Kiba and injected the shot.

He opened his eyes, shaking his head. "Wow... How long will it last?" He sat up, waiting for her answer.

"It should last through the mission. I'll bring some more though in case you start to crash."

He stopped as he slowly comprehended her statement. "Hold up. I said I was doing this alone. You're supposed to stay up here and keep that barrier going."

"I can do both. You'll need a barrier down there too you know."

"Unless she can get in my head while I'm awake, I'll be fine. I'll go in, scan the computer and blow the place off the map. No need for you to split your attention." He slid off the bed. "I can get there without the ship having to get too close." He waved a hand to summon the portal before turning. "Give me one of the shots just in case I need it."

"Just let me send my clone please," Andy answered. "And I can send thoughts to you and energy to you through our link, she could probably drain it the same way."

"What happens if she goes after the ship? Worse, what if the barrier here doesn't hold because your focus is split?" He approached her.

"Just trust that I'm going to try my hardest, okay?"

He sighed. "You won't take no for an answer will you?"

She shook her head.

"Fine. But don't let Stinger kick my ass if you get hurt. Cause I tried to talk you down." He stepped into the portal.

Andy followed and went through. Finding herself outside the base she quickly scanned the energy and started draining the guards closest to them. She threw up an energy barrier around the two of them before she kept scanning. Her eyebrows furrowed, "That's... odd." She shook her head and drained all of the normal energy signatures. She looked at Kiba, "I have to check something out. The guards and clones are all taken care of."

Kiba nodded. "I'll download any intel. With any luck, we'll be out of here quickly." He headed into the base, going for the main computer. He hooked his tablet to it, beginning his scan as he watched the surrounding area warily.

Andy kept scanning for energy signatures as she approached the odd energy. She stared at it when she finally entered the room before going to the computer nearby and getting information about it. She then grabbed it up and headed back to Kiba. "We have a... little problem?" She showed him the baby in her arms.

"What the hell?" Kiba stared in shock. "Why is there a baby…" The words trailed off as he gasped. "No... they wouldn't…."

"Taking their two best weapons, they created an ultra-weapon... Meet what they are calling DeVoid." She glanced down at the baby, "Growth wise, she's about a year old. Actual wise, about a week. I downloaded the information they have on her so I can see what they were giving her."

He unhooked his tablet, then looked back at Andy. "You know if you take her, Shocker and the clones will never stop chasing you, right?"

"I'm not going to leave her for them and I'm not going to kill an innocent baby," Andy answered. "So Stinger will just have to accept I took in another dangerous stray."

Kiba chuckled, then grimaced. He fell to his knees. "Shit...Andy, get out of here! She's in my head…" His eyes started to close.

Andy cursed, thinking she'd taken out all of the clones. She focused and made an energy barrier around her and the baby before pushing energy out into Kiba as well. She tried pushing the barrier over Kiba, but she wasn't sure if it would push Void out.

Andy focused on Kiba's mind, trying to find him and see if she could sense Void. _'Kiba?' _She didn't feel Void, so she stuck the energy shot into Kiba to get him moving, "We need to go."

He blinked, then groaned. "I really _hate_ your clone. She has none of your sparkling personality." He stumbled to his feet, quickly summoning the portal and pushing Andy through it before jumping through.

Andy's clone looked at Stinger when she realized they were in the kitchen. "Uhh hey..." She held tightly to the baby.

Andy made another clone who headed out of the room to find Balance and Naga. She wanted to see if they could form a mechanical psychic barrier because she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold it.

Stinger looked at Kiba who shook his head. "Don't look at me. I had nothing to do with it." The rider lay on the floor, breathing hard.

"Well, I wasn't going to kill an innocent baby, okay?" Andy's clone sat down.

Stinger smiled. "I know. I'm just curious what you got us into, that's all."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "She just made the target on you guys bigger." He pushed himself up shakily. "And Void is probably more pissed than ever now."

"I'll find a way to take her down. Or multiple of them if they have more than the one left." Andy sighed, "Don't tell me you wouldn't want to keep her?"

Kiba sighed. "I would have done exactly what you did. Don't know if I'd keep her though." He stood, swaying dangerously. "He isn't me though."

Stinger chuckled, wrapping an arm around Kiba's waist. "No, I'm not. I say we keep her. It's not like we have no experience dealing with babies with gifts. Or even adults with gifts."

Kiba gave him a sheepish grin. "Yes, Dad number three."

"She _really_ needs a name change... What do you think about Hope?"

Both men grinned, replying in unison "Yes."

Andy smiled at the baby, "That's a much better name, don't you think? Oh your sister will be so excited to meet you."

Stinger chuckled, then frowned as Kiba sagged. Quickly he kept the rider from falling. "We need to get him somewhere."

"Ok, help me get him to the infirmary. Kiba, I'm just going to sedate you if that's fine, that way you're less likely to have nightmares... Then I'm taking Hope to Azra because I can't keep up two clones and the barrier very well and I really need the other clone helping Balance and Naga."

Kiba nodded, barely awake.

Stinger lifted him and headed toward the infirmary quickly. By the time he arrived, the rider was completely asleep. Lying him on a bed, the ranger sighed. "What happened? I thought you made shots for him?"

"Void happened... I took out everyone I could sense at first except the baby because it had a weird signature. But there must be another one. That's why I need Balance and Naga working on a barrier because I can't keep this up."

Stinger grimaced. "I really can't wait for these clones to be gone." He brushed Kiba's bangs back. "This is the second time Void's attacked him. I'm worried what will happen if she does it again."

"If we get the barrier up and he doesn't leave, she won't be able to." She gave Kiba the sedative. "Let's go introduce her to Azra?"

Stinger gave the baby a smile, then nodded.

After entering the room, Andy smiled at Azra who was playing with Scorpio, "So... Meet your new sister, who we were not expecting to adopt. Her name is Hope."

Azra squealed with joy. "Hope? She's so cute!" The young woman put Scorpio down and ran to their side. Taking the baby, she cuddled her close. "And when did you ever expect any of us, Mom?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure I at least asked beforehand every other time," Andy laughed before smirking, "And she should be cute." She then took a deep breath, "There's something you guys should know about her... Well, Shocker thought it was a good idea to make an ultimate weapon from their two best weapons... So..."

Azra thought for a minute, then started laughing. "You and Uncle Kiba?"

Stinger's eyes went wide. "WHAT?!"

"They named her DeVoid. And yeah, that was my reaction at first too."

Azra recoiled. "DeVoid? That's awful." She looked at the baby. "Hope fits you much better."

Stinger snorted. "This might get weird if Hammy finds out."

"Yeah, but technically I'd say Kiba has the right to claim her too, so we might have to share her if he does want her. And you _know _Hammy would want a baby," Andy sighed. "That also is if Kiba decides to even tell her where Hope came from." She smiled, "We can talk more about this later. I can't focus on everything at once. Azra, keep an eye on her for now. I'm really busy trying to prevent us from being drained to death." The clone disappeared.

Real Andy still sat in the kitchen, focusing on the barrier. She felt herself growing dizzy but she kept pushing through it. The clone that was left was helping Balance test the device they'd come up with. Another hour later, they finally perfected it and started it up. She pressed her comm and called Stinger, "The mechanical barrier we made should be working, so we should be safe from Void."

The clone disappeared before the real Andy pushed herself up, using the wall for support as she made her way toward the infirmary in case Kiba did have nightmares. She didn't even make it half way before she passed out, falling forward to the floor.

Stinger walked into the kitchen, frowning when he saw no sign of Andy. After a minute, he figured she might be checking on Kiba, so he started toward the infirmary. He froze as he saw someone collapsed in the hallway, then ran when he recognized Andy's clothing. "Beautiful!" He knelt, cradling her close. "Please be okay." He whispered the words like a mantra as he checked her pulse. Finally, he exhaled as he realized she was just unconscious.

He carefully picked her up, continuing to the infirmary and laying her on a bed. He sat down next to her after confirming she was just worn out. He looked over to the still sleeping Kiba, rubbing his face wearily. At least Void wouldn't be able to attack any of them in their sleep now. He settled in to wait.

Andy slowly blinked her eyes open and noticed the infirmary ceiling, wondering how she actually made it there. She looked over and noticed Stinger sitting in the chair next to her, "Hey."

He gave a soft smile as he stood. "Hey yourself. How are you feeling?" He took her hand.

"Still kind of tired, but a lot better," she answered. "Has he been sleeping okay?"

"Hasn't moved. How long is the sedative supposed to last anyway?"

Andy thought a moment, "The dose I gave him, about eight hours. But I know he was going to crash and probably sleep for a few days straight. How long has it actually been?"

"About fourteen hours. I was starting to worry about both of you." Stinger leaned over and kissed her. "Keep resting if you need to."

"It was just a lot trying to do the barrier, and the mission. I knew I would be worn out but I didn't think it would be that bad..." Andy admitted.

"Yeah, well you weren't expecting having to help him in the base." Stinger ran a hand through her hair. "Don't worry about anything, just rest. Your barrier is working and problem child is asleep. Azra's taking care of the babies."

Andy nodded and closed her eyes, "Thank you for not hating the fact that I keep taking in strays... I love you."

"How could I? You took me in first. I love you too." He chuckled, kissing her forehead gently.

Kiba blinked his eyes open, unsure of where he was for a moment. Then he recognized the infirmary. He rubbed his eyes as he tried to organize his brain.

"Hey," Andy smiled when she noticed him moving.

"Hey. How long have I been out?" He slowly sat up and looked at her.

"A few days," she answered. "But you got a good rest for once."

"Yeah. I just hate leaving you guys like that. If something had happened..." He sighed.

"It's fine. The barrier is up and working. Hammy is still safe at home. Everything is okay. And we would have handled whatever would else could have happened."

He looked at her, his eyes starting to twinkle. "Guess I'm not needed? Oh well, I should just go find some treasure or something…"

She rolled her eyes, "You aren't going off this ship until we find Void. Unless I'm with you and working on a barrier. Plus, we need you still, who else would I care for in the infirmary? You keep me having a job," she smirked.

"What? Stinger doesn't get hurt enough for you?" He laughed. Then he gave her a serious look. "The bitch hasn't shown at all?"

"If she's tried doing anything, the barrier blocked her. We haven't heard of any sightings since we took down the facility," she answered. "Stinger was going through the intel you got, but I know there was nothing about a location where she'd be hiding."

He frowned. "I'd say lure her out, but I know you and Stinger both would kick my ass."

"Hey, Stinger never told you my original plan to take out the bases did he? He thinks I'm insane, but I suggested us morphing as Void and DeStruct and blending in with the clones to get intel that might not be on the computers... But he shot that down quickly. Luring her out would be something I'd suggest, but he might also shoot that idea down too."

"They're all out of clones, so unless he wants to wait for her to attack somewhere..." Kiba stretched, then slid off the bed and stood. "But are you even strong enough to put up a barrier? You were looking rough the last time I saw you."

"I got close to a whole day's sleep after that. And it's a lot harder to create a barrier for a whole ship than for one person." She then joked, "Or do you want to say I'm not strong enough? Cuz I don't think you'd win in a fight."

"Against you or her?" He retorted with a grin. "She's way dumber, but I bet I could kick your ass."

"I doubt that. Even if I didn't just drain you unconscious, I'm pretty sure I'd win," she stuck her tongue out.

Stinger cleared his throat. "Are you two having a discussion about fighting or cheating?"

Andy laughed, "Fighting. I'd totally kick his ass."

Stinger shook his head. "Alright, I guess I should have asked this first. _Why_ are you discussing fighting?"

Kiba grinned. "She started it. And no she wouldn't win cause I _do_ cheat when I fight." He stuck his tongue out at her.

Andy thought back for a moment, "Oh, our idea. We were talking about finding Void... and somehow that ended up on us fighting?"

Stinger sighed and looked at Kiba. "Let me guess. You have an idea."

Kiba looked at him. "Yeah I do. But I don't know if I want to tell you, cause I just woke up. I prefer to have my coffee before getting my ass kicked."

"Why don't we go eat? I'll cook us something. I'm pretty sure the babies need to eat too, if Azra hasn't fed them," Andy suggested.

Stinger turned to her. "The babies have been taken care of, but that sounds great. I have the feeling I'm going to need energy to deal with him." He glanced at Kiba, who was whistling under his breath.

Kiba grinned cockily at them. "Last one to the kitchen does the dishes!" He ran out the door.

Andy laughed and ran out the door, quickly passing him and arriving at the kitchen, "Guess Stinger is on dishes."

Kiba laughed as Stinger came in after him. "It will keep him busy while we do the real work."

Stinger glared, his tail twitching for a minute. Then he cracked up laughing. "The real work is riding herd on you two crazy people."

"Me? Crazy? Never." Andy stuck her tongue out at Stinger before grinning and grabbing out pans.

He chuckled before looking at Kiba. "What were you planning? And don't say nothing cause I know you both better than that."

Kiba exchanged glances with Andy, then spoke telepathically. _'I'm actually not kidding. I don't want to get my ass kicked. Should I just lie or hide?'_

'_I'll take care of it...' _She smiled a moment before speaking, "We want to lure Void out. It's the best way to find her, since there haven't been reports. Obviously, using one of us as bait, because I wouldn't risk any of the kids like that, even though I know she wants Hope back. I can use a barrier to block her from draining anyone, then we just have to fight her and take her out."

Stinger growled. "You're right. I do want to kick someone's ass. But it's not either of yours. It's hers. Your plan is what I was actually contemplating doing myself."

Kiba raised an eyebrow and exhaled sharply. "Then it's settled. I'll be bait, since she seems to want me the most."

Andy thought for a moment, "Better idea. We make kyutama clones. Send clones of us down and she'll try to take us out. I'll be there, but invisible, creating the barrier. She'll think it's coming from the kyutama clone and try to take her out first, that's when Kiba's clone, and if you make a clone, can attack her and take her out. Or... I wonder..." she created a clone quickly and her eyes started glowing as she tested something. "Even better, kyutama clones go down, she attacks them, I can block my energy from her reading it and then drain her when she's not expecting it because I'll be invisible and so will my energy." She sighed a moment, "Did you guys follow that? Sorry..."

The men exchanged glances, then Stinger laughed. "Stop explaining and start doing, beautiful."

"Yeah, the sooner we do this, the sooner you won't have to worry about sleeping." Kiba grinned at her.

Andy finished cooking and passed out the plates. She sat down and ate before heading out of the room. She came back with the kyutama and her packed bag. She shot the kyutama at herself and Kiba and smiled at the clones standing in front of her. She looked at the real Kiba, "We'll portal down, so I'll call you afterward to bring me back, okay?"

Andy went invisible as the clone of Kiba made a portal, the three of them jumped through.

Andy went and hid a bit further away from the other two and blocked her energy from Void sensing it as well as creating a mental barrier for the kyutama clones to prevent Void from draining them right away.

The two kyutama clones headed into the abandoned Shocker base. Andy's clone read the energy, not sensing anyone before she started setting charges. "I'll go this way and see if I find anything, you go that way," she pointed down another hall.

Clone Kiba gave her a roll of the eyes and the kyuranger salute, then headed down the way she pointed. It looked deserted, but he knew the Shocker clones were smart. They would possibly have thought of this plan themselves, which made it even more essential to take them out fast.

He crept down the hall, then stopped short as mooks appeared.

He turned around, only to find himself surrounded. _'I have company down here. How is your search going?'_ He pathed to Andy, eyes flicking between the two groups nervously. He didn't hear if she answered as one of the mooks tasered him, the world going black.

He awoke when one of the mooks kicked him. Opening his eyes, he froze as Void appeared in front of him. "Enjoy your nap?"

"Ehhh. Wouldn't have minded it being a little longer." He tried to keep his voice steady.

Void laughed. "Don't worry. You'll soon sleep forever. But first, you're going to suffer." Her eyes went black.

The clone of Andy appeared, eyes glowing, trying to drain Void. While Void was distracted, the real Andy, who was still invisible, snuck in and quickly drained Void and the mooks.

She then became visible, "Did you guys find any intel?"

She was soon cut off when she heard a cold laugh behind her.

Clone Kiba swore as DeStruct emerged. "Did you miss me?"

Andy just growled as her clone ran forward and attacked.

DeStruct lifted his gun and fired, laughing as the clone went down. "Try again."

Andy's eyes started glowing to drain DeStruct, but he shot toward her making her lose her concentration. She ran forward and attacked him with a kunai, barely making a scratch. She went to attack again but he moved and hit her, throwing her against the wall. She tried to stand but found the room to be spinning. She pressed the button on her comm, hoping to get Stinger or Kiba to hear her.

Stinger touched his comm quickly. "Beautiful? Do you need Kiba to portal you back?"

Andy put a hand to her head. "Not exactly... We got Void, but DeStruct was hiding. My clone is down." She paused, gasping in horror as DeStruct slashed Clone Kiba savagely. When the rider refused to go down, DeStruct viciously stabbed him repeatedly. Kiba slid to the ground, his lifeless eyes staring at her.

"Andy?! What's happening?" Stinger's voice brought her back.

"Sorry. Both clones are dead. DeStruct is coming after me. I have to try to take him out first."

She turned the comm off and unsteadily stood as DeStruct began to approach.

She pulled out another kunai and charged forward. She stabbed it in his side, which made him fall back a few steps. He rapidly shot at her, a couple shots hitting, making her crash to the floor. She tried to push herself up, arms shaking, but she was quickly kicked over. The last thing she heard was a shot ringing out before the darkness swallowed her.

When Andy woke, her eyes opened, the ceiling looking blurry. She stared at it for a moment trying to get it into focus before she tried to sit up. As soon as she moved, though, everything else became a blur too.

"Hey, stay put ninja girl." Kiba's voice was soft. "We're taking care of you."

She saw him get into her line of sight and her eyes focused on his face. She spoke quietly, barely above a whisper, "Did we win?"

He gave her a wide grin. "Yeah, we did. I can't believe it, but the last of the clones are gone."

Andy tried to nod but became dizzy, "So Hope is safe. For now, at least."

"Until puberty. Then _she'll _be dangerous to young boys." Kiba cracked.

Andy blinked sleepily, "How long have I been out?"

"Twelve hours or so. You made us so worried, Stinger called Raptor to come. Finally got you stable a few hours ago." Kiba sighed, looking at her. "You almost left without me."

"I wasn't trying to. I should have known Void wasn't alone..." Andy closed her eyes. "Need sleep..." She was soon unconscious.

The next time she woke, the ceiling was still blurry, but it wasn't as bad as the last time. She tried moving again, this time scooting just a little bit more up on the bed.

"Nice to see those baby blues, beautiful." Stinger appeared with a glass of water. "Thirsty?"

She took a moment before finally reaching out for the glass. She handed it back after a few sips,  
"Thanks."

Stinger smiled, placing the glass on the nearby table. "Feeling any better?"

"A bit," she nodded. "What happened? I know I got shot at least."

"Several times actually. Also a nasty concussion, bruised spine, several broken ribs. Serious blood loss when one bullet nicked your aorta. Didn't know Raptor was programmed to cuss like that." He gave her a half joking smile.

"Too bad I can't heal myself when I get that bad..." Andy sighed.

Stinger gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Just rest. There's no rush okay?"

"You know, we should really start paying Azra because she's basically our nanny most of the time," Andy gave a sleepy smile. "How are they? Is Scorpio getting along with Hope?"

"According to Munchkin, she has to pry them apart to do anything. They refuse to sleep apart too."

Andy chuckled, "I hope I can play with them soon."

"You will, beautiful. Just rest." Stinger gave her a soft smile.

She gave a nod before closing her eyes.

The next time she woke, she felt a lot better. She noticed Raptor at the computer, so she just made a clone and started healing herself. She was about a fourth of the way through when Raptor noticed her.

"Andy! You're supposed to be sleeping. Do I have to sedate you?"

"But if I heal myself, I don't need to keep sleeping..." the real Andy answered from the bed.

Raptor sighed and shook her head, then returned to the computer.


	40. A Deserved Vacation

"I'm so ready for this vacation," Andy smiled over at Stinger as she watched Eshana grow closer.

"We all are. It will be nice to relax after everything." He piloted Shishi voyager carefully, not taking his eyes off the view screen.

"It'll be Hope's first time to the beach too. We didn't really get to have a good vacation last time we were here, did we? So Scorpio didn't get much beach time either. I wonder if they'll like the dolphins..." Andy rambled off.

He chuckled. "Relax, beautiful. It'll be fine." He landed softly, turning and picking up Scorpio. "Azra and Kotaro should be arriving soon."

Andy nodded and picked up Hope, heading out of the voyager. They noticed a young woman approaching, "Welcome. I am Evian's daughter, Alessandra. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Andy smiled a second before frowning.

Alessandra noticed her look and gave a nod, "Dear mother has passed from this world, but she left this," she pulled out a kyutama that had a picture of a toucan on it. She held it out to them.

Andy took it carefully, "Thank you." She glanced at Stinger a moment before looking back, "So are you in charge now?"

"I am," Alessandra smiled. "If you ever need anything, let me know. I hope to continue the good relationship between our people and the kyurangers."

"I'm sure you will be a good leader. And the same to you. If you ever need help, just call us." Stinger bowed his head.

She gave a short bow as well, "I'll be in the village if you need me. Have fun."

Stinger looked at Andy, putting Scorpio on the sand at his feet. "You heard her." He looked up as the Koguma voyager appeared above them. "Look who's here."

Andy smiled, "Is this the first vacation they've been on together?"

Stinger nodded, then gave her a smile. "Kotaro called me last night. Said he had something planned. I think I know, but I won't spoil it."

Andy raised an eyebrow but then smiled knowingly. She waved at Azra when she climbed out of the voyager.

Kotaro took her hand and they made their way over.

"Hi everyone!" Azra gave her parents each a hug, then turned her attention to the babies. Stinger wrapped his arms around Andy as they watched.

"How have you been, lil bear cub?" Andy smirked.

He blushed, looking over at Azra. "Good..."

Stinger hid a smile as he watched the young man try to regain his composure.

Andy chuckled and went over to sit in the water where she could play with Scorpio and Hope.

Azra wrapped her arms around Kotaro, while Stinger mock glared at him.

"Dad, stop it. You're scaring him." Azra rolled her eyes.

Kotaro laughed. "No he isn't. At least not yet anyway."

Stinger huffed. "Am I losing my touch then?"

Andy smiled as she watched them. She looked down again when Scorpio pointed out at the water, "Mommy, dolphins!"

"Yeah baby. Do you like them?"

Scorpio nodded with a smile.

"Ma...Mama!" Hope giggled.

Andy grinned, "Aw, Stinger, she said Mama!"

Stinger grinned resignedly. "We need another baby so they can say my name first just once."

"Don't tempt me. You know I could probably find one easily. Though I think we might have our hands full with these two."

"Careful, scorpion boy. She's got baby radar and she isn't afraid to use it." A voice spoke from behind her.

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Who invited you?" He tried to sound annoyed, but the smile on his face proved it to be a lie.

"Hey. And it's a stray radar, it's not _just _for babies."

Kiba chuckled, giving Stinger a grin as he joined her in the water. "Semantics, ninja girl."

She smiled, "Come to enjoy the beach with us and actually have a vacation?"

"Thought it was about time." He sat down beside Hope and sighed. "Before I spend some time gone."

"You going to Hammys? Or your dads?"

"Think I'm going to go where no one knows me. Decide what I actually want to do with my life now that I'm free." He watched the baby splash for a minute. "Don't worry you can't get rid of me that easy. I'll be back giving you a job in no time." He grinned at her.

Kotaro cleared his throat. "Guess I better do this while everyone is here." He turned to Azra, getting on one knee and bringing out a box. Flipping it open, he presented it to her. "Azra, will you marry me?"

Azra squealed, then wrapped her arms around him. "Of course!" She began crying as Kotaro slid the ring on her hand.

Kiba whistled as Stinger grinned. Andy smiled at the pair before looking back at Hope who was splashing around.

"On that happy note, I'm off." Kiba kissed Azra on the cheek. "Good catch, munchkin."

He tapped fists with Kotaro and gave the kyuranger salute to Andy and Stinger before disappearing into a portal.

Stinger's lips twisted. "He better come back alive." He looked at Andy before grabbing Kotaro with a smile. "Better treat my girl right or you'll get the tail."

"DAD! Stop that." Azra was laughing as she pulled him away.

"Neither of you better hurt the other, because I care about both of you. Though I won't threaten you about it," Andy smiled before chuckling, "Though is Kotaro still your brother or is he your son now?"

"Hmm… Let's go by son in public. Would cause way too many question the other way around." Stinger chuckled. "Though you're one to talk."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she laughed and stuck her tongue out.

"Oh really?" Stinger came over and splashed her. "You have no clue how you got a baby from yourself and your best friend?" He splashed her more, an impish grin on his face.

"It sounds worse when you say he's my brother-in-law," Andy splashed him. "I wonder if he's told Hammy about her yet...?"

"Doubt it. Frankly, I think he's a little uncomfortable and that's why he just took off." Stinger pushed her into the sand and kissed her deeply. "Let's concentrate on here and now."

Andy smiled and kissed him. "I love you."

"Love you too."

They were both splashed. Looking up, Stinger saw Azra and Kotaro laughing. "Why you…"

He got off Andy and started chasing the two newly engaged rangers.

After a few hours, the sun started to go down. After Kotaro and Stinger built a fire, they gathered around. Andy pulled a few things out, "Too bad that Kiba left so early. He's missing s'mores."

"Too bad there's not a way to call him back…" Stinger smirked at her.

Andy raised an eyebrow before trying, '_Hey Kiba? We have s'mores here if you want any.'_ She had no idea how far the range would go or if he was still even in their universe but she figured she'd try anyway.

'_Why didn't you tell me before I left? Guess I better come back before you eat them all.' _She heard his laugh in her head seconds before a portal opened behind her.

"I mean, you did leave in kind of a rush, I didn't want to keep you if you didn't want to stay," Andy answered aloud. "But I figured you'd want to come back for these." She handed him one.

Kiba gave a sheepish grin. "Just chalk it up to being stir crazy." He bit into the s'more, closing his eyes blissfully. "You know I can't resist these."

Stinger chuckled. "Don't let the bad guys know that. If I have to rescue your skinny ass cause you got ambushed by a set of s'more salesman who were bad guys in disguise, I might end up leaving you there."

Andy chuckled as she handed a s'more to Scorpio. Hope was sitting in Andy's lap, falling asleep. "Hey, Azra, maybe you should make s'mores for your wedding dessert."

"It might be a way to make sure Uncle Kiba comes, right?" She teased the rider, who pretended to be hurt.

"You wound me! Insinuating that I would miss my god daughter's wedding." Kiba finished the s'more with an exaggerated fall backwards.

Azra giggled as Kiba waggled his eyebrows at her when he lifted his head.

Andy held out another s'more to Kiba before wiping off Scorpio's mouth. "Mommy, more!"

Andy chuckled, "You've had enough, sweetie. You probably should be sleeping soon too..." As if on cue, Scorpio yawned. Andy pulled him closer and he rested his head against her side. She ran a hand through his hair for a minute and he was asleep almost immediately. She cuddled the now sleeping Hope, smiling down at her.

Kiba chuckled. "You're a great mom, you know that? Sometimes, I even get the urge to call you mom." He sat beside her, warming himself by the fire.

"Seriously, when you were regressed, I would have totally adopted you," she chuckled. "Thanks though. I love them so much but I feel like Hammy raised Azra and now Azra is raising them. I just wish we could retire so I could spend all of my time with them."

"Maybe now you can. We pretty much sank any hope of Shocker or Jark Matter coming back by destroying their army." He leaned back to look at her. "And I still get weirded out by that fact. At least I only did it once."

"We still haven't found Akashi," Andy answered. "He has to be planning something... I don't think he'd just give up."

"True, but maybe you guys can let the resistance look for him. So you guys can take it easy for a while." He sighed. "I don't see myself retiring. Maybe when I'm old and can't transform anymore. The other option I used to think was the only one, but not anymore." He closed his eyes and hummed under his breath quietly.

"At this point I can't actually see myself retiring. Even if I did for a bit to raise them, when they were old enough I'd probably just go right back to fighting." She sighed, "Most people in my village don't actually retire. When they live to be old enough they become an elder, but even then they are leading the village and can be called into battle."

"I guess we're cut from the same cloth huh?" Kiba grinned without opening his eyes.

"And you know Stinger won't retire, he's been wanting to quit for years and still hasn't." She glanced at her husband, "Shou is getting old. You'll probably be Supreme Commander soon."

"That _would_ make me quit. Either that or I'd be dead in a week from a heart attack. The bureaucracy would drive me to murder." Stinger glanced into the flames. "And you have done the regression thing more than once."

Kiba's eyes flew open at the ranger's statement. "What? When?" He looked at Andy. "You didn't say anything."

"Let's see... you regressed to about five that one time. You regressed to a teen when you were in Ex-Aid's world, from what Emu told me. There might be a couple other times I'm forgetting, but you even did it on Jifa. I wasn't trying to hide it from you, until now I hadn't realized you didn't know."

"You told me the first time, I remember vaguely doing it in the hospital When the hell did I do it on Jifa? And how old was I this time?" He frowned as he tried to recall the events on Jifa.

"You'd been given medicine and your mind was freaking out. We were in your safe room, but it was on fire... And you were maybe like ten to early teens? And when I finally got you to wake up, you didn't remember the two weeks prior. When you finally remembered everything from those weeks, I thought you'd maybe have remembered that part too."

He scowled for a minute, then sighed. "I hate when I can't remember everything. Sorry for flipping out." He looked at her, then smiled. "At least I didn't try to kill anyone this time. I do figure I was a pain in your rear even more than usual, so I hope you can forgive me."

"Kiba, remember I care about you, it's never a pain to help you. And I definitely understand how frustrating it is to not remember everything."

His eyes were soft when he looked again at her. "I really don't deserve any of you. Are you going back to the ship tonight?"

"Not sure. We thought we might just camp out here. It might be easier with these two already asleep," she smiled at the babies.

He nodded, then stood. "I'm going to go back to the ship and get some sleep. I'll probably be gone when you return, but I'll be back. Think I've changed my mind on where I need to be. So I'll be gone a day at most." His eyes twinkled in the darkness. "Don't give my room away while I'm gone okay?"

Andy smiled, "Just no doing anything dumb without me."

"Moi? Never crossed my mind. Just a little shopping." Kiba grinned, then stepped into a portal and disappeared.

Andy glanced over at Azra and Kotaro who were walking along the beach. She then looked at Stinger, "It's moments like this that make me happy that Kiba and I survived all our stupid plans."

"You and me both, beautiful." Stinger leaned over and kissed her.


	41. Nightmares of Void

The first night that she had a nightmare for the first time in months, she saw Kiba in front of her, arms tied to a wall while his legs were tied together so he couldn't kick outward. She could tell his wrists were raw from fighting against it, and he already had a few bruises forming. After a few moments she heard her own laugh, no, it was colder, Void's laugh. She woke quickly and rubbed her eyes, glancing at Stinger who was still asleep next to her. She rolled over, and quickly went back to sleep.

The next night, she found herself in the same room, Kiba in front of her, looking slightly worse than the night before. She looked over and noticed a figure that made her freeze. Her brother was standing there, kunai in hand, looking like he was waiting for instructions. She soon heard Void's voice, "Are you going to talk yet?"

She saw Kiba again in front of her, growling, "I'm not telling you anything."

Void sighed, "Well, let's do this the hard way then. You know what to do."

Avery approached with the kunai and started making small slices into Kiba's skin.

Andy woke, breathing quickly. She glanced at the time and realized it was morning so she pushed herself out of bed, trying to push the nightmares from her mind.

The next couple nights were similar, seeing Kiba looking worse and worse every time. Finally, one night she saw him, the cuts all turned to scabs, dark bruises covered his arms. She heard Void speak, "If you won't talk, I'm just going to have to go get our dear Andy. Maybe she'll actually tell me where DeVoid is."

Kiba gave her a death glare but stayed silent.

"Daka, I know you're seeing this. Hand over the child or he dies. I'll expect your answer by tomorrow night." She gave another cold laugh, "And if you don't give her up, you'll get to watch our wonderful brother kill him."

Andy woke, breathing fast, and hand shaking as she tried to wake Stinger. She shook his arm as she tried to calm her breathing.

"Beautiful? What's wrong?" Stinger's dark eyes were worried as he sat up and looked at her.

"Void... She wants Hope. She has Kiba. I thought it was just nightmares but now I know it's not. We have to find him and keep her safe." She finally got out when she could breathe enough to speak.

"Dammit. I thought we were done with the damned clones. Any idea where he's being held?" He looked closer at her. "What are you not telling me?"

"She wants to trade them. She won't tell me where until I agree." She looked at him, "I think he's a clone, but she has Ave."

Stinger cursed, then ran his hand through his hair. "We could clone Hope… or do you think she'd be able to tell?"

"Kyutama clones are exact, but she's me, she knows I'd think of something like that."

"So either we give her the real Hope or Kiba dies. That about right?"

Andy had tears in her eyes, "I can't give her up...but I can't lose him. What do we do?"

Stinger gave her a hug. "You know he'd rather die than let Void get ahold of Hope. But we'll figure out something, I swear it."

"She's been torturing him for information on where she is, so either he told her, or she's assuming I'd know and is just having fun with him." She wiped at her eyes.

"He won't tell her. It sounds bad, but he's been tortured by better people than her and hasn't ever broken. Don't count him out yet." Stinger scowled.

The ranger got out of bed, quickly getting dressed. "Do you think she'll kill him even if she gets Hope? Or will she keep her word like you would?"

"I don't know... I'd say she's me so she'd keep her word, but she's evil, so I'd say she'd kill him. I really don't know..."

Stinger paced, thrashing his tail angrily. "Then we definitely have to rescue him. And take care of her once and for all." He paused and looked at her. "There's no way to find him before she contacts you? No clues where they are?"

"I didn't learn the barrier thing until after they made the first Void... Unless she's taught herself, she might not have him in a barrier... But why wouldn't he have tried to contact me if he could have?" She thought for a moment before trying, _'Kiba? Is there any chance you can hear me?'_

'_I..hear you faintly. Don't you dare bring that sweet baby here!' _ His mental voice was exhausted, weak and pain filled._ 'Keep Hope safe. Don't come here. She plans to kill you too.'_

'_Do you have any idea where you are?'_

'_Nikara, unless she moved us one of the times I passed out. Don't you dare come!'_

"_Sweet Andy, I guess my drug has worn off. Now he's told you, bring DeVoid to me. Or I'll start draining him slowly while our dear brother uses him for target practice."_

'_ANDY! Don't come! Stay away!' _Kiba's mental voice cut off in a strangled cry.

Andy took a moment, eyes closed, before looking at Stinger, "Tell whoever's on the bridge to turn the barrier back on. How far are we from Nikara?"

"Nikara?" Stinger consulted the map. "Three hours by warp." He touched his comm. "Champ, set course for Nikara, hit warp. Turn the barrier back on as well."

The bull acknowledged and Stinger closed the channel. Then he looked at her. "You got through."

"She's planning to just kill us all. I don't know what to do..." She put her face down in her hands.

Stinger knelt beside her, running his hand through her hair. "We'll just have to kill her first. I won't let her kill anyone."

"I can't lose him again, but I can't lose another baby... I just hope you're right. I trust you, I'm just worried." She took a deep breath before pushing herself off the bed, "I'm going to check on the babies."

Stinger nodded. "I'll go to the bridge and research Nikara." He left their room quickly.

Kiba screamed as Avery's clone sliced into him again. Blood streamed down his back and he shook from the pain. The factory walls spun and he squeezed his eyes shut. Suddenly the pain was gone and he reopened his eyes warily.

He suddenly realized Void was behind him, her hands outstretched. "What are you doing?"

Void calmly spoke. "That cut was a little too deep. I don't want you dying too quickly, after all."

Kiba snarled, trying to jerk away from her. "She won't come. There's no way in any universe she will bring Hope to you."

Void came around to face him. "Her name is _**DeVoid**_. And she _will_ come, cause I would. Why don't you be a good boy now and sleep." Her eyes turned black and Kiba felt his strength being sapped to the point he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. His eyes slipped shut and he sagged against his chains, his legs buckling to the floor.

Stinger sighed, then headed for the nursery. "Beautiful?"

"Hmm?" She turned toward him, Hope in her arms.

"I researched Nikara. Shocker wiped out the population a few years ago. It's another ghost planet."

Andy frowned, "We always have the worst luck with ghost planets..."

"At least, there's no people to worry about. The only people are Kiba, us and the bad guys." Stinger looked at her. "Have you figured out a way to disrupt her plan yet?"

"I'm going to keep a clone here to watch them, just in case. I can drain Ave and use a barrier to protect us all from being drained, but after that we just have to fight her and win," Andy sighed.

"Just like every other fight we've ever had." He glanced at the floor worriedly. "What if she has already killed him? Do I have to worry about you rampaging?"

Andy sighed, "Well, even when we lost Benny and I rampaged, I still only took out the bad guys... So hopefully I'd be the same this time, if that's the case..."

He nodded slowly, then walked over and wrapped his arms around her and the baby. "Don't you dare die on me, beautiful." He quickly released them, walking out without another word.

Kiba blinked his eyes open slowly. The factory spun, causing his stomach to roil uncomfortably. He closed his eyes again, taking deep breaths to counteract the nausea.

"Good. You're still alive." Void's voice scraped against his hearing and he sighed heavily.

"I'm not going to tell you anything and Andy isn't stupid enough to risk her babies. Stop dragging it out and just kill me already."

Void's laugh was dark, her face appearing inches from his. "Why? You remind me of my dear DeStruct. The same cockiness and smart tongue." Her eyes slowly became black, watching the terror spread on his face. "You **are** going to die. But I'm going to keep taking my time as revenge for you taking him from me." She nodded to Avery, but ordered "No blades. Use your fists this time. And keep away from the organs. I want her to watch him die by my hand."

The clone nodded, taking her place in front of the weakened rider.

Kiba took a deep breath as the beating began.

Andy made a clone to watch Hope and Scorpio before heading to the bridge. When she noticed Stinger and Champ she asked, "How long until we're there?"

"Half hour. Are you prepared for what we might find?" Stinger didn't glance at her, fixating on the view screen.

Andy sighed, "I'm trying to prepare myself, but I have a feeling he's still alive. Maybe I'm just over hopeful."

Stinger finally turned to her. "I have the same feeling. But I also have the feeling she may be keeping him alive just to torture you."

"Then I'm just going to have to torture her," Andy said coldly.

Stinger looked into her eyes, then shuddered and turned away. "Just be ready for anything."

"Enough. She's close. Let him rest for now."

Kiba shook as the ninja clone stopped his attack. He dimly registered Void's voice, his heart hammering in his chest. 'Dammit ninja girl… why can't you just listen to me?' He sighed and spit blood. He could barely feel his body anymore, his arms and legs numb from the position he'd been kept in for hours. He briefly considered trying to antagonize Void, but he was too weak to try.

Andy stared at the planet as it came closer into view. "Are you ready?"

Stinger flashed a feral smile, his tail swishing. "Let me loose."

Andy smirked, "You just gave me a great idea." She left and came back a minute later, her mechanical scorpion tail now on. "She doesn't have one of these, so that's another thing that can help."

Stinger gave a sharp laugh. "Now we win. Once and for all, we get rid of her."

Andy nodded, "Let's go."

Stinger headed for the voyager bay. "One or two? Or should we take Shishi? Don't know what shape Kiba's in."

"I don't care. As long as it gets us there quickly," her face was serious.

Stinger headed for Shishi without another word. Once she was in, he lifted off and headed toward the planet. As they landed, he looked at her. "Any idea where he is?"

"There wasn't much in the room, probably some kind of factory?"

"Like that?" Stinger pointed a few feet away.

"Sure," Andy shrugged and started heading toward it. She quickly set up a barrier around her and Stinger.

Void smirked, "The fun is about to begin." She started slowly draining Kiba before Andy or Stinger even entered the building.

Kiba's breathing hitched as his lungs began to feel leaden. It was so difficult to inhale… He struggled, growing weaker by the second. His eye sight grew dim as the two rangers entered, then he sagged.

"You bitch!" Stinger whipped his tail around, aiming for Void. The weapon quickly pushed the Avery clone in front of his barb, laughing as the poison caused the ninja to fall to the ground.

Andy growled, eyes glowing as she rushed forward to attack as she tried to focus on pushing the barrier around Kiba. Andy swung around and whipped her tail at Void, knocking her back. Void pushed herself to her feet, "Give me my baby!"

"She's not yours anymore," Andy's anger grew and energy whipped around her, pushing Void back against the wall.

"You can't save him. He's too far gone by now," Void pushed back with her own energy.

Andy stabbed her tail out, Void barely moving out of the way.

Stinger busied himself with freeing Kiba, not wanting to distract Andy. Firing his seiza blaster at the chains, he barely caught the rider's limp form. He carefully laid him flat, willing his hands to still as he checked for a pulse. It was there, but almost too faint to detect. The ranger cursed as he surveyed his friend's injuries and tried to formulate a way to keep him alive without causing more damage.

Void pulled out her gun, shooting at Andy. Andy shot her own blaster at her, both trying to dodge, and both failing. Andy pushed herself up first and ran forward, pushing Void back again before she could get up, and her tail repeatedly stabbed forward, ripping holes into Void's body.

Stinger gently attempted CPR, his heart heavy. Kiba's body was too weak, his breathing barely noticeable. After a minute or so, the ranger stopped and settled for cradling the rider close. "I'm sorry, brother."

"N..ot yo..ur fau..lt. No..t h..ers eit...her…" Kiba's voice was barely a whisper, Stinger straining to hear it. "Ju..st ma..ke sur..e sh..e's de-" The sentence cut off, the rider's head falling forward into Stinger's chest. The ranger closed his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clutched Kiba tightly.

Andy finally turned, taking in the scene. Her eyes continued to glow as she pulled energy in from the uninhabited planet and pushed it into Kiba. Light surrounded him, working on healing him and bringing his vitals back toward a normal level.

After a couple minutes, Andy froze when she heard something odd. After a moment, she ordered, "Get him to the voyager. They set charges." She pulled Stinger off the floor and helped him get Kiba up. Andy focused on using her energy to push them out quicker, and they were finally just out of the building when the charges blew. She threw up a barrier to protect them, but she was hit with debris and knocked forward.

Stinger crouched, trying to protect Kiba. As the shockwave passed, he gently laid the rider down and moved to Andy's side. Turning her over, he called her name softly. "Andy? Beautiful, talk to me."

Andy blinked her eyes open slowly and looked up at him, "Are you okay?"

He smiled. "I'm fine. Can you sit up?"

She winced as she pushed herself up, "Kind of. How's Kiba?"

Stinger grimaced. "Beautiful, I don't think there is anything you can do for him." He went to Kiba's side, checking the rider's pulse worriedly. "It's stronger, but nowhere near normal."

She moved against the pain and went to his side, eyes glowing as she forced more energy into him. "I have a whole planet of energy to use, it's not like there's anyone here that needs it."

"Let's get him into the voyager before any other surprises show up. Then you can do whatever is needed, okay?" He hefted the rider with a grimace. "I hate when he's like this."

After getting into the voyager, Andy got to work. After about half an hour she looked back up at Stinger, "He should be okay now."

Stinger sighed in relief. "Let's go home." He went to the controls, lifting off and headed for the Orion.

Kiba stirred, his eyes cracking open. "Andy? Where is _she_? Are you guys safe?" He winced sleepily.

"She's gone. We're all fine," Andy assured. "Just rest for now."

He searched her face, then he smiled and closed his eyes.

Stinger spoke into his comm quietly as they approached the ship. Landing in the voyager bay, they were met by Champ and a gurney. The ranger came back to Andy and Kiba. "I'm going to put him on the gurney, then we can transfer him in the infirmary."

Lifting the unconscious rider, Stinger carefully walked out of the voyager and laid him on the gurney. Champ and he lifted the gurney to waist level, walking it down the hall. When they reached the infirmary, Stinger and Champ gently transferred Kiba to a bed. The bull moo-ed softly, then left.

Andy made her way to the infirmary and scanned Kiba over before she sat on one of the other beds. She yawned before her eyes started glowing and she started healing herself up. She stopped about halfway through to rest. Glancing over at Stinger she gave him a soft smile before laying back and drifting to sleep.

Kiba floated, warmth cocooning him. He heard faint voices, but was uninterested in the words. Until he heard a laugh he thought was gone for good. He recoiled, trying to find a place to hide. He opened his eyes, seeing nothing but darkness. He felt his heart hammering against his chest. Squeezing them shut, he repeated "Not real, not real, not real" over and over again.

Andy was awake and finishing healing herself when she noticed Kiba's vitals spiking. She went over and shook his arm, "Kiba? Kiba wake up. It's just a nightmare."

He jerked, his eyes flying open as he tried to move backwards and almost fell. He was breathing fast and erratic, eyes darting wildly for a minute before focusing on her. He grabbed the blanket, trying to calm himself.

"Hey," Andy spoke gently, "Everything is okay. You're safe."

"I heard...her laughing." He took in a shaky breath, looking haunted. "It was just like the factory."

He closed his eyes, then forced them open again as he looked at her. "I was terrified she was going to kill you both. I was sure I was going to die knowing you would be tortured for her enjoyment." His voice got soft. "I'm so tired but I don't dare sleep again."

"I'm sorry," Andy sighed. "Do you want some sedative?"

He nodded slowly. He was desperately forcing his eyes to stay open, hands clenched.

She grabbed a sedative and headed back to his side. She sat on the edge of his bed, "I'll stay right here in case you have another nightmare, okay?" She injected the sedative before running a hand through his hair. "Just relax."

He sagged against the bed as the sedative took effect, his breathing finally calming.

Andy stayed there, leaning against the wall, watching how peaceful he looked, and wishing he could always sleep that well.


	42. Light, Darkness, and Smoke

So! This chapter is based in my universe Power Rangers Kinetic Fury. You should be able to read this chapter without reading that, but go check it out if you're interested! It's the only other universe that I've not completely finished yet, so follow it for updates!

Also, another reminder to go check out Amy L on fanfic or AnkhsAngel on Ao3 because she is fabulous and has been cowriting most of this story with me! Thanks for everyone who has been keeping up to date - Aiden Ravelle

Andy blinked her eyes open, realizing she had no idea where she was. She glanced over and noticed Azra asleep in the chair next to her. "Sweetie?"

Azra woke and smiled, "Hey, Mom. Good to see you're awake."

"Where are we...?"

"We've ended up in a different universe, but I don't know much else. We're with a few rangers though."

"Are you okay?" Andy asked worried.

Azra nodded, "Fine. Nothing major."

A short woman appeared in the doorway. Andy looked her over, noticing dark hair and equally dark eyes. The only color was a red scarf and a bright streak of red in her hair. "Good to see you're awake. I'm Raven, welcome to my home."

Andy smiled, "I'm Andy, nice to meet you."

She pushed herself up off the bed.

Raven grinned, "I'm cooking lunch if you'd like some?"

"That would be great."

"Good, I'll tell you what happened while we eat."

A bit later Raven, Andy, and Azra were all sitting around the kitchen table.

"There was a bad guy, named Phenomenon. We defeated him but his followers won't give up. His crew has a new leader and they're working on finding 'the key.' According to your daughter, you have healing powers? Though we have one on our team who can heal, she can't do as much as your daughter says you can. We believe Phenomenon's crew took you to heal their new leader."

Andy nodded as she took a bite. After a moment she asked, "What is this key?"

"Well, it's complicated. I think I have an idea but we haven't been able to find it either. Either way, it's said to be a source of great power."

"So we don't want the bad guys getting it."

Raven smiled, "Right. So my team and our children's team have been working to find the key before they do. Anyway, we found you two in a cell and got you out."

"It was energy draining ties on you," Azra added. "So these people must be working with Jark Matter or Shocker."

"Shocker is more likely to jump to different universes."

Raven raised an eyebrow, "You can go to different universes?"

Andy nodded, "We aren't from this universe. What is this, earth?"

"Yes."

"Well, if you haven't heard of Jark Matter, you aren't from our universe. They've been threatening the galaxy for years."

Raven took a moment and her eyes glowed white. '_Aura stone, has there been a stone holder that can go to a different universe?' _She stared forward as she focused. She then took a second and spoke to the kyurangers, "Sorry, getting information. I know it's probably weird that my eyes are glowing."

Andy shook her head, "Not at all. Glowing eyes is normal compared to most of the things I've seen."

Raven shrugged and went back to focusing. A few minutes later she nodded and her eyes quit glowing, "I think I can get you guys home."

Raven was about to speak again when her comm went off, "Rae, we have trouble."

"Be there soon," she answered quickly.

"We'll go too," Azra gave a nod.

Raven gave a quick smile before heading toward the door.

When they arrived there were three rangers fighting already.

"Is that...?" Azra looked at Andy in shock.

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Looks like it..."

Raven nodded, "All of Phenomenon's monsters look like movie or show characters, so yes that is Elsa and would have ice powers."

"Disney is a thing here too?!" Azra said excitedly.

Andy chuckled, "Less excitement, more fighting."

There were two black rangers and one white ranger. The white and one black had similar markings on their helmets with half of a yin yang symbol and a few wavy lines. They then noticed the other black only had wavy lines on his helmet. Andy, Azra, and Raven morphed quickly, and the two kyurangers noticed that Raven had a full yin yang symbol on her red helmet.

Azra and Andy glanced at each other and shrugged before running forward to attack. They could ask about the symbols later. Elsa sent out a blast of ice toward the black rangers, but they both turned into smoke, avoiding the hit. The white ranger threw a wall of light out at the Disney Queen, pushing her back. Raven then did the same but with a wall of darkness. Andy and Azra ran forward, slicing at her. Soon though, they both were stuck, ice climbing up their legs. Andy shivered as it surrounded her torso, she tried to fight it before quickly scanning the energy signatures around her. She found odd energy coming from Elsa, but she quickly drained it, making the monster disappear and the ice stop growing. Raven sliced at the ice, making it break to release the freezing rangers.

"Thanks."

"Where did she go?" One of the black rangers asked.

"I got rid of her, don't worry," Andy answered.

The rangers all unmorphed. "I'm Skull," the older one introduced.

"I'm Sierra and this is Luka," the white ranger added.

"This is my husband and children," Raven smiled before looking at Skull, "Where is Bulk?"

"He's on his way home."

Raven nodded, "Let's head back, then I can see about getting our guests home."

Andy was shaking from the cold but followed along.

When they returned, there was a man heating up milk on the stove, "I thought you'd want something to warm yourselves up." He got some mugs out and mixed in cocoa powder before passing the hot chocolate around to everyone.

"Thank you," Azra smiled.

Andy tried to quit shivering long enough to hold the mug and take a sip. When she finally got a decent sized gulp in, her body started slowly warming up.

"I can get them home," Raven informed Bulk and Skull.

"Will you be okay?" Skull raised an eyebrow but didn't say more, not wanting to make the kids suspicious.

"I should be," Raven gave a nod.

'_What's up? You're hiding something,' _Andy sent a thought to Raven who smirked.

'_This stone drains energy.'_

'_Good thing I know how to drain energy from outside then. I can help and recharge you before you come back home.'_

Raven smiled and looked at Skull again, "I'll definitely be fine." She turned to the Kyurangers, "I wish we'd have more time but I'm sure you're wanting to get home. Now that I know we can get to you, I'm sure this won't be our last meeting."

Andy nodded, "If you ever need anything, come find us."

Raven held her hands out, "I've not done this before so let's hope I don't screw up."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Azra assured.

Soon, a light surrounded them, blinding the two kyurangers before finally they found themselves on the bridge of the Orion.

Raven looked around as the light dissolved.

"Andy?" Champ looked up surprised.

"Yeah, sorry ended up in another universe again," Andy admitted.

"Aibou has been worried sick," Champ informed before using his comm to call Stinger.

"Let's get you recharged," Andy's eyes started glowing as she pushed energy into Raven.

Raven stared out the window, taking in the stars, "It's beautiful here. This isn't the first ship I've been on, but it's not like space travel is a common occurrence for us."

Andy grinned, "It's pretty nice, especially when we aren't battling all the time."

Raven nodded, "I know how that goes. Once you get rid of one threat, another appears. And now it's not just us fighting, but our kids fighting too." She glanced at Azra, "Though I bet you understand that as well."

Andy sighed, "Yeah, it's rough sometimes, but I just have to have faith that she'll be able to handle herself."

Andy dropped her hands away, "You should be good to go now. Plus, it shouldn't take as much energy with just yourself than it was with us."

Raven smiled, "Thank you. It was nice meeting you. Too bad we aren't in the same universe, I think you and I would be good friends if we could spend more time together."

"Well, you're always welcome here. Speaking of, how did you know how to get here?"

"It's kind of complicated but the energy from you guys resonates with your universe. Have you ever noticed?"

Andy shook her head, "I'll have to figure that out. Be safe and good luck."

"You too," Raven disappeared in a flash of light.

Stinger entered the room and looked at Andy and Azra before smiling. He approached and wrapped his arms around them before kissing Andy. "I hate when you go missing."

"I know," Andy sighed, "It wasn't as long this time was it?"

"Only a couple days. And I knew you and Azra were probably still together so I wasn't as worried as I am when you're on your own."

Andy gave him another kiss, "At least I'm making us more allies across the universes."

Stinger raised an eyebrow, preparing himself to listen to their adventure.


	43. Teleportation

Andy looked up from her spot on the bridge when she heard a clattering noise. Two rangers just fell through the air and crashed onto the floor.

"Sorry!" Ziggy climbed off of Dillon and looked around, "Oh this isn't good."

Dillion growled, his eyes scanning the bridge as he spoke. "What did you do, Ziggy?"

His eyes stopped on Champ and he visibly tensed.

"I was just trying to get us out of there!" Ziggy answered.

Andy looked at the pair and just sighed, "You guys seem a bit lost."

"Just a bit, yeah," Ziggy nodded.

"Understatement of the year, Zig." Dillon didn't take his eyes off Champ as he bumped his partner's shoulder. "Is_ that_ what I think it is?"

They both jumped as Stinger stepped onto the bridge, towel around his neck. The scorpion's tail immediately rose over his shoulder as he saw the two men.

"Look, let's all just calm down and take a moment to be calm and talk. They seem lost, they look like rangers, so let's try to help them," Andy moved and put a hand on Stinger's shoulder. "Let me just start with this, have you guys heard of Jark Matter?"

Ziggy shook his head.

Dillon seconded the motion.

Stinger's tail disappeared. "Here's another one. Shocker?"

"No?" Ziggy glanced at Dillon who was still keeping an eye on Champ. He motioned to the robot, "Is he with Venjix?"

"Venjix?" Andy looked at them for a moment. "I'm pretty sure you guys aren't even in your home universe."

"There's other universes?! Dr. K is going to flip," Ziggy spoke quickly.

"Geek out later. We need to find a way back." Dillon's voice was tight. He hadn't moved much, one hand trying to unobtrusively wrap around his ribs. "The team is going to be worried."

"You look hurt," Andy noticed. "We have an infirmary where I can help you. I am the medic on the ship."

"Ship?" Ziggy asked.

"What planet are you guys even from? Do you not have space travel there?" Andy raised an eyebrow.

Dillon snorted. "I'm fine. And we don't have much of anything where we're from." He kept eyeing Champ suspiciously. Seconds later, there was a flash of light and he fell backwards.

Ziggy unmorphed and went to Dillon's side to check on him. "You should have her help you. Your injuries are worse than mine."

"I can help both of you. It's not a problem and I don't take no for an answer," Andy said plainly. "Plus you do look like you need help."

Dillon's eyes were half open, but he sighed and nodded. He bit back a cry as Andy examined him quickly. His shirt was slashed on one side below his ribcage, his ribs themselves black and blue.

Stinger didn't say a word, just hefted the lost ranger over a shoulder. "Let's go, beautiful." He headed off the bridge.

Andy looked at Ziggy, "Are you good to walk?"

He nodded and followed her. He sat in a chair near Dillon's bed, trying to stay out of Andy's way.

Andy raised her hands and scanned Dillon over before starting to heal him. Ziggy stared in confusion at the glowing around her hands, but stayed quiet to let her concentrate.

Stinger gave her a quick kiss. "Going to check on sleeping beauty. He wasn't doing well this morning. Let me know if you need help." He left the infirmary quietly.

Ziggy stared after him. "Pretty sure sleeping beauty was a girl?"

Andy chuckled, "Yeah, but we like to call him that anyway."

Ziggy then asked, "And... that guy is part scorpion?"

Andy smirked, "Yeah, pretty much. His name is Stinger. He's the commander and my husband. I'm Andy."

"I'm Ziggy and that's Dillon."

Andy dropped her hands, "Well Dillon is fine, he just needs to rest a bit. I can heal you up too."

Ziggy shrugged but didn't want to argue, "Okay."

Andy smiled and healed Ziggy up in minutes.

She moved and sat in a different chair, "So what is he? I see robotic implants. Is he a cyborg?"

Ziggy repeated her words, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Do you have a lot of those where you're from?"

He shook his head, "Not really. It's implants from Venjix, which is basically a computer virus that has wiped out most of our planet. Our team tries to protect the only safe city."

Stinger returned, pushing Kiba ahead of him. "Beautiful, sleeping beauty _hasn't _been sleeping again. Which has caused his other issues to flare. If you don't get through, I'm stinging him into a coma, so he can rest and regain his weight."

Kiba growled, trying to turn and duck around the ranger. "I'm fine. If you try to sting me I'm going to kick your ass."

"Actually, Kiba, is there any chance you can help our guests find their way home?" She asked softly.

He paused, registering the other two occupants. "Not sure. What are they, rangers or riders?"

"Rangers, from Corinth," Ziggy spoke. "I have transport tech in my suit but Dr. K has to charge it after every use..."

"We can probably get Champ to charge it," Andy assessed.

Kiba nodded, then looked at Andy. "Call grumpy off before he gets hurt." He and Stinger glared at each other.

"You mean before _you _get hurt?" She smirked. "You need sleep, hun."

He exploded. "What I _need_ is everyone to leave me the hell alone! Breathing down my neck constantly! All the pitying looks and whispering behind my back! Just knock it off!" He swayed, almost falling into Stinger.

Andy sighed, "We just care about you, hun." She made a clone behind him who snuck up and stuck a syringe of sedative into his neck.

Ziggy stared in confusion at the clone but just watched the entertaining situation.

Stinger hefted the unconscious rider onto a bed. "What the _hell_ was that about?"

"Lack of sleep leads to paranoia," Andy admitted. "I'm going to keep him deep enough sedated for a day that he shouldn't even have a chance to get a nightmare."

"He was only awake for two days. That isn't enough to get paranoid."

"Is two days what he told you? And if so, you really believed him?"

Stinger frowned at her. "I was sure he was sleeping, just not well and not much. You make it sound like he hasn't been sleeping at all."

His eyes darkened. "He wouldn't let me in his room…"

"He's probably been taking whatever he can to stay awake."

Stinger's lips tightened. "I'm searching it." He turned and left angrily.

"Does this happen a lot?" Dillon's voice was quiet as he stared at Kiba.

"Him not sleeping, him hiding things, or him avoiding sleeping? All happen a lot."

Ziggy exchanged glances with him. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say your friend suffers from bad nightmares?"

"Very bad," Andy nodded. "And sorry you had to see all that."

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to dealing with nightmares." Ziggy reached out and ruffled Dillon's hair, to which the older man smacked the offending hand with a smile.

Stinger returned, holding a small bag. "Problem child needs to detox. I found three empty boxes and one nearly empty." He handed it to Andy with a grimace.

"Maybe I'll keep him knocked out for more than a day..." Andy sighed. She then looked at Dillon and Ziggy, "If you guys are feeling okay, we can go see if Champ can help us. And I did notice earlier you seem wary of him, but he is one of our rangers and he's totally harmless."

Dillon snorted, but rose off the bed. "Come on Zig." He reached for the ranger, who hadn't stopped watching Kiba as he slept.

"Will he be alright?"

"He'll be okay. He's never going to be totally fine, but I'll get him healthy again and try to help his mental health out as best as I can. That's what I've done for probably at least ten years now, if not longer," Andy sighed. "It's just hard when more trauma gets thrown on top of a lifetime of it."

Dillon looked at her. "And I thought I had it bad with no memories." He pulled Ziggy toward the door. "Come on, Zig. Dr. K will replace us if we don't hurry up."

Andy approached Champ, "We need to charge something, do you think you can help?"

Ziggy held out his morpher.

"Moo, I think I can fix something up. Might take a few hours, though." The bull looked at Andy. "I'll comm you."

Andy nodded, "Well, I can show you around or if you guys are hungry I can cook something?"

Ziggy smiled, "Food would be great."

Dillon chuckled. "Food is fine." He followed them to the kitchen and sat down, his mind on the young man in the infirmary. "What's your friend's story anyway?"

Ziggy elbowed him.

Andy sighed, "Long story short, he's a clone created by bad guys and designed to be a weapon. There's a ton more to it but that's the basics."

Dillon frowned, watching her. "So he was designed to be a weapon, hence the nightmares. But I take it the drugs are a new development?"

"He gets better and worse depending on what happens on missions... We had a really bad few months dealing with more clones. Basically they cloned their own clone and then cloned me and made an army. And evil me was... well let's just say it wasn't good," Andy shook her head as she started cooking. "I can get into nightmares to help him, but evil me could do the same and it screwed him up..."

"You can get into nightmares?" Ziggy stared at her.

She nodded, "It's a jutsu I created. I can send thoughts or memories, or get into nightmares or dreams. But he is slightly psychic anyway, and with how much I've been in his head, we have an enhanced psychic link, so it's really easy to talk to him, even planets away. But the clones of us had the same connection."

Both rangers winced, then Dillon spoke. "I'm guessing evil you used it to mess with him. Guess I can understand the not sleeping a bit more now."

'_You ambushed me, ninja girl. Not fair…'_

'_You needed sleep, hun. I'm sorry.' _She sighed and focused a second, making a clone. The clone headed out toward the infirmary, "And he's awake..."

Dillon snorted. "Why am I not surprised?"

Ziggy sighed. "Is he friendlier when he wakes up?"

"Unless he wakes up angry," Andy chuckled. She made a plate for Stinger and set it aside before making two plates for the rangers at the table. She then prepped up food for the kids before making her own. She called Stinger, "You better come eat soon, and bring the babies too." She then smiled at Ziggy and Dillon, "Hope you enjoy."

Both of them started eating, then shared a grin.

"Better than Flynn's cooking." Dillon chuckled.

Ziggy laughed and nodded as Stinger entered, a baby in each arm. He kissed Andy.

"Just as requested. Peeked in the infirmary and saw problem child was awake?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Thought the sedative was going to keep him out?"

"Yeah, I just sent a clone to check on him. I should have set up an IV of it," she answered. She got the food for the kids and made sure Scorpio was eating before she started feeding Hope.

Stinger sighed as he got his plate and sat down. "What the hell are we going to do with him? He barely leaves his room but refuses to go see Hammy. Now he's using drugs instead of coming to you."

"Part of me is worried he's not coming to me because I'd remind him of Void, part of me thinks he's doing his usual trying to not bother me thing. The Hammy part, I'm wondering if he's avoiding telling her about the whole clone situation and Hope." She sighed, "I don't know what to do... Outside of sedating him or keeping him drained to unconsciousness..."

Stinger scowled. "After what happened, the whole draining thing is definitely a bad idea. He'd run so fast, we wouldn't see him for gods only know how long."

The two other rangers exchanged glances, but remained quiet.

"You know I wouldn't actually do that to him." She gave a soft smile to Hope, "Though what I _should_ do is go call my sister and tell her about her new niece... and where she came from. I haven't talked to her in a while anyway. I'd suggest going home to visit but I don't want to chase Kiba away..."

"You wouldn't have to tell him, you know.." Stinger finished his food, placing the plate in the sink. "Though he'd probably figure it out." He kissed Andy's cheek. "I've got the weekly reports to look at. Let me know if he gives you trouble." He walked out.

Dillon cleared his throat. "You think he'd talk to me?"

She sighed, "It couldn't hurt any." She cleaned up Hope and Scorpio's plates after wiping off their faces.

Ziggy raised an eyebrow. "I'm coming too." He picked up their plates and placed them in the sink.

He sat down, waiting.

Andy washed up the dishes before scooping up the kids, "I'll lead you back there. My clone will hang out in one of the infirmary side rooms if you need me." She took them down the hall to the infirmary before heading to a rec room with the babies. Her clone looked up and noticed the two rangers before leaving Kiba's side and going to work in the other room. The real Andy picked up her tablet and prepared herself to call Hammy.

Kiba raised an eyebrow as the two rangers sat down. "So what exactly got you two stranded in paradise?"

"I somehow teleported us here..." Ziggy admitted.

Kiba fought a smile before glancing at Dillon. "You don't talk much do you?"

Dillon shrugged. "I talk when I need to."

The rider gave him a measured look before returning to Ziggy. "I've heard of Corinth. Pretty sure once your stuff gets charged, I can get you home." He shifted position on the bed. "Once my brain gets straightened out, that is. Really hate it when she ambushes me."

"Seems like she just wants to help," Ziggy assessed.

"I do know that. But.. after what happened, I don't need pity from anyone. She knows some of what I bear now unfortunately, but she's still removed from it at the same time. She doesn't bear the full weight of everything." He picked at the blanket, going silent.

"I find it helps when people share all of their problems with someone. At least that's what works well with us," Ziggy shrugged. "Maybe you shouldn't keep it all to yourself? And even I can tell she's not trying to pity you, she just cares, and I just met you both today."

Kiba chuckled sadly. "I've been sharing, more like burdening her for years with my screwed up past. She shouldn't have to deal with it anymore. She has a bigger family now. She should be able to be happy with them, instead of being burdened by all my past and present crap." He suddenly grinned, raising his voice toward the side room. "I know you're listening in there…"

"My past likes to chase me too, sometimes literally," Ziggy chuckled. "But for some reason the team wanted to help me, even Dr. K who never leaves the garage went outside to help me. It might seem like your past is a burden and a problem to those around you, but sometimes letting them help is the best option."

Kiba gave him a somber look. "Say your past involved killing other rangers and their allies. Would you want to share that with your team? Or would you try to keep that past buried?"

"Not killing rangers but I was in the mob. And look at Dillon's sister. She's an evil cyborg who is trying to kill us all, but we are still looking for a way to save her. We don't care that she's evil, we care that she's his sister and we will find some way to save her or die trying."

Kiba's lips twitched as he turned to Dillon. "He always this optimistic?"

"Except when he's about to get his ass kicked by mob members, yeah he is," Dillon answered.

Ziggy nudged him.

Kiba couldn't stop the chuckle. "You two are quite a pair. Have a feeling you understand my point of view a little better though." He met Dillon's eyes.

"Well, I had my memories wiped and was made into a cyborg just like my sister. I managed to get away though," Dillon answered. "Still not sure about the burdening thing though. Maybe I've been around this goofball too long, but I do agree it's better with a team. I never wanted to join, but it was that or both of us stay in jail, so I became a ranger. I hated it at first but they've really become a family to me. Even if I want to hit them sometimes."

"The twins or Dr. K?" Ziggy smirked.

"All three."

Kiba's lips twitched again before he sighed. "You can't remember and I can't forget. You ever fear who you might have been?"

Dillon shook his head, "At first, I was obsessed with trying to remember. But I know who I am I might not like some parts, like the possibility of being taken over by Venjix, I can't go back and change who I was, I can only be Dillon right now."

"I like the current Dillon," Ziggy smiled. "Though I'm sure I'd like past you too."

Kiba didn't say anything, raising his gaze to the ceiling with a thoughtful look on his face. After a minute, his gaze drifted towards the side room.

'_I need to ask forgiveness. Again.'_

'_You know you always have my forgiveness, but I don't know why you think you need it this time.'_

'_Let's see… not talking to you, threatening Stinger, hiding drugs? Any of that ring a bell?' He chuckled._

He could hear her sigh, '_You threaten Stinger all the time. And you avoid talking to me often too. The drug thing is concerning though."_

'_I just..everytime I even came close to sleeping, I'd either hear her or I'd feel her start draining me. I couldn't handle it. What's stupid is I thought I could hide it from everyone.'_

'_You can't really hide anything from me, but I'm not always going to force help on you. I am always here if you need or want help. I like helping you, and I'm really the best person to help you since you know.. I can hijack your nightmares and get you awake or resting again.'_

'_This time is different. This is like Kojan. I don't want to mess you up more than you probably are. Seeing what she did to me might send you over the edge.'_

'_She showed me at least some of what she did to you,'_ Andy admitted. _'And I'm doing a lot better than I was with Kojan. Maybe it's having the babies to distract me or maybe it just didn't affect me as badly. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but even if it was bad like Kojan, I'd want to help you.'_

'_Andy..it was worse. There's a reason why I haven't told you what happened.' _His words were strained. _'You shouldn't know.' _

'_Tell me? Please. Or show me?'_

Pictures began reluctantly appearing in her head. The Avery clone repeatedly torturing him to near-death, Void reviving him. Void draining him, then bringing him back. The nightmares Void had sent through the link had been tame compared to what she had done for the week Kiba had been captive.

When Kiba's recall ended, he was pale and looked ready to pass out.

The rangers had been talking quietly. Now they both watched worriedly as Kiba tried to regain his composure.

Andy didn't say anything for a few minutes but finally just answered, _'I'm sorry she did all of that to you.'_

'_I know you are. I'm more worried about you now that you know. Don't think Stinger can handle both of us being insomniacs.'_

He heard her sigh again, _'I was thinking about visiting Hammy, but I don't know if that's a good idea right now, is it?'_ It was quiet for a moment before she added, '_I haven't been back there since... I can handle the Void thing but not on top of that, you know?"_

'_You have to go back sometime. No one is saying you have to spend the night or don't even have to go to Hammy's. Go camping.'_

'_Yeah... I just miss her and seeing Ave has gotten me missing home too.' _

'_Go introduce her to Hope. Just don't be surprised if she wants to keep her.'_

'_I know, I was just talking to her,' _he could tell she was slightly smiling.

'_Ninja girl? Tell me you didn't tell her where Hope came from…'_

Andy just chuckled and let the silence answer for her.

"_Not _funny. I'll never be able to show my face around there again..." Kiba buried his face in the pillow in embarrassment.

Andy's clone finally came back into the main infirmary room, "Hammy doesn't care. She thought it was all kind of strange but she doesn't care."

"What's she going to say? 'Tell my no good husband who made a baby with my sister to take the nearest portal off the edge of the universe'?" Kiba glared at her.

"It's not like _we _had a kid... It's our clones kid. That'll just look like us..." Andy shrugged. "And I wasn't going to keep it a secret from my own sister." She gave a soft smile, "She just really misses you."

Kiba looked surprised. "Why? I keep leaving her. Surprised she hasn't locked me out yet."

"You could just portal in anyway... but you're her husband. She's not expecting you around 24/7, but I know she wants you home a lot more than she's been getting." Andy smirked, "Though don't be surprised if she goes and adopts a baby because everytime I tell her I have another one her baby fever gets worse."

His eyes got wide. "No..nope..not happening."

"If you aren't there, who's gonna stop her?" Andy laughed.

'_If she really wants one, she can do whatever she wants. I am not having kids naturally. Ninety percent of the time, I don't want to be alive. I'm not bringing a kid into my screwed up present.'_

'_I understand that, but I also understand them giving more joy and meaning to life. But then again, I've always wanted kids.'_

He looked at her, then nodded. Sighing, he closed his eyes. _'Might want to give our guests a room. Sleep is calling and unless you want them to run screaming…'_

'_Yeah. I'll be back soon.' _She spoke aloud, "I can show you guys to a room for now, hopefully Champ will be done soon though." She waited for them to nod before leading them to the hall, '_Oh, and if you ever decide you do want a kid and Hammy doesn't adopt, I am willing to share Hope with you.'_

She received a sleepy chuckle in response.

Andy quickly showed the two rangers to a guest room before heading back to the infirmary.

Upon entering she found Kiba thrashing weakly. Focusing, she opened her eyes seeing the factory Void had used as her base.

Kiba was fastened hand and foot between two columns, manacles tightly stretching him into an X shape. He was screaming hoarsely as Void stood in front of him, her eyes black. Behind him, the Avery clone methodically sliced into his naked back.

"Don't slice too deep, brother dear. We want him in pain, not dead." The clone smiled at the rider. "At least not yet."

Kiba stopped, spitting in her face. "I'm not telling you anything."

Void took his chin, eyes boring into his harder. "I know. This is payback for what you took from me." She released his face, tapping a finger on her lips. "On second thought.. Bring him close but don't actually kill him. And do it as slow as you can."

The clone nodded, then aimed the kunai. Under the ribcage, the kunai was pushed in ever so slowly as the rider tried in vain to escape the agony consuming him. His pupils were blown wide. The pain had rendered him mute aside from shaky breaths in and out. Just as he was about to slip into the darkness, Void made a motion to the clone.

Her hands began to glow, the light surrounding him as she laughed gleefully. Five minutes later, he had been healed. Kiba sagged, then his eyes once again became terrified as Void forced him to look at her. As she began to drain him ever so slowly, he somehow found the voice to resume screaming.

Andy took a deep breath and focused on trying to wake Kiba. She approached and spoke softly, "This is just a nightmare, Kiba. It's not real anymore."

Kiba didn't acknowledge her.

Void paused. "Just tell me where she is and I'll end it fast.." Then she laughed. "Or maybe…. I'll let you watch as I slowly drain everyone you love and tell them it's all because of you. Could you stand to see their eyes fill with hatred for you right before they go blank? I wonder if that would break you beyond repair?" She turned away, nodding to Avery's clone.

"Kiba, we would never hate you, even if she tried to kill us. This isn't real," she got closer and stood in front of him. "You need to wake up."

He blinked, seeing her for the first time. Growing agitated, he violently shook his chains. "You can't fool me, Void! I won't break! You can't pretend to be Andy… I won't let you find them. Get out of my head!"

He closed his eyes and Andy felt herself pushed out.

Andy sighed and tried shaking Kiba's arm to see if that would wake him, "Kiba, you need to wake up."

Kiba's only reaction was to stiffen, then slowly sink into the mattress. His pulse was thready under her hand.

She focused for a moment on keeping his vitals steady before trying once again to shake him awake, "Kiba! Wake up."

He whimpered for a few seconds before blinking his eyes halfway open. "Andy? I'm so tired..let me sleep.." His eyes fluttered shut, then he let out a blood curdling scream. His pulse instantly vanished, his head falling to the side.

Andy cursed, eyes glowing as she started pulling energy to push into him. Soon, his pulse was back to a normal level. "Kiba, wake up!" She figured she'd have to just keep him sedated to sleep but she wanted him awake to know he wasn't still having a nightmare.

His eyes jerked open and he tried to scoot backwards. "No more… no more sleep. Don't let her make me sleep.." He drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "Don't hurt me…"

"Shh, Kiba, it's okay, you're safe," Andy tried to assure.

He was shaking, face buried now. His breathing was rapid and he shied away from any contact.

"Kiba, it's me, Andy. You're safe on the Orion."

"What the hell is wrong with me?" He barely managed to get the words out, his shaking gradually slowing.

"She's affecting your dreams... It's not your fault, but unless you find a way to accept what happened she's going to keep tormenting you."

"Accept she tortured me more than once to near death? Or accept she was my best friend without any of her empathy or kindness?" He lifted his eyes to her, the dark orbs haunted beyond anything she'd ever seen.

"I don't know Kiba! I just want you to be able to sleep well and be a happy person and I'm sorry I can't just give you that." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do other than sedate you or tell you to talk more about it and see if we can figure out a way to help the nightmares."

"Sedate me please. Sedate me or I'm afraid of what I'll do." Kiba sighed and laid down. "Hell drain me into a coma for all I care right now. I'm either going to get sleep or I'm going to die."

Andy prepared a sedative and stuck it in his arm, "I'll still be here when you wake and I'll keep an eye on you in case anything happens, okay?"

He nodded as his eyes closed. His breathing evened out as he relaxed.

Andy stared at the sleeping Kiba for a while, trying to figure out what to do for him. She couldn't sedate him forever. He honestly needed a therapist but who knows if he'd talk to one if they could even find one. She was soon pulled from her thoughts as her comm beeped. "What's up?"

"I've been working on this for hours but I need a material we don't carry on the ship. Of course the only planet that we know of that has it is a Jark Matter controlled planet," Champ moo-ed through the comm.

Andy sighed, "I'll go tell the guests and we'll set up a plan to get what we need and take out the Jark bases." She sent a clone off to the guest room.

After knocking, she found a yawning Ziggy opening the door, "Hey."

"Hey," Andy gave a soft smile, "Sorry if I woke you. We've hit a small snag in fixing your transporter. Apparently we need a material which isn't available on the ship, and the only location we've found is in enemy territory. We'll make a plan to go get some and then you should be able to go on your way."

"We're going with you," Dillon approached the doorway. Ziggy gave a nod in agreement.

"Alright, I'll call Stinger and we can go see what information Champ has on the planet," the clone led them back toward the bridge while the real Andy quietly called Stinger, "Hey, meet us at the bridge, we have a mission."

Andy sighed and closed her eyes, listening to Kiba's slow breathing. Her clone entered the bridge and smiled at Champ, "So, what are we looking at?"

Champ waited for Stinger to arrive before pulling up the map, "Jark Matter bases, we don't have much intel so we can't be sure how many troops there will be, but we do know they are manufacturing weapons. This planet has the only source of the material we need."

"So we need to go in, take out the troops, get what we need, and blow the bases," Andy analyzed. "Is it an occupied planet?"

Champ nodded, "There's a few million residents."

Andy sighed, "So I can't just go draining everyone. At least I can try to drain everyone in the bases..."

"Fight some bad guys, get what we need, explosions," Ziggy nodded, "Doesn't sound _too _complicated."

Dillon rolled his eyes but gave a nod, "Doesn't seem like we'd be able to come up with a better plan, so let's do it."

"How long until we get there?" Andy asked.

"It's not far from here, about half an hour," Champ answered.

"Then let's get ready," Andy ordered.

"Let's focus on the mission."

A few hours later, they were back on the Orion and Ziggy's teleportation was charged back up.

"It was nice meeting you, even if it wasn't the best situation," Andy smiled.

Ziggy nodded, "It's been interesting." He glanced at Dillon, "Do you think Dr. K will believe all of this?"

"This is nothing compared to Venjix." Dillon rolled his eyes. "Let's go home."


	44. Going Home

Andy stared out the window at her home planet. It'd been at least three years since she'd been there. Though she'd accepted Benny's death, she worried about the feelings coming back to her once she did arrive back on the planet. She hadn't asked Hammy if she'd even been in the room where he died, but Andy really hoped it was back to being a guest room or looking like her childhood bedroom, because if it was still a nursery, she might just lose it.

Not even talking to the others, she headed off toward the voyager bay and climbed into the Iruka voyager before flying off closer to the planet. She spotted her village and the Outlook, and suddenly felt a bit guilty that she hadn't contacted her friends from home much the last few years. She felt especially bad about Naomi, as she had asked her to clean up the nursery, but she'd have seen what Andy did to that ninja, would she even want to talk to her again? Or would Naomi understand, having seen what happened to Benny? Naomi finally had a child of her own, so maybe she'd be understanding. Andy decided to at least send a letter if she didn't get the courage to visit her in person.

She landed in a grassy field and after climbing out, she noticed Kiba already standing there and the Sasori voyager close to landing.

Kiba looked nervous. "I haven't been here in awhile."

Stinger climbed out of Sasori, approaching them. "You okay?"

Andy shrugged, "Not sure."

He gave her a kiss. "Just take it slow."

Hammy appeared and smiled at Andy before approaching and hugging her. "Hey Daka. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

Hammy then approached Kiba and gave him a quick kiss before heading toward the house, "I was thinking we'd go camping tonight, if you want."

"Camping sounds great," Andy nodded, trying to not feel so nervous. It was surprising to her, the place that always felt so much like home now felt cold and distant. The only warmth that came from the house was Hammy's bright smile and the cat who approached and rubbed up against Andy's leg. Andy bent down and pet her for a moment before straightening back up and finally entering through into the kitchen.

After about an hour of catching up, Andy stood and headed down the hallway. She stopped in front of the doorway to the room, unsure what to expect. She finally got the courage to put her hand on the doorknob and pushing the door open. The room once again looked like her childhood room, exact details down to the posters hanging on her wall. She laughed, though, when she realized the side that had been Hammy's had even more posters of Hoshi Minato on them than it used to. She sat on her bed and laid back, staring up at the ceiling, letting her mind drift off to past memories.

She finally was pulled out of her thoughts when Stinger appeared in the doorway, "Beautiful? We were thinking about leaving soon for the Outlook."

Andy stood before going over and hugging him, "Ok, one hurdle down, let's see if I can handle the Outlook."

Stinger gave her a confused look for a moment before she added, "Here I was worried about dealing with my feelings for Benny. There, you know I always think about Avery when I'm up there, and with seeing that clone of him and what trouble he caused for Kiba..."

Stinger took her hand, "It's going to be okay. Maybe going there will help you deal with things?"

Andy nodded, "Maybe." She was quiet for a moment as she rested her head against his chest. When she 22pulled away, she sighed, "I'm also worried about Hammy and Kiba. I know Hammy doesn't care about the Hope thing, but I know she was hoping he'd settle once he was married. She's going to talk with him tonight about some of it, I just hope things work out and no one gets hurt."

Andy watched Stinger and Kiba make the campfire. She smiled at Hammy who stood up and gently touched Kiba's shoulder, "Can we go talk for a minute?"

Kiba nodded, taking a deep breath and following her. When they got some distance, he sighed. "I'm sorry I haven't been back more. I'm worried about my pursuers finding you." He kissed her softly. "I don't want you hurt."

She looked at him sadly, "I know you don't. But I wonder how much you'd be here even if you weren't being followed. Your heart is in your adventures." She took a deep breath, "I love you, but no matter how much I try to convince myself that I'm fine with you not being around all the time, there's always a part of me that will want that. I thought maybe us getting married would make you settle a bit more, but I feel like I've seen you even less than before." She held his hand, "I just don't want to hold you back. I want kids, a family. You want to travel and see different places. I just don't know if we can make this work if we aren't wanting the same things."

Kiba's face fell. "You don't want to be with me. I'm sorry I can't be what you need." He closed his eyes against the tears threatening to fall. "I won't keep you from being happy. Are we still friends?"

"I want to be with you, but I'm wondering if just love is enough." A couple tears fell from her eyes, "Part of me will always love you, Kiba. And I always want to be your friend. I'm always going to be here for you. But I can't be what you need either. You've made me a lot stronger, but I'll never be strong enough to be what you need. You need someone who can adventure with you and will accept everything about you, to help you with your nightmares and your past. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to realize that I'll never be what you actually need." She wiped at her eyes, "I understand if you are mad or don't want to see me again, but I just want what's best for both of us, and I'm not sure we are the best for each other."

Kiba shook his head. "I'm not mad. And I need my family. I never wanted you to change, to try to fit me though." He kissed her again. "Just don't stop being the light for me okay?"

"Like I said, I'll always be here for you and always be your family. I'm just not sure we're meant to be together. It's not like I have found anyone else, but I do know there's a lot of kids needing adopted and I know you don't want kids. I can be what they need, you know?"

Kiba smiled at her. "You'll be a great mom. We should probably get back before Andy eats all the smores." He reached for her hand.

"I thought having students and helping Daka raise her kids would get me past wanting my own, but it hasn't," she admitted. "Speaking of, tomorrow I need to meet Hope. She's adorable. Looks a lot like Daka when she was a baby."

"She's half me too, you know?" Kiba rolls his eyes and gives her a wry grin.

"Well she looks more like Daka, from what I can tell," she smirked.

When they got back to the campsite, Andy held out sticks with marshmallows on them, "S'mores?"

Hammy nodded and took one.

Kiba stuck his tongue out at Hammy as he took one. "You're not funny."

She laughed, but didn't say anything else.

Andy passed out some chocolate and graham crackers, "This isn't as bad as I was expecting. Not that I'm planning another trip home any time soon."

Kiba and Hammy exchanged glances, then chuckled.

Stinger raised an eyebrow at the two of them but didn't say anything. He'd wait for later.

Andy watched the sunset before wrapping herself up in her sleeping bag and staring at the fire. She considered suggesting ghost stories but instead just lost herself to her thoughts.

Stinger curled up next to her, eyes slipping closed.

Kiba sighed and wrapped his arms around Hammy as she leaned into his chest.


	45. A New Relationship

Stinger knocked on Kiba's door, waiting for a response.

"Go away." The voice was muffled by the sound of quiet crying.

"Come on, Kiba. Open up."

"No. Leave me alone."

Stinger unlocked the door and opened it, "Come on, you can't stay locked up forever."

Kiba raised his head and glared at him. "Maybe I'll just leave then." He got off the bed, beginning to wave his hand.

"Look, I won't make you leave. I just want to help. You don't even need to talk to me. I'm just suggesting we go get a drink."

Kiba paused. "That actually sounds good. Where?"

"There's a planet nearby with some bars," Stinger suggested.

Kiba nodded, waving his hand. "Let's go."

They soon arrived outside of a bar, and Stinger opened the door, waiting for Kiba to enter.

Kiba went to a table in the back after getting his drink, a dark purple concoction that the bartender had assured him had the highest alcohol concentration. He took a drink and sighed as Stinger sat across from him. "What?"

Stinger shook his head, "How's it taste?" He took a sip of his own drink, which was a dark red mix.

"Fruitier than expected." Kiba chuckled humorlessly as he drank more of it. A warm buzz was already starting and he reminded himself to tip the bartender handsomely later.

"This one is pretty fruity too," Stinger took another drink. He chuckled, "I'd say it's good you don't get drunk as fast as Andy, but I have a feeling you're going to get just as smashed before we leave."

"I'm counting on it." He sighed again. "Hammy and I aren't together anymore. Don't know if we're going to do paperwork, but it's over."

"Andy mentioned that Hammy was going to talk to you about some stuff, but I didn't expect a breakup," Stinger admitted.

Kiba snorted. "I'm surprised it lasted this long frankly. My issues always find a way to screw everything." He slammed the rest of the drink back angrily.

"Well, your issues haven't pushed Andy and I away, so that's one good thing, right?"

"Only because you guys are more stubborn than I am. And with how much I've hurt both of you, believe me I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop."

He motioned to the bartender with his glass. "She even apologized for not being able to help me, like it was her fault." He fought back tears as the new drink arrived, downing half in one swallow.

"She's Andy's sister, what do you expect? Both of them will apologize for anything," Stinger sighed. "But if it's not obvious by now, we aren't leaving you no matter how much you hurt us. It hurts more when you're gone." He finished his drink. "Like that whole year we thought you were dead."

"I thought you guys would be relieved that I wasn't causing havoc anymore." Kiba stared at his drink morosely. "Someday I'm going to get you guys killed."

"Rather be killed helping you, than find out you died and we weren't there to stop it." He ordered another drink when the bartender came by.

"I don't want to be responsible for anyone's death, but especially none of yours. But you keep protecting me. I just don't understand." Kiba finished the drink, twirling the glass in his hand unsteadily.

"If you don't understand by now, you probably never will. Just accept it isn't going to change." Stinger took a drink before continuing, "And it's not your fault if we die protecting you. It's our choice to do what we want, and if we want to protect you, the consequences are on us, not you."

Kiba looked miserable. "How can you say it's wouldn't be my fault? If you protecting me, I'm the reason you'd be dead!" He motioned for another drink.

"If we died protecting Azra, would it be Azra's fault, our fault, or the one who killed us's fault? Probably the one who killed us right? But not Azra. Same with you. It wouldn't be your fault."

"Azra would be innocent. I'm not." Kiba sighed, leaning his head on the table. "And I would hope I'd be the next to die because I could not take losing either of you." He suddenly raised up and moved across the table to kiss Stinger. Just as quickly, his face turned red and he ran for the bathroom.

Stinger just chuckled and waited a couple minutes to see if Kiba was returning or if he'd have to follow.

Kiba sat trembling in the nearest stall. He closed his eyes and cursed himself repeatedly. Why had he done that? If Stinger just stung him, he'd get off lucky. Maybe he should just run? He tried to stop shaking but couldn't.

Stinger made his way to the bathroom, "Kiba? You okay?"

Kiba opened the stall a crack. "Go ahead and sting me. I'm sorry."

"I'm not going to sting you. Why would you even think that?"

Kiba stared at him. "Because I just kissed you?"

"That's not a bad thing. And if you really want I could just write it off as you being drunk," Stinger suggested.

Kiba's face turned red. "But you're…" He shook his head. "You don't like guys."

"And you just assume this because I'm married to a girl?"

Kiba's eyes went wide. "Yeah…? Plus you've never even hinted at anything else." He walked out of the stall to look at him.

"Neither have you," Stinger shrugged. "You'd definitely be surprised to learn I dated Naga for a while when he wanted to try dating a human." He gave a soft smile, "You met me after I was with Andy, so that's all you've ever known. There's more to me than just what you've seen."

"I ran from who I was dating because I felt he didn't deserve to be tainted by me."

Stinger sighed, "You need to get better at your opinions of yourself. You're a great guy, people would be lucky to have you."

"That's what he said, but I just worry I'm a problem." Kiba met Stinger's eyes. "Does Andy know?"

"Know what? That I like both genders? She knows literally everything about me," Stinger admitted. "We've been together for at least twenty years at this point," he chuckled.

"And she's not weirded out?" Kiba's voice was thoughtful. "Would she be if she found out about me?"

"Kiba, you know her just as well as I do. She's probably the most accepting person in the universe."

"I mean would she accept my feelings for you?" He went to the mirror and stared at his reflection.

"She wouldn't care. You've had feelings for her too, that didn't weird her out. She probably loves you just as much as she loves me. I think she'd be fine."

Kiba turned to him. "If she's not, just blame the alcohol." He kissed Stinger again hard, hands entangled in his hair.

Stinger kissed back, his tail gently wrapping around Kiba's leg.

Kiba broke the kiss with a laugh. "Guess I'm yours now? Maybe we should go back to the ship?"

Stinger chuckled, "Sure."

"Let's pay first." Kiba smirked. "And get the recipe for that purple drink."

They were paying when they heard a familiar voice behind them. Stinger chuckled, "Guess we aren't drunk enough yet."

Kiba face palmed. "At least he doesn't have the stuff he calls alcohol with him this time."

Tsurugi laughed. "Can't help if my legendary drink is too strong for you. Rounds on me." He ordered for himself, waiting till they had ordered to find a table. "I am surprised to run into you two, though."

"Kiba needed a night out," Stinger laughed. "What are you doing out this way?"

"Diplomatic mission from hell. The Ambassador from Hadrian is so stuck up he makes Tsukasa look friendly."

The drinks arrived and Tsurugi quickly drank half of his lime green colored one. "Ahhh."

Kiba fought a smile, reaching for the purple one.

Stinger took his drink and took a large gulp. "I'm glad I've not been assigned any diplomatic missions lately."

Kiba laughed. "I still can't see you on one. Pretty sure you'd have caused a war by now." He drank more.

"Andy and Champ keep me in line," Stinger chuckled, "And I never caused a war. Almost did once, though, when this guy kept wanting me to marry his daughter."

Kiba burst out laughing. "Bet Andy _loved _that."

"The first couple times I'd been there was before we were even together. After we were together, I took her, but thankfully he'd found someone else to marry her."

Tsurugi drank more. "I was relieved when I heard about that. Because I knew things were going to end up bad if another guy didn't marry her." He pointed a finger at Stinger. "I even drafted an apology letter for when you went nuts."

Stinger sighed, "Well you can blame Shou for making me a Commander. Literally anyone else on the team would have been better suited."

"Not the thieves. Can you imagine Balance in a diplomatic situation?" Kiba was laughing so hard he almost fell. "First question would be if the planet in question had good treasure."

Tsurugi choked on his drink. "There's legendary nightmare fuel."

"I took him and Naga on a diplomatic mission once... Naga had to keep Balance in line the whole time. And you know that's hard because Naga usually just does what Balance wants."

Kiba couldn't stop laughing. "I think I'm really drunk."

"You were pretty drunk before," Stinger noted as he finished his drink. "Want some shots?"

Kiba grinned. "Hell yes. Though you might want to call your voyager cause I can't portal."

Twenty minutes later, they were five shots in. Stinger kept talking about the funny missions he could remember, while the other two laughed.

Kiba tried to stand, falling into Stinger's lap as he tried to demonstrate a Daiki heist that had gone haywire. "Sorry."

Stinger smiled, "Maybe we should leave while we are still conscious?"

Tsurugi nodded. "I actually have to be President tomorrow."

Kiba chuckled. "This was fun. We need to do this more often."

"Well next time you seem depressed I'll just drag you out again instead of having Andy try to fix it," Stinger smirked.

"We should bring Andy next time." Kiba swayed as he stood.

Stinger stood and wrapped an arm around Kiba so they could keep each other upright.

Tsurugi paid for the drinks and bid them goodnight, walking toward a nearby hotel only slightly unsteady.

"I envy him his balance." Kiba started laughing again.

Stinger laughed and called his voyager. Once he got them in, he set it on autopilot. "About ten minutes til we dock. I wonder if Andy can make a good hangover cure...?"

"Good question. I know I'm going to need one. What the hell was I thinking doing shots?" Kiba held his head.

Stinger grinned, "Sorry. Seemed like a good idea at the time."

Kiba grinned back as the Orion came into view. "My room or yours?"

"My room is closer," Stinger chuckled. "I don't think I could get you to walk that far while you're drunk."

"Nope. Guaranteed. I may not make it to yours honestly. The floor and the ceiling are changing places right now."

Stinger laughed as the voyager docked. He opened the door and held a hand out to help Kiba.

Kiba took it, climbing unsteadily into the bay. He swayed for a moment, then laughed. "Haven't been this drunk in awhile." He leaned over and kissed Stinger. "I love you."

Stinger raised an eyebrow, "You're really drunk right now. But I love you too. Let's get some sleep."

They got to Stinger and Andy's room, and climbed into the bed. Stinger was asleep in seconds.

Kiba watched him for a moment before falling asleep as well.

Andy entered the room, surprised to see Stinger was back. She then chuckled upon seeing Kiba and wondered what happened on their night out. She climbed into her side of the bed, curling up next to Stinger and falling asleep.

Kiba woke the next morning with a groan. When he opened his eyes, he saw Andy in bed next to Stinger and froze. With a muffled whimper, he jumped out of the bed. He swayed as his hangover slammed into his head. With a growl, he started toward the door.

Andy stretched out and sat up when she heard a noise, "Kiba? Are you okay?"

"Hungover as hell. And it's not what it looks like. I was just too drunk to go to my room."

"Let me get you some medicine," she stood before chuckling, "It wouldn't surprise me if it was what it looked like. He's a very flirty drunk."

Kiba paled. "I swear I'm not trying to steal him." He sat down and looked at her. "Are you mad?"

"Why would I be?"

"You're his wife?" Kiba raised his eyebrows. "I know he said he wasn't straight, but most women aren't like that."

"Kiba, I know he loves me and he loves our kids. I know he's not leaving me. If he wants to have a bit of fun every once and awhile, I'm not going to stop him."

Kiba frowned. "If I want a relationship? Cause I'm in love with him."

"Come on, let's go talk somewhere else so we don't wake him." Once they were in the hall, she asked, "And just to make sure, this isn't some kind of rebound thing from Hammy?"

"No. I've been in love with both of you for years. I told you I'd never act on it." He bowed to her.

"Sorry. I kissed him last night. Twice."

"I know you loved me, and at times it was obvious, but I never saw it with you and him."

"I tried to hide it. I know you don't treat the thieves or Lucky and Garu any differently, but I didn't want to risk it." Kiba sighed. "Not to mention I never thought he was anything but straight."

"So, you want a relationship with him?"

Kiba gave her a tentative nod. "Only if it doesn't change anything between you and me."

Andy pulled Kiba down and kissed him. She pulled away with a slight smile on her face, "We said if things were different, we'd have been together. I guess the only things keeping us from that is ourselves. If you want him, you get me too."

Kiba stared at her, then grinned. "I can live with that."

She headed to the infirmary and got some medicine for him. "Are you hungry?"

He turned green. "NO."

Andy chuckled, "Okay, then go get some rest, unless you want coffee. I'm going to go cook for the kids."

"Coffee I can do. Stinger went nuts with the shots last night. I had some sort of fruity drink that got me smashed fast."

Andy laughed, "Wish I was there to see it." She started toward the kitchen and made some coffee. She sat down and handed him a mug. "So when you and Stinger are both awake and not hungover, I figure we can have a talk and figure out exactly what is going on relationship wise with the three of us."

Kiba chuckled. "I told him we could just blame it on the alcohol and leave it at that."

"If you've loved us for years I think there's more to it than blaming the alcohol," Andy smirked.

Kiba blushed.

Stinger stumbled in at that moment. "Any way to turn the lights off?"

Andy laughed, "Seems like you had fun last night. And seems like we've got ourselves a boyfriend." She stood and got him a cup of coffee.

Kiba turned red as Stinger stared at her. "I am _not _conscious enough for that statement to come out of your mouth."

She gave him a kiss and handed him the coffee. She then just gave a small chuckle before going to start the food for her and the kids.

Kiba clutched his cup as he willed himself not to meet Stinger's eyes. This was not going how he expected at all.

Andy glanced at Stinger, "Love, do you want any food or are you too hungover?"

Stinger shook his head. "No food. Just coffee."

Andy nodded and finished up cooking before plating it up. She then headed out to get the kids, leaving Stinger and Kiba alone.

Kiba raised his eyes slowly to Stinger. "Don't be mad. She told me she didn't care if we were together. Then said she was part of the package."

Stinger raised an eyebrow before shrugging, "Well she is my wife, she is kind of included."

"I just never thought…" Kiba gulped his coffee. "I should have stayed in bed."

"But bed doesn't have coffee."

Kiba chuckled. "You have a point."


	46. Ex-Aid Returns

Parad struggled against the data cords. Emu was being beaten in front of him and he was powerless to stop it.

"Please stop hurting him!" The Bugster flinched as the Jark Matter malistrate hit Emu in the jaw. He realized his other half was unconscious now and tried to move to his side. The malistrate turned and kicked Parad in the chest, knocking him to the floor.

"If he helps us, I'll stop." The humanoid malistrate nudged Ex-Aid with a foot. Seeing the lack of response, he sighed.

"Emu will never help you." Parad stared defiantly at him.

The malistrate smiled evilly. "Not even to save you?" He touched a button on the remote he held.

The data cords surged and crackled, a bolt of lightning zapping Parad into near blackout. He arched his back in a vain attempt to escape the pain before his eyes slid closed and he lay still.

Andy quickly took out the indavers in the hallway in front of her and Stinger. Going ahead and placing a few charges, she drained any more indavers that came their way. She headed to the computers to search for any new intel before heading back to the hall to help Stinger with the last of the charges. Finally, she found a room with a bunch of empty cells. Heading down the cell block, she finally spotted a few faces. Rushing to the door, she shot at the lock and headed in, kneeling next to Emu. Raising her hands, she started trying to heal his injuries.

Stinger finished laying the charges, then went in search of Andy. He frowned as he contacted her. _'Beautiful, where are you?'_

'_In one of the cells, I found a couple riders.'_

'_What the hell? Who?'_

'_Emu and Parad.'_

'_Can they move? The charges are planted.'_

'_Only if you come help me move them, they are both out right now.'_

'_On my way.'_

Parad's eyelids fluttered and he groaned. "Emu.. answer me.." He weakly tried to move toward the doctor. He gave Andy a startled look. "Andy? What's going on?"

"I'd ask you the same thing. You're the one in a Jark Matter base," Andy answered. "He's doing a lot better, but I'm still working on healing him."

Parad rested his head on the floor, partly in relief and partly because he didn't have the strength to hold it up. "Can you get these off? He'll do better once I'm free."

Andy nodded and got up, moving toward Parad and removing the cables.

Parad sighed, closing his eyes just as Stinger arrived.

"We need to go **now**." He knelt and lifted Parad easily, heading out of the cell.

"Parad?" Emu was semi conscious, his eyes tight as he grimaced.

Andy made a clone and went back over to Emu, "He's right here. You're safe now, we just need to get you out of here, okay?"

The rider nodded slowly, pushing himself up with a groan. "Those cables drain him badly. And with me injured he doesn't have my strength to fall back on." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are you here?"

"Because we are taking out a Jark Matter base. Why are you guys even here?" She went to one side of him while her clone went to the other to help him walk.

"Jark Matter grabbed us. They are trying to get me to modify the Bugster virus." He took a shallow breath and headed for the door.

"Let's get you to our ship for now and then I'll work on healing you up more, okay?" Andy offered as she kept him steady.

Once they were in the Orion's infirmary, Andy went back to healing Emu, "I wonder why Jark Matter wants the bugster virus..."

"They were trying to see if it could be weaponized against the rangers. I refused to help."

Parad snorted. "They were trying to weaken him by hurting me." The Bugster had his eyes closed as he tried to recharge.

Andy sighed, "I'm getting really sick of how creative Jark Matter and Shocker have been lately."

Parad chuckled humorlessly. "You mean you_ don't_ like that they are trying to use every trick in the book against you?"

He locked eyes with Emu. "The cables aren't even originally their idea. They stole those when they grabbed us. We were analyzing how they work after I had a run in with them in our world."

Emu sighed. "They knew how to use them though. Makes me worried."

Parad frowned. "Yeah they did. Even had a remote to up the voltage too. Awful convenient."

Emu gave him a startled look. "If they use that often you will be in real danger."

Parad shrugged. "More worried about you than myself honestly."

"You're just about all healed up," Andy informed Emu. "I can see what Kiba is up to so he can get you guys home." She turned to Parad, "I can try healing you up too if you want."

Parad opened his eyes. "I'm not human." He exchanged looks with Emu, then sighed. "I guess you could try?"

"I know you aren't human, but everything, even inanimate objects, hold some kind of energy, so since you are a living being and need more energy, I'd assume at least giving you some would help," Andy looked thoughtful.

Emu smiled, moving to Parad's side. "I think it is worth a try." He nodded at Andy.

Andy moved to Parad and her eyes went back to glowing as she pulled in outside energy and pushed some into Parad. After a few minutes she asked, "How are you feeling?"

Parad's eyes were wide as he took a deep breath. "Like I just absorbed a power up item." He grinned at them. "That was amazing."

Emu laughed, clapping the Bugster on the shoulder. "What happens now?"

"I'll try contacting Kiba and if he can't help, we'll go searching for the Jark Matter teleportation device to get you home. We'll need to find it anyway to destroy it, but with Kiba you'd get home faster."

Parad and Emu both nodded.

Andy sighed before focusing her mind on finding Kiba, '_Kiba, are you there?'_

'_A little busy, ninja girl.'_

'_Alright. Just try to stay safe, okay?'_

'_Easier said than done at the present.'_

'_Do you need our help?'_

'_Hope not. I'll let you know.'_

'_Okay. If you do get done before we find another way back, Emu and Parad are here if you want to see them.'_

'_How the hell? Nevermind. I'll be back as soon as I can.'_

Andy tried to push her worry for Kiba aside before she smiled at the two riders, "Looks like for now we're going on a hunt for the teleporter. I'll see what intel we have about where it could be, but I can assign you a guest room if you want to nap or I could cook something if you're hungry?"

Emu bowed. "Food sounds good."

Andy smiled, "We'll head to the kitchen then." She glanced at the clock, "It's about time for the kids to eat too so I'll make something easy."

Parad raised an eyebrow. "Kids?"

"Yeah, I have two. Well, I have more but two that are still little," Andy chuckled.

Emu rolled his eyes as Parad's lit up. "We love kids."

Andy grinned, "I'll call Stinger to bring them to the kitchen so you can meet them."

Ten minutes later, Andy was at the stove listening to Emu and Parad talking when Stinger entered with a baby in each arm.

Parad's eyes went wide. "Can I hold them?"

Stinger chuckled, looking at Andy.

"Yeah," Andy nodded with a soft smile. "Just remember to be careful, I doubt you hold many babies that have a tail."

"Hi!" Scorpio gave a little wave and Hope giggled.

Parad waved back, then carefully sat both on his lap. Then he sent some pixels into the air with a laugh.

Andy glanced at Stinger, "Kiba's a bit preoccupied at the moment, so ask Champ to see if we have any intel on where Jark Matter would be hiding a teleport device." She smiled toward Parad and the kids before looking back at the stove.

Stinger nodded, touching his comm.

Emu laughed at Parad's antics, the kids wide eyed as he showed them his handheld.

Andy chuckled, "Maybe we should see about getting some video games for the ship." She plated up the food and set out plates in front of Stinger and Emu. She then asked Parad, "You don't eat real food, do you?"

"Not usually. But this way I can feed them." Parad smiled at her. "Let you recharge."

"Thanks," Andy smiled and brought over two plates for Hope and Scorpio. She then got her own and sat next to Stinger.

Stinger looked at her. "Champ is scanning for any tech. Kiba say why he couldn't help?"

She shook her head, "No, but he says he'll let us know if he needs us. Also said he'll be back as soon as he can."

Stinger frowned. "Is that good or bad? He usually doesn't turn us down." The ranger started to eat.

Andy shrugged, "He's probably on some kind of mission of his own. I'm just going to try to trust he'll make it back safe, because being busy worrying won't help us here and now."

Stinger gave her an amused look. "You not worry? Who are you and what have you done with my wife?"

"I'm worried, but right now we need to be focusing on getting them back home. I know quite well how rough it is being thrown into a different universe against your will."

"I'm glad I don't. Though I may have just jinxed myself."

Andy sighed, "The one good thing is you can make more friends that way, at least if it's a universe you haven't been to."

"Yeah, but it's usually because of some jerk who wants you for something." Stinger finished his food, taking his plate to the sink.

Parad looked at Emu, then spoke. "We don't mind staying longer. We don't have many CR calls anymore."

"Well, I'll set you up with a room and show you around. When we get information about where the tech is, we can set up a plan," she took her plate to the sink and started running the water to wash the dishes.

Emu brought his plate to her. "I really appreciate you helping him."

She gave a soft smile, "I'm a medic, if someone needs help, I'll try my best to help them. I'm sure you understand as a doctor."

"Yes. But most people don't try to help him. They ignore him because he isn't human." Emu glanced over at his other half, chuckling as Parad told some exaggerated story.

"We have all sorts of non-humans on our team. If I don't know how to fix something, I learn or make my own way to do it. Just because they aren't human doesn't make them less of a life." She finished the last dish and turned the water off, "Though we do travel to all sorts of planets with all sorts of aliens, so we are used to it. You don't really have anything like that, do you?"

"No. The first time was meeting Lucky." Emu rolled his eyes. "Maybe you gave him too much energy." He handed the babies back to Stinger, giving Parad a look.

Parad chuckled and looked at Andy.

"I'll help put them down for a nap after I show Emu and Parad to their room," Andy informed Stinger. She then turned to the riders, "And I'll show you around a bit. We have some rec rooms with movies if you're into that." She headed into the hallway.

Emu and Parad followed her, the Bugster staring wide eyed at the ship. "I can't believe we're in space."

Andy chuckled and showed them a few rooms on the way to the guest room she assigned to them. "There's a comm on the wall there so you can call us if you need anything. I'll let you know when we've figured out anything."

Emu nodded as Parad stared out the window at the stars. "Thank you."

A couple hours later, Andy knocked on their door. After Emu opened it she informed, "We think we've found it."

She led them to the bridge so they could form a plan with Stinger.

"Champ found an energy signature that matches a teleport system. We'll go down, let Andy do her thing and send you home. Then we'll blow the place." Stinger looked at them. "Sound good?"

Andy nodded in agreement.

"We'll use ShiShi voyager. Big enough for all of us." Stinger sent a base layout to Andy's blaster.

He looked at Champ. "Ready to go aibou?"

Champ moo-ed quietly.

Stinger looked at them. "Nobody get killed. That's an order."

The riders exchanged looks and chuckled. "I think we can manage that."

"I'll try," Andy smirked before making a clone to stay and watch the ship.

Parad looked at Emu. "I'll meet you. Let you know if there are guards." He disappeared in a blaze of pixels.

They headed to the voyager bay and climbed into the Shishi voyager, taking off once the door was shut.

Emu sighed. "Not that I don't like seeing you again, but I can't wait to be home and away from Jark Matter."

"I know how you feel," Andy nodded, "We'll get you home soon."

Parad materialized in an empty hallway. He crept to the end and peered around the corner. Seeing no one, he sent a message to Emu saying it was safe. Then he turned to be met by a bugvisor.

Once they landed, Andy scanned the building, "There's definitely guards in there..." She moved forward before hearing a noise behind her. She quickly turned and noticed guards gathering around them. She went to drain them but was stopped when she felt pain shooting through her.

"Andy!" Stinger began stinging guards until a stun beam knocked him to the ground.

Emu froze as the malistrate appeared holding a bug visor. "I have the Bugster. Surrender."

The rider could see Parad fighting to get free. "Don't do it Emu!"

The malistrate laughed. "If you don't, I'll delete him."

Emu slumped, then raised his hands as the guards approached.

Andy tried to push herself up, but the pain was too much and the world went black.

Champ moo ed in annoyance. They were late and he couldn't help feeling like it had been a trap.

He climbed out of the voyager and went looking.

Spying a flash of blue on the ground, he hurried over to discover Andy unconscious. Turning her over, he huffed as the blaster wound was revealed.

"Moo, Andy. What happened?"

"Mom?" Azra gripped Andy's hand. "Mom, please wake up." She glanced at Kotaro and Champ. "What do you think happened?"

Champ huffed. "Jark Matter set us up. They wanted the riders back. Now they have aibou too."

Kotaro sighed. "What do you think they want?"

"According to Emu, they're trying to weaponize the Bugster Virus to attack us. So aibou will probably be a test subject."

Andy sat up quickly against her body's protesting. She looked around in confusion, eyes finally settling on Azra. She sighed and laid back, "What's happening?"

"Mom!" Azra smiled in relief. "We're trying to come up with a plan."

"And the others?"

Her smile disappeared. "Missing."

Andy moved again and made a clone who scanned her over and then started healing her. "The kids okay? I had a clone watching them but it would have disappeared when I passed out."

"They're fine, Mom. We arrived just before it disappeared." Azra frowned. "How are we going to rescue them?"

"We'll go down, someone watching my back so I don't get taken out again, then I'll take out the guards. Then it should be easy from there," Andy answered, closing her eyes as the pain started fading.

"What if Jark Matter has gotten the virus?" Champ gave a worried question.

"Well, Emu knows how to fight it, so hopefully he can help us," she sighed.

A portal appeared, Kiba and Hiiro stepping through. Kiba's eyes widened as he saw her. "Andy! What happened?"

"We went to find the teleporter, but we got attacked before I could take the guards out. Stinger, Emu and Parad are missing."

Kiba cursed, then winced. Hiiro pushed him into a chair. "We need to find them."

Andy looked over at Kiba before making another clone and approaching to scan him over. "We were just working on a plan." She updated them on the conversation and waited for any other ideas as she finished healing her and Kiba up.

Kiba nodded in approval. "I can get you there faster than a voyager. And I can watch your back."

Andy gave him a smile before pushing herself off the bed, "Let me go change out of these blood covered clothes really quick then we can head out." A couple minutes later she reappeared, "Ready."

Parad struggled weakly against the cables. He had to get free before Emu was forced to do Jark Matter's bidding. The cables crackled dangerously and the Bugster stopped moving reluctantly. He was almost at his limit, but he'd be damned if he'd disappear and leave the other rider powerless. He laid his head against the wall, eyes closing in exhaustion.

Emu could feel Parad growing weaker by the second and struggled against the ties on his wrists, hoping to get free and rescue Parad. He glanced over at Stinger, "Will your teammates be looking for us?"

"Of course. But I hope we can get out of here before that." Stinger growled as he fought his bonds.

The door opened revealing the Malistrate. He held a vial out to Emu. "Modify the virus."

"I don't know how," Emu answered.

The Malistrate huffed. "Now now. Don't lie. I know you do, otherwise there would be no medicine to fight the infections." He motioned to the guards to untie Emu. "If you don't, I'm going to delete that Bugster slowly and painfully."

Emu sighed, "What exactly are you wanting it to do?"

"Destroy the rangers. All of them. So something that works on living and non living bodies. Start with him." The malistrate pointed at Stinger, who froze.

Emu took the vial and focused on trying to rewrite it. He tried to make it so the symptoms would come on slowly, to help buy Stinger time for the others to arrive. He held out the vial to the malistrate when he was done. "It's ready."

"Inject it." The Malistrate ordered with a cold smile.

Emu nodded and filled up a syringe before injecting it into Stinger's arm.

Stinger looked at him. "Sorry about this." He sighed. "How long?"

"Some people with the bugster virus get affected quicker than others. We'll just have to wait and see," Emu spoke softly, hoping Stinger's team was on their way.

The portal opened, Kiba and Andy walking through it into the hallway. "Do your thing ninja girl."

Andy's eyes started glowing as she scanned the building. She quickly drained all of the energy signatures she could find except Stinger and the riders.

Emu was surprised when the Malistrate collapsed to the floor. Emu quickly helped untie Stinger, "We need to get Parad. Then I can see about getting the virus out of you."

Stinger winced and nodded. "Glad to see Andy is still alive." He headed for the door, Emu following.

Parad faintly heard his name being called. He wanted to open his eyes, but he was so tired. He settled for a weak question. "Is Emu okay?"

"Parad, it's me," Emu answered as he knelt down and broke the cables.

The Bugster forced his eyes open. "Emu? What happened?" He glanced down as he saw his pixels sparking. "This isn't good."

Andy entered, looking at the scene in front of her. She moved toward Parad and Emu, "Let me help." She knelt down and started pushing energy into the bugster. She soon noticed his form grow more stable.

Parad took a shaky breath. "That was close." He attempted to stand, but couldn't quite manage.

Kiba grabbed him before he could fall. "Can't let my gaming buddy disappear. But we need to go."

Stinger was trembling as the fever raged through him. "Yeah. Let's blow this place."

Andy stopped when she noticed how bad he looked. She approached him quickly and scanned him over, "What happened?"

Emu grimaced. "I had to give him the virus." He refused to meet her eyes as Parad gasped.

"Emu, no!" Parad grabbed his arm. "How could you?"

Stinger glared at him. "He was trying to keep you alive."

Parad shook his head. "Not at the expense of you." He disappeared in a swirl of pixels.

Andy wrapped her arm around Stinger and tried to stay calm, "Let's get you to the ship and see what we can do."

Stinger nodded slowly, his concentration on not collapsing.

Emu sighed depressively. "Hope he's okay." He stood and looked at Stinger. "I need to start your operation."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "You need to rest. Kagami can do it."

Emu looked at him in surprise. "Hiiro's here?"

"He's on the ship," Andy answered. She looked at Stinger with worry before glancing at Kiba, "Get us out of here."

"Yes ma'am." Kiba summoned the portal over them. Seconds later they were in the infirmary.

Andy helped Stinger into a bed, "You guys can fix him, right?"

Emu looked at Hiiro, then nodded. "I can fix this. I know how to reverse the modifications. Do you have a microscope?"

"Yeah," Andy nodded and took him to one of the side rooms.

Hiiro followed along, "Do you need help?"

Emu nodded. "I need a sample of both mine and Stinger's blood. The virus is Parad's, with modifications for Stinger's physiology." He rolled up his sleeve and extended his arm to Hiiro.

Andy gave Hiiro supplies before going to get a sample of Stinger's blood. Hiiro drew Emu's, then handed him the sample.

Emu quickly placed some blood on a slide and began looking at it under the microscope. He nodded to himself, then suddenly swayed. He grabbed the table to keep upright.

Hiiro placed a hand on Emu's shoulder, "Is this something I can do?"

Andy approached and started pushing energy into Emu to help him continue his work.

Emu sighed. "It's Parad. He's so weak, he's affecting me." He looked at Hiiro. "You see what I did? Then it's just a matter of antibody development." He looked at Andy. "I need to lie down."

Hiiro nodded and took over while Andy helped Emu to a bed.

Not too long after, Hiiro came out with a vial and injected it into Stinger's arm. He scanned him over, "Everything looks normal. How are you feeling?"

Stinger opened his eyes, releasing the breath he'd been holding. "Fine now."

Andy gave a sigh of relief, "So now we just need to help out Parad. Any ideas where he went?"

A shaky group of pixels suddenly materialized, coalescing into a pale Parad. He fell to the floor as he became visible, shaking as the pixels began to spark. "E-E-Emu?"

Andy rushed to his side and started pushing energy into him.

Emu pushed himself to sit up. "The cables did this?"

Parad weakly nodded. "They suppress my strength. Didn't have them on so long last time. Guess they destabilize me?" He was breathing hard and shakily.

Andy continued to push energy into him, noticing he was starting to look a little better.

"Will he be okay?" Hiiro asked.

Andy nodded, "I think if I just keep giving him energy, he'll eventually be back to normal."

Emu laid back with a sigh of relief.

Parad's eyes were closed, but he had regained his color and stopped sparking. His breathing slowly evened out into sleep.

Stinger sat up and spent a moment studying the bugster, then turned to Kiba. "Reminds me of you."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Stinger grinned. "The sulking for one. Looking much younger when you sleep for another."

Kiba rolled his eyes, a smile threatening to break out on his lips.

Andy moved to stand and glanced at Kiba, "Can you move him to a bed? Or are you going to take them home?"

"I'll wait till they recover." He easily lifted Parad into the bed beside Emu. He kissed Andy's cheek.

"Glad to see you guys by the way. I think I'll catch a nap."

He climbed onto a bed, his eyes closing.

Hiiro sat down in a chair by Emu, as Andy approached Stinger, "You taking a nap too?"

Stinger shrugged. "Think I'm good."

She kissed him, "Well, I'm going to check on the kids if you want to come with. Azra and Kotaro are here too." She glanced over at the sleeping riders, "I'll check on them again in a bit."


	47. Andy's Terrible Day

Andy woke hearing Daka meowing loudly. She sighed and pushed herself up, thinking the cats just needed food or water. "What do you need baby?" She looked at the cat on the ground. Daka walked around her legs a moment before leading Andy away.

Andy's heart sank when she spotted Shishi not moving. She approached and felt her gently, feeling how cold the cat felt.

Lifting her slowly, she entered the hallway to go toward the infirmary where she could keep Shishi until they found a place for a burial.

She ran into Stinger in the hallway and he noticed the tears starting to streak her face.

"Beautiful? What's wrong?" He gently hugged her.

"Shishi's..." her voice broke.

"I'm sorry." He held her tighter. "She had a good life."

She took a deep breath, "I know."

When she finally got to the infirmary, she glanced at the calendar, the tears started streaming faster as she realized it was the anniversary of Benny's death.

After a while though, she wiped the tears away and went to check on the kids.

She smiled when she noticed them playing and sat on the couch near them.

She frowned when she noticed Scorpio had taken his tail cover off, "Baby, you're supposed to keep that on."

"But I don't wanna."

"I don't care. You have to."

"She doesn't have one."

"She doesn't have a tail."

"Daddy doesn't wear one." Scorpio said after a moment of silence.

"He's an adult, he doesn't have to. Once you are older and can control your tail, you won't have to wear one," Andy said softly. "But until then you need one."

She grabbed the cover and his tail to cover it back up but Scorpio pulled away. In the process, Andy felt a prick on her hand. She froze a moment and looked, seeing that she'd been stung. She quickly pressed her comm, "Sting.." Her words were cut off as it felt like her body was engulfed in fire. Pain raced through her making her collapse onto the ground.

Scorpio started crying, "Mommy!?"

Hope followed suit and started wailing loudly.

Stinger raced in, going pale when he saw Andy's condition. He picked her up, running to the infirmary. Laying her on the bed, he went to the cabinet and grabbed the antivenin. Filling a syringe, he injected it and said a prayer.

Andy sucked in a deep breath, eyes opening quickly. She groaned as pain still coursed through her, thankfully less than before. Her eyes met Stinger's and she relaxed a bit more.

"Talk to me, beautiful. Are you alright?"

"Better..." she managed to whisper out. "Hurts though."

"I know. Just let the antivenin work." Stinger's voice was soft.

"Check on the kids?"

"I will. Just rest." He kissed her, then left.

Going to the nursery, he picked up Scorpio. The boy was crying so hard he was shaking.

"Shhh. It's okay." Stinger held him close as he rewrapped his tail.

"Is Mommy going to die?"

"No. She's just resting." Stinger sat him down with a smile. "But this is why you have to keep your tail wrapped."

He picked Hope up and rocked her as Scorpio nodded. "I won't take it off anymore."

Stinger gave him another smile. "Good boy."

When Andy woke again, she was still hurting but felt better than when she fell asleep. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and noticed Stinger was back next to her. "I was literally just telling Scorpio why he needed to wear a tail cover. He tried to pull away from me though."

"He understands now. Won't be an issue anymore." Stinger examined her critically. "You need more rest."

"Because I was stung or because I'm having a terrible day?" She sighed. "Did you realize today's the anniversary of Benny's death?"

Stinger grimaced, then nodded. "Didn't want to bring it up."

She was quiet for a minute but finally spoke again, "Well, the day is only half over... I doubt it can get worse from here right? But with my luck it will." She sighed, "Are you hungry? I'll go cook."

"You'll do no such thing. I'll take care of everything." He got up just as a portal opened.

"Andy? What happened?" Kiba's voice was worried as he kissed the two of them.

"Just having a really shitty day," she answered. "Got stung by my son, my cat died, and it's the anniversary of Benny's death. Waiting to see what goes wrong next."

Kiba grimaced. "You need a night out."

Andy sighed, "Maybe. At least to get drunk and forget about it a bit."

Kiba and Stinger shared a grin. "Karaoke?"

Andy raised an eyebrow, "I thought you didn't like karaoke that much?"

"But you do." Stinger chuckled. "And I want to see you smile."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to give up a chance to see me drunk sing?"

She looked thoughtful for a second, "I don't know if I've ever even seen you sober sing honestly."

"Because I don't sing… ever. I suck at it." Kiba gave her a smile. "But it will give you a good laugh."

"I don't suck at it but I'm far from good," Andy laughed. "Guess we can't all be great like Stinger."

Stinger's face went red. "I don't think I'm great." He glared at Kiba. "And you don't suck. I've heard you sing."

Now Kiba's face was red.

"When was this?" Andy raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you're both good."

Stinger grinned. "Caught him doing karaoke during a diplomatic mission once. He never saw me."

Kiba started muttering under his breath.

Andy smirked, "So when are we going out?"

"How bad are you hurt?" Kiba sighed.

Andy scanned herself over, "It's a lot better. Should probably rest a couple more hours but we could go out tonight?"

Stinger nodded. "Sounds perfect. Now I'm going to take care of the kids." He left the infirmary.

Kiba sat down beside Andy. "So other than today, how have things been?"

"Quiet. Just been spending time with the kids. You?"

"Just bouncing around." Kiba shrugged.

"Staying out of trouble?" Andy smirked.

"Me? Never." He laughed. "Not much going on anywhere apparently."

Andy yawned, "I still think Jark Matter is planning something big... Still hope I'm wrong though."

"Go to sleep. I doubt Jark is doing anything today." He kissed her forehead before leaving.

Kiba took a gulp of his drink. "Why did I suggest this again?"

Stinger laughed. "Because you're a glutton for punishment. And you wanted to cheer Andy up." He tossed back his fifth shot with a grin.

Andy chuckled, "You'll do great."

Kiba grinned, then stepped up on the stage. He did his song, then retook his seat.

Stinger grinned at Andy's face. "Told you."

She smiled, "You are really good."

Kiba blushed and took another drink. "The song's artist appears to be my double here."

Andy laughed, "See? Maybe you were meant to be a singer?" She took another shot before her eyes lit up before giggling, "You and Stinger should make a band!"

Stinger and Kiba shared a horrified look. "NO."

Andy giggled again, "Well I think it'd be fun." She watched the next singer before commenting, "You two should do a duet."

Kiba knocked his shot back, then shrugged and looked at Stinger.

Stinger sighed and got up. "Let's go."

They climbed on stage, looking through the songs. They shared a nod, then started singing.

Andy watched with a grin on her face. When they were done, she took another shot and smiled, "I love you guys."

"You two are lucky I do too. Because I would never do this for anyone else." Kiba chuckled.

Stinger rolled his eyes. "I think we should leave before we end up like before."

"You mean while i can still portal." Kiba offered his hand to Andy.

Andy took his hand and if she hadn't she'd have fallen over. She chuckled, "I'm _really _drunk."

Stinger laughed. "I'm not much better. Let's go home."

Kiba led them out, then summoned the portal.


	48. Cheating

Andy smiled as the Koguma voyager landed. Azra and Kotaro climbed out, heading over to her.

"I'm glad you guys are coming for a visit. I feel like it's been too long, outside of missions anyway."

Azra grinned, "There's a lot of fun things to do on Earth. But I have missed you." She hugged Andy.

"Come on, go put your bags away. Lunch will be ready soon."

When Azra and Kotaro entered, Stinger and Kiba were already at the table while Andy was at the stove cooking.

"Hey munchkin." Kiba waved with one hand, his other was clasping Stinger's.

Azra raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything except, "How have you been?"

Stinger chuckled. "Good. We got drunk with Tsurugi. Celebrating six months without an injury."

Kiba rolled his eyes, then got up. "I'm going to go shower." He kissed Stinger on the cheek, then ruffled his hair before leaving.

Azra glanced at Kotaro who just shrugged. "Have the kids eaten? I'm going to go check on them."

"They ate a bit ago, but it's probably time they get put down for their nap," Andy answered.

Azra kissed Kotaro before leaving the room. After realizing Hope had made a mess on her blanket, Azra headed to her parents' room to get a new one. She was surprised when she heard water running from the bathroom, but didn't enter. She searched the drawers for what she needed and went to leave but she stopped when she saw Kiba coming out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, "Why were you showering in there instead of your room?"

Kiba froze. "Ummm.. it's kind of a long story?" He began to back into the bathroom slowly.

"Is there something going on with you and dad? You two seem... oddly close?" She noticed how awkward he was acting.

Kiba closed his eyes, desperately hoping Andy or Stinger would rescue him. "Why do you think that? We've always been close."

"Not kiss on the cheek close," Azra answered.

Kiba's face reddened and he slammed the door shut. He'd just wait till she left to get dressed, then maybe hide in his room till they went back to Earth.

Azra shook her head and went back to the nursery. When she was done she waited outside of her parents' room to see if Kiba came out.

Eventually the door opened and the rider slipped out. He jumped when he noticed her looking at him.

"Okay, there's definitely something going on," she noticed he was wearing Stinger's clothes. "Does Mom and Aunt Hammy know about this? Are you two cheating on them?"

Kiba paled. "Hammy didn't tell you? We aren't together anymore. And I would never hurt your mom like that, munchkin."

"No, she didn't tell me. Then what is all this weirdness? I've only been back a couple hours and you're wearing my dad's clothes and kissing him on the cheek. What happened while I was gone?"

"Let's just say we discovered something about each other. If you really want to know, ask your mother." Kiba quickly headed down the hall, disappearing into his room.

After lunch, Azra approached Andy while she was washing the dishes. "What's going on with dad and Kiba?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Kiba is wearing Dad's clothes, showering in your bathroom and kissing Dad. Now spill."

Andy paused a moment before continuing to do the dishes. She didn't look up when she said, "Kiba's... Basically Kiba is our boyfriend."

"What do you mean _our_? And you are married to Dad, so he's not gay. Or am I wrong?" Azra sat down in shock.

"Both of them like men and women," Andy shut off the water. "You know DeStruct and Void had a thing together? Pretty much because Kiba and I have feelings for each other. We weren't ever going to do anything about it because I'm married and he ended up with Hammy. Well turns out he and your dad have feelings too, and now that Kiba isn't with her, we've kind of just taken him in..."

Azra shook her head. "It's just weird. I was almost expecting you not to know." She looked at Andy. "I guess if it makes you happy.."

"We aren't trying to get you to look at him, or us, any different. He's still like your uncle. Stinger and I are still your parents. And all three of us love you." Andy sat down across from her, "I was going to bring it up eventually, just so you'd know, because I don't want to keep secrets from you, but it is kind of weird and hard to explain..."

Azra chuckled. "Kiba did everything he could not to. I had to wait an hour for him to come out of your room again. He really is shy, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but it's also probably not that easy to tell someone that they're dating your parents," Andy laughed. "Honestly, I don't think most of the team would care and I'm not telling unless they ask. I was just worried about telling you. And a little terrified to tell Hammy that my husband and I are dating her ex-husband though..."

"Aunt Hammy just wants him to be happy. That's why they broke up, isn't it? If this makes him happy, then I'm pretty sure she won't have a problem."

"I hope so. And he does seem pretty happy."

Azra smiled. "Dad said he hadn't gotten hurt in six months. Which _is _a record. Is he sleeping better?"

Andy nodded, "Even though Stinger can't get into his nightmares like I can, I think having a second person there helps. Plus, when he's in our room, I notice him having a nightmare sooner which probably helps too."

Stinger walked in with a smile. "How are my girls? Has anyone seen Kiba around?"

"I think Azra frightened him a bit," Andy smirked. "He's probably hiding in his room."

"Yeah, that's where he went earlier," Azra nodded.

Stinger gave them a puzzled look. "Why is he hiding? How did you frighten him?"

"Well, I asked why he was showering in your room. Then why he was wearing your clothes," Azra answered.

"She knows what's going on now," Andy informed.

Stinger sighed. "He freaked, didn't he? You probably accused him of cheating on Hammy?" He raised an eyebrow at Azra.

"I might have..."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Beautiful, inform him that Azra is sorry and he can come out now, please?"

'_Hey Kiba? I told Azra what's going on. She's sorry.'_

'_I'm sorry too. She's not mad?'_

'_No, she just wants us all happy.'_

'_I'll be right there.'_

A few minutes later, Kiba appeared. He sent Azra a soft smile. "Sorry I freaked out."

"Sorry I asked so many questions," she smiled back.

"You were worried about your mom." Kiba sat down and looked at Andy. "Perfectly acceptable."

Andy chuckled, "Plus you always ask a lot of questions. Much more than any child I've ever met."

Azra looked embarrassed a moment before laughing.

Kiba joined in, tenseness melting away.


	49. Void's Return

Champ moo-ed, "We've just received an intel report about a nearby Shocker attack."

Kiba's eyes went cold. "I was hoping they'd disappeared. Guess it was too much to ask."

Stinger checked the report. "Laconda Ten. We're close. Let's go see what's going on."

Champ input the coordinates and hit the warp button.

"Hopefully it's something easy," Andy answered.

Kiba snorted, but didn't say anything.

When they arrived at the planet, they noticed an army of Shocker troops. Andy quickly started taking them down but stopped when she heard Stinger curse.

"Andy…" He was breathing hard, standing back to back with Kiba. There were swords at their throats.

Andy cursed as she noticed their position and moved to drain the guards with the swords. She was quickly stopped though by someone speaking, "Surrender or they die."

Kiba growled. "I don't think so asshole." He went to henshin, but was slashed down before he finished.

Stinger frantically tried to stop the bleeding as Kiba's eyes closed. "Bastards!"

"So what will it be? You come with us and they go free or you don't and they die."

Andy took a deep breath, "Fine, I'll go."

"Andy, no!" Stinger took a step forward only to be knocked out.

They wrapped her arms in ties, and she could feel them suppressing her energy. She was blindfolded so she had no idea where she was getting taken. When the blindfold finally was taken off she froze, staring at a screen, seeing Scorpio and Hope crying.

"We have your kids. And don't bother making a move to drain our energy, as we've developed a device to connect their energy to ours, so if you drain us, you'll drain them too," A man spoke. "You've already given yourself up to let those other two free, so here's the deal now. These two kids won't be harmed if you go along with our plan. If you don't, they'll die."

"What's your plan?"

"The only person with enough power to truly stop Void was you. But if you are Void, there won't be anyone to stop us."

"You can't just make me into Void," Andy answered.

"Yes, we can. We have control chips remember?"

Andy sighed, "Don't hurt them. I'll do whatever you want."

"Good," the man smirked. "Take her away."

Andy felt herself being pulled and noticed she was going down a hallway. She tried to focus on Kiba, hoping he'd hear her even with the suppressing ties, '_Kiba? Please be able to hear me.'_

'_Andy? Where are you? Stinger's pissed.'_

'_I don't know but they have the kids... Kiba, you need to kill me before I kill you guys. Promise me.'_

'_Hell no. And you know Stinger won't do it either. We __**will **__rescue you guys. No one's dying but them, got that?'_

'_Kiba...' he could hear her sigh. 'Just remember I love you guys.' _ Andy struggled against the people tying her to a table until she felt a prick in her neck and the world went black.

Kiba cursed as he felt the connection cut off. He looked at Stinger worriedly. "They took the kids. We have to get back to the Orion _now._" He staggered to his feet. "I lost the connection. She asked me to kill her…"

Stinger cursed, "She'll do anything to save the kids. Who knows what they are planning." He moved forward and helped keep Kiba steady. He frowned, "If they have the kids, I wonder what shape Champ is in..."

When Andy woke as Void, she smiled coldly. They untied her, "We have a few tasks for you."

Void was soon led to a cellblock, where, as instructed, she started draining the prisoners until they'd give information. Once she got all of them to speak, she totally drained them, letting the bodies drop to the floor.

"Good. Now, we have the kids, it's time to get to work on DeVoid."

Void nodded and headed toward the room they were being kept in.

"Mommy!" Scorpio ran forward and hugged her leg.

Void stared down with a blank expression before picking up Hope.

"Momma!" Hope giggled.

Void gave a smile before carrying her out of the room, leaving Scorpio alone.

After giving her a few injections, Void went back in and put Hope down. Mooks came in to feed the kids as Void left the room to carry out her next objectives.

Stinger and Kiba scanned for Andy's seiza blaster, finally finding her on a nearby planet. Kiba pulled up a portal and they stepped through. They found Andy standing by some Jark Matter and Shocker troops. Looking further, they noticed indavers dragging bodies into a giant pile.

Kiba froze as he realized what she had become. "Andy…" He turned to Stinger. "You have to sting her NOW."

Stinger paused, "Is there nothing better we can do?"

Kiba shook his head. "They chipped her, Stinger. She's Void right now. And she will kill us." He turned back to her sadly.

Stinger nodded, preparing to run forward and strike.

Void moved around, sensing Kiba's presence. She gave an evil grin upon spotting them. "I knew I'd see you two eventually."

Kiba paled, but didn't answer. He nodded toward Stinger.

Void approached them, keeping an eye for attacks. "Any chance you'll join me, or are we going to have a fight?" She moved close enough to gently touch Kiba's shoulder, "You could join me, you know. You don't have to die."

Kiba looked at her, tears in his eyes. "You know I can't do that. Stinger can't either. This isn't you. Let us free you and the kids. Come back to us _please_." He touched her hand.

She laughed coldly, "This isn't me? Maybe that weak, pathetic Andy isn't me. We are free with Shocker. DeVoid is back where she belongs and I'm sure we'll find a space for Scorpio too. His poison will be useful."

Stinger moved to sting her but she quickly caught his tail and kicked him away from her.

Kiba sighed. "Guess I have no choice." His gun appeared and he began to aim. "I'm sorry. I love you." His finger began to tighten on the trigger as tears streamed down his face.

"I really was hoping I could convince you," she started draining him, making him fall to his knees.

Void knelt by him and took his gun, "Too bad. We could have done great things together." She stood and pointed the gun at him. She heard a noise next to her and turned to see Stinger approaching her again. She aimed and fired, barely hitting his arm as he tried to dodge.

Soon, she felt herself falling back and she realized Kiba had grabbed her ankle. Within seconds the world went black as Stinger finally got the chance to sting her.

Kiba exchanged a look with Stinger before his eyes rolled up and he collapsed.

Stinger remembered the troops, and started forward to attack. Soon though, he saw the Shishi voyager approach. After it landed, Champ climbed out and joined in the fight, "What's the plan, aibou?"

Stinger strategized quickly. "We have to take them out fast, then find the kids. We have to get both Andy and Kiba back to the ship before they die. We need more of the team." He looked at the bull, his spear clutched by tight fingers. "We can not lose this battle."

"Already called in some reinforcements. Raptor will be at the ship soon." He was going to speak again but the Tenbin and Hebitsukai voyagers flew by, the gold and silver rangers jumping down to help.

"Yo!" Balance said excitedly.

Naga nodded and started taking out some of the indavers.

Stinger sent a quick glance at Andy and Kiba, then charged forward. He shut off his emotions, going into autopilot. Slash, sting, repeat. Eventually there were nothing but piles of bodies around him.

"Come on, aibou. Let's find the kids," Champ clasped Stinger's shoulder.

"We'll get Andy and Kiba to safety," Naga spoke.

Stinger took a deep breath and nodded. He and Champ began searching the nearby buildings.

They quickly took out any mooks and indavers they found. Champ opened a door and moo-ed. "Found them."

Stinger rushed into the room. "Hope? Scorpio? Are you okay?"

"Daddy!" They moved toward him excitedly.

"I don't like it here," Scorpio spoke. "Is mommy okay? She looked mad."

Stinger forced a smile. "Mommy's fine. Just sleeping. Ready to go home?"

Scorpio nodded as Hope raised her arms up to him to get picked up.

He gently lifted her, kissing her cheek as he secured her in his arms and took Scorpio's hand.

Back on the ship, Raptor scanned over both Kiba and Andy, trying to figure out how to help them. When Stinger came in, she updated, "Kiba's stitches popped so I fixed that. I've cleaned him all up, now we just have to hope his vitals stay steady. I gave Andy antivenin. There's a chip in her, is that Shocker's?"

Stinger's lips tightened. "Unfortunately. Can you remove it?"

"I think so. Too bad Andy isn't with it and this isn't someone else. I'm sure she could do this easily. I'll do my best though, Commander." Raptor went to prep supplies.

Stinger stood watching his family, barely reigning in his anger. Once they were out of danger, then Shocker would pay dearly.

Two hours later, Raptor approached Stinger, "The chip has been removed and her vitals are steady. Kiba has stayed steady too, so we just need to wait for them to wake."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Now I'm going to destroy Shocker." He left the infirmary, heading for his voyager.

Champ was already in the voyager bay, "Planning to run off on your own, aibou?"

Stinger gave him a cold smile. "Possibly. Thinking a rampage would be fun."

Champ shook his head, "If that's what you want, I'll go too."

"Fine. Just don't get in my way because I'm going scorched earth on any Shocker I find. Especially the person who did this." He climbed into Sasori voyager.

Champ climbed into the Oushi voyager and followed his friend.

Andy woke, feeling exhausted. She was confused as she sat up, but then she spotted Kiba and everything rushed back to her. Raptor heard Andy's breathing quicken and she approached, "Hey, you need to be resting."

"Where is Stinger?"

Raptor shook her head, "He's with Champ. They went to fight Shocker."

Andy cursed. She pushed herself off the bed.

"You shouldn't be up, Andy."

Andy moved shakily over to Kiba's side. She pulled energy in and started to push some into him. After a few minutes, she kissed his forehead and then pushed herself away from him and toward the door.

Raptor held onto Andy's shoulder, "You need to stay and rest."

Andy shook her head, "I'm going. Don't try to stop me," she said coldly.

After glancing into the nursery and realizing the kids were safe, she headed to the voyager bay and climbed into the Iruka voyager.

Stinger looked at Champ. "Akashi is mine. I don't want you to get involved." He glared at the Jark Matter general who was smirking across the room.

Champ moo-ed. "Not happening aibou. And you know it."

"You two really think you can take me?" Akashi laughed.

"I'm going to rip you apart." Stinger growled as he morphed.

Akashi appeared right next to him, stabbing him in the arm with a kunai. He then went toward Champ and started his attack.

Champ charged forward, axe slashing.

Akashi quickly dodged the bull's attempts and quickly threw kunai which pierced Champ's metal exterior. He then jumped, avoiding an attack from Stinger. Using a jutsu, he attacked them both with a tornado of shuriken.

Champ fell, sparks arcing from his chest. His eyes dimmed.

Stinger was barely upright. He forced his tail to arc toward Akashi with the last of his strength.

Akashi easily dodged and kicked at Stinger, making him fall to the ground.

Andy appeared and watched Stinger go down before she threw her own kunai at Akashi. She moved quickly, eyes glowing, as she drained away his energy.

When Akashi was finally dead, she moved to Stinger's side and found he was unconscious. She made a few clones and carried Champ and Stinger to a voyager before taking off. Raptor worked on Champ while Andy healed up Stinger. She looked over at Kiba who was still unconscious before looking back at the also unconscious Stinger. She sighed, ignoring Raptor's words to lay back down. She gave Stinger a quick kiss before heading out of the infirmary.

Kiba woke a few hours later. Pushing himself up, he paled as he saw Stinger. Then he began to panic when he didn't see Andy. _'Andy? Answer me please!'_

'_I don't want to talk right now.'_

'_You're you though right? Not Void?' His voice was shaky, the words panicked._

'_Pretty sure,' he heard her sigh._

'_Thank the gods. Don't shut me out, okay?'_

'_I just need some time...' _she stared out the window of her voyager which was just floating in space. She closed the mental link as memories flashed through her mind of all of the things she'd done as Void. Tears streaked down her face as she realized just how many people she'd killed. This is exactly what she'd wanted to avoid, if only she'd actually killed herself, those innocent people would still be alive.

Kiba slammed his hand on the bed. He wished he knew where she had gone because he knew exactly the thoughts she was having. The same ones he still battled with. The feelings of guilt and horror over destroying lives. He feared she'd disappear, run like he had. He had to find her before she did something.

Andy cried harder when she realized the fear her kids probably went through just so Shocker could get ahold of her. No parent should be the cause of fear for their kids. And Hope? She'd given multiple injections. She tried to remember what was in all of them and hoped it was nothing dangerous. She rested her head on the console, trying to catch her breath as she sobbed.

Stinger blinked his eyes open, frowning when he saw Kiba pacing the infirmary with his eyes closed. "What's wrong?"

Kiba growled, not stopping. "She ran. She ran and I can't contact her." He trembled with barely suppressed panic.

Stinger cursed, "Did you scan for her voyager? Or her blaster? Usually when she's upset she forgets about that and just flies off."

Andy stared at the vial in her hand. The vial she'd created a couple years ago, and has been hidden, threatening her when things went wrong. It was supposed to be her freedom, her freedom from being controlled, from Shocker or Jark Matter. Her family knew she'd made it, but they never took it from her. With how they'd acted, you think they would have. Though even if the files were deleted, it wouldn't be hard for her to formulate it again. A quick, calm, suicide cocktail. She rolled the vial in her hands, weighing her choices.

'_ANDY! You better start talking or I'm coming after you and kicking your ass.'_

_Andy sighed, 'Talk about what?'_

'_For starters, where you are. Secondly, I know what you're thinking. You better have a second one for me somewhere. Because I'm guiltier than you'll ever be.'_

'_Kiba... We went to a few planets. I killed __**millions**__ of people. And that's not even counting however many the Void clones killed before.'_

'_I killed heroes. I killed entire systems when I was with Shocker. I killed people who tried to help me. I should have stayed dead after Kojan. Instead, they were able to create Void using me in the first place. If anyone deserves to die, it's me. You have the kids and Stinger. What is he supposed to tell them?'_

She didn't answer for a bit but finally answered, '_Azra could take care of them. Hell, when she's around she probably cares more for them than I do. And you and Stinger would have each other.'_

'_Stinger will be alone, because if you go.. I have no reason to fight anymore. I will do what we planned when we first went after the clones.'_

'_All the pain going away... sounds nice, doesn't it?'_

'_Yeah.' _There was the sound of Kiba's gun cocking. _'I've been chasing that for years.'_

'As much as I want us to have this freedom, it's not fair to Stinger, is it?' She closed her eyes, 'I'm in my voyager. Not sure where I am outside of that.'

'_There's one more thing I'm guilty of. I broke my promise to keep you safe from Shocker. Now you know things I never wanted you to experience. I'm sorry…' _There was a gunshot.

'KIBA!' Andy cursed and called the Orion, "Find me Kiba's location, NOW."

"Loeria." Stinger's voice was heavy.

Andy didn't answer again, she just set her voyager toward Loeria.

Kiba lay on his back in the same clearing where they had killed the clones. A pool of blood was slowly expanding under him from a single shot to the chest. His eyes were becoming glassy, his chest hitching with every breath. He weakly sighed as Andy's voyager landed nearby.

Andy rushed to his side and held her hands up to scan him over. Tears were streaming down her face, "Didn't I _just _say this wouldn't be fair to Stinger?!" Her eyes started glowing as she gathered energy and started trying to heal him, "I don't care if you couldn't keep me from Shocker. If anything now I just understand you better and can try to help you more. But you can't die without me."

She quickly made a clone who called Stinger, "I'm going to need to give a transfusion, so hurry up and get the ship here."

"Already coming."

Kiba tried to move away. "The only thing not fair to Stinger is me. Same for you. It's not fair that you've been forced to become like me. That happened because of me." His eyes were starting to close as he struggled to breathe. "Just forget about me."

"Shut up! It's been years and we've never left you. We don't care about any of that. We love you. I'll never be able to forget about you. Even when I lost my memories you seemed familiar to me. I can't forget you," she pushed more energy into him. "I'm sorry that we obviously can't get that point across." She took a moment and kissed him. "I love you. He loves you. We don't want you to leave."

Kiba sighed. "I'm the cause of most of your nightmares. Why don't you want me gone?" He was crying now.

"I will _never _see you as the cause. I figured you'd know that by now. I'll blame myself, or Shocker, but never you."

Kiba didn't answer as Stinger arrived. "What the hell did he do?!"

Andy shook her head, "Don't worry about it." She gave Kiba a small smile, "Plus you were supposed to wait for me, right?"

Kiba wouldn't meet her eyes. He flinched when Stinger attempted to lift him to his feet.

Stinger gave him a puzzled look, then grabbed his arm. "Let's go home."

The rider allowed himself to be placed in Sasori voyager quietly. Stinger gave Andy a soft kiss, then climbed in and lifted off.

Andy flew back to the Orion and went to the infirmary. She hooked Kiba to a transfusion and finished healing him up, before she sat on one of the beds. She had forgotten some of her pain was still from her injuries and the after effects of the venom, and not just all emotional pain. She stared forward, not even bothering to get herself pain medicine or heal herself.

"Beautiful?" Stinger's voice was gentle. "Do you want some medicine?" He watched the two of them worriedly.

She shook her head, not looking up to meet his eyes, "I'm fine."

"You're not, but there's nothing I can say that you'll listen to." Stinger sat down with a sigh.

After a bit, Andy spoke up, "If I let you sedate me, you promise you two will still both be here when I wake up?"

Stinger nodded. "I'm not going anywhere. And neither is he." The ranger quickly restrained the unconscious rider. "Not letting either of you out of my sight."

She sighed, "I hope he's not mad at me."

"Honestly I don't care." Stinger brushed a hand through Kiba's hair. "I finally thought he was happy."

"It's my fault. If I hadn't given myself up, or if I hadn't run off and been thinking the things I was, he wouldn't have done this," a couple tears welled in her eyes. "He's so worried about the trouble he causes us, but never considers we cause him trouble too." She wiped at her eyes, "I just wish I could make him truly happy."

"Too bad you can't wipe his memory." Stinger filled a syringe, then approached her.

She pulled the vial out of her pocket and held it out, "You might want to get rid of this. And probably keep any weapons from both of us for a while..."

He took the vial. "Easier said than done when he can call his gun." He injected the sedative, helping her lie back with a kiss. "Just rest."

Andy soon felt the pull of the medicine and let it take her under.

Kiba opened his eyes with a sigh. It turned to frustration when he realized he had been restrained. "Let me out."

Stinger got in his line of sight, "I told Andy you'd be here when she woke up. This seemed the best way to ensure that."

Kiba's lips tightened. "Why would you tell her that? I'm the last person she should be around." He yanked at the straps.

"She wouldn't let me give her any medicine until she knew we both weren't leaving her."

"She needs to heal emotionally. And I'm a barrier to that." Kiba hissed as he tried to reach his pocket.

Stinger grabbed his hand, "As much as I want to be everything she needs, I can't be. She needs you too. You understand what she's been through. You can get into her dreams to help her. I can't. She needs you now more than ever." He gave a soft smile, "And I want you here too."

"She was turned into her worst nightmare because I exist! Yet you two keep ignoring that simple fact. I don't know if you are stupid or have death wishes."

"You can't change the past. You can only change the future. You are here and you exist. Whatever happens after that isn't your fault." Stinger smirked, "Maybe we're both stupid. But I know she's loved you from the beginning, she's been there for you through whatever you had going on and she needs you now. The least you can do is stay alive a bit longer and help her."

Kiba's voice grew soft. "I'm trying to prevent future problems. But you're right. She's always been there for me. I can't leave her yet." He yawned, then closed his eyes.

"While she's like this, she needs both of us to be strong for her. So just try, okay?" He kissed Kiba's forehead. "Get some rest. I'll still be here when you wake up again."

Kiba nodded slowly before drifting off.

Andy found herself on a planet, watching Akashi talking to the people, "You join us, or you'll die. It's a simple choice."

"You can't kill us that easily! We'll fight back!" A couple people yelled.

Another yelled, "We'll never join you!"

"Is this everyone's answer?" Akashi smirked.

The people started to rush forward toward Akashi. He gave a nod to Andy who quickly scanned the planet, sensing hundreds of thousands of energy signatures. Within seconds, the people all collapsed dead on the ground.

"Good job, Void," Akashi grinned evilly.

Andy started walking forward, looking closer at the bodies. Faces. Families. These people all had lives and she'd taken them like it was nothing.

On the outside, Stinger could see she was crying, but she made no noises to help him know what she was seeing.

He grimaced, then looked over at Kiba. The rider's forehead was creased, a frown firmly in place. Stinger silently said a prayer.

Kiba opened his eyes and surveyed the scene. His gaze landed on the distraught Andy and he quickly walked in front of her. "Hey. Time to wake up."

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "Why are you even here? I thought you'd hate me for keeping you alive again."

"Aside from the fact you're ruining my beauty sleep?" He gave her a quick grin, then sobered. "I can't hate you when you've always been there for me. You know I only hate myself. I really thought we'd handle this together. But you ran."

Andy sobbed, "And like always, I ran without a plan. I just run and float staring at the sky and weighing my options, never coming to a real decision."

"We had a plan once. But our annoying scorpion nixed that." He gave a wry chuckle.

"I know. If things worked out then, we wouldn't have had to deal with all of this. Sometimes, I'm glad we survived, because there's good things, like the kids, and now we're with you, but other times the bad stuff just outweighs all of that and I just never know what to choose."

Kiba nodded. "Don't I know it. Frankly, the kids are the only reason I don't kill him sometimes. Then we could be free."

Andy smirked, "You and I really shouldn't be trusted on our own, should we? I'm amazed we've survived this long."

"I'm an angel, I'll have you know." Kiba tried to look innocent.

Andy chuckled, "Right." The scene disappeared and they found themselves in an empty turquoise room. "Promise you won't leave me?"

Kiba sighed. "I promise." He kissed her hard. "I need the same promise, ninja girl."

She nodded, "I won't leave." She sighed and held out her hand to him before chuckling, "Pact to try to live?"

Kiba lifted his pinkie. "Pinkie swear?"

She smiled and took his pinkie with hers, "Pinkie swear."


	50. Christmas Embarrassment

Stinger entered the kitchen and sighed, "Christmas is next week. You know what that means..."

"Shou making us have a party again?" Andy raised an eyebrow before making him a plate.

"Unfortunately. And almost everyone has already confirmed they are coming. Spada and Raptor will be here in a day or two so he can start preparing the dinner."

Kiba's eyes went wide. "That means Hammy's coming. And dancing… mind if I just happen to be unavailable?"

"You're going to have to face her eventually... And so are we," Andy sighed. "I won't stop you, especially if you wanted to go visit your dads, but it _is _Christmas, and it'd be nice if you were here."

Kiba shuddered. "Natsumi is _insane _when it comes to Christmas… think I'm stuck." He chuckled and looked at them. "Please tell me there will be punch."

"There's always punch, and someone always ends up spiking it, even when Raptor tries to stop them." Andy chuckled, "We can just get drunk and then tell Hammy, and then if you can portal, we can portal away from her wrath."

Kiba's shoulders began to shake. "That's a good plan." He raised an eyebrow. "You really think she'll be mad?"

"I have no idea how she'll react. But she was the one that left you, so she shouldn't care who you end up with, even if it's her sister and brother-in-law..."

Stinger cracked a smile. "Might be awkward for a while though."

"Hopefully she'll be okay..." Andy then smiled, "Did you ever tell your dads Hammy left you? Or that you got married...?"

"Daiki wanted to shoot her. Tsukasa talked him down." Kiba stood with a grin. "Tell Shou if he even thinks about costumes I will have Spada research recipes for dragon meat."

"Well, since you aren't technically a Kyuranger, I don't think it would apply to you anyway. And last time he was kind enough to let Stinger not wear one."

"He's learning. But when did technicalities ever matter?" Kiba headed for the door. "Maybe we should make our own punch?"

"That would be fun," Andy smiled before standing, "I better go figure out what presents to get for the kids..."

"Bet I'm the most popular uncle this Christmas." Kiba winked as he disappeared.

Stinger gave a deep sigh. "He better not bring any weird animals on board."

"I thought I was the only one to find weird things," she smirked. "Azra, Shishi, Kiba, Hope."

"Ankh ring a bell?" Stinger laughed. "You said he was a bird. Parad. And his dads are definitely weird."

It was now Christmas eve, and Hammy was arriving. Andy stood in the voyager bay, waiting.

Chameleon voyager landed, Hammy jumping out in her elf suit. "Merry Christmas Daka!"

Andy smiled, "Merry Christmas, Hammy. How was your trip?"

"Quiet. How is everyone?" She fidgeted as she asked the question.

"The team is pretty good, the kids are fine. We had a kind of rough mission recently, so just trying to deal with that," Andy admitted.

"That doesn't sound good." Hammy frowned.

"Shocker _may _have turned me into Void..." Andy sighed. "Like I said, it was rough, but Stinger and Kiba have been helping me through it."

Hammy hugged her tight. "Daka, that's awful." She released her, then sighed. "How is he?"

"Things weren't the best at first, but we got him back to normal. The mission made things hard for him, with Shocker being involved, but he's been okay."

She nodded. "Are you mad at me?"

Andy laughed, "Not at all." She then looked a little nervous, "You guys just weren't meant to be together, why would I be mad about that?"

"I'm sure you had to take care of him after we split. I know he has issues with abandonment." Hammy looked sad. " I wasn't trying to hurt him."

"I know. And he knows that too." Andy gave a soft smile, "Don't you know by now we like taking care of him?"

"Didn't know broken hearts were on the list." Hammy chuckled. "How insufferable was he?"

Andy shook her head, "You should talk to him if you want to know more about it. Come on, I think Spada's about done with the food."

"I thought maybe he would have found a reason not to be here because of me." Hammy followed her to the kitchen.

"It crossed his mind," Andy admitted. "But like I said, you should really talk to him." She smiled at Kiba and Stinger who were already at the table. She slid next to Kiba so he wouldn't have to talk to Hammy just yet.

"You don't need to protect me, you know." He whispered in her ear.

'_Maybe I'm protecting myself,'_ she chuckled aloud. _'She was asking about you.'_

'_Oh boy..on second thought protect me.'_

'_She's my sister so she shouldn't be too mad at me... but I'm nervous anyway.'_

'_This was a bad idea. I can still portal…'_

'_Better not leave me though. Let's make Stinger tell her...' _Andy glanced around Kiba at Stinger before giggling.

Soon, dinner was over and the team headed to the rec room for punch and dessert.

Andy made sure the punch had alcohol in it before getting three glasses, carrying two of them over to Stinger and Kiba.

Stinger rolled his eyes as Kiba drank half in one swallow. "Go easy on that. Unless you want the next two days to be hell."

Kiba glared at him. "I am trying to forget what's going to happen later."

"You're worried over nothing. It's not like Hammy's going to kill us."

"She definitely knows how to kill though..." Andy answered.

"You're not helping, beautiful." Stinger sipped his punch as Kiba went for seconds.

Andy kissed Stinger's cheek, "I'm nervous too though."

He chuckled. "I'm not completely calm myself. Still afraid one of these days she'll hang my tail on her trophy wall."

Andy rolled her eyes but chuckled, "What if we make Azra tell her?" She glanced over at her daughter and Kotaro.

"That's just mean." Kiba returned, slightly unsteady. "Why do that to the munchkin?"

"Because Hammy won't kill her," Andy smirked as she finished off her glass. She looked at Stinger, "Want more? I think I put a bit too much alcohol in the mix..."

Stinger shook his head. "I have a feeling I need a clear head to deal with you two."

Kiba chuckled. "It has the perfect amount of alcohol. I could add more though." He drained his glass again.

Andy held her hand out to get him another refill. "Just make sure we leave enough for the others."

Kiba grinned. "I made my own." He brought out a flask and uncapped it.

"Give me some," Andy smirked.

He laughed and handed it to her. After a big gulp she giggled, "Is this even punch or straight alcohol?"

"If it's the purple stuff, it's got a little bit of juice in it." Stinger face palmed as Kiba grinned again.

"It's what got him hammered with Tsurugi that night."

"The stuff that got him drunk enough to kiss you?" Andy smirked.

"Yup. He had two glasses and he was practically on the floor." Stinger looked over to find him gone. "Where is he?"

Andy looked around and shrugged, "Hopefully not causing trouble..." She finally spotted him and chuckled.

"Attention everyone! I'm going to reveal a secret!" Kiba giggled for a moment, then looked at the assembled team. "Stinger, Andy and I are in a threesome! I'm so happy!" He held on to the mic stand as he swayed.

Andy hid her face with a hand, "Did he just say what I thought he said?"

Stinger swore, heading for the stage. He took Kiba's arm. "Time to sleep."

"I don't want to." Kiba pouted. Seconds later, the ranger was supporting a snoring rider. He walked him off stage, whispering to Andy that he was putting him to bed.

Andy tried to avoid everyone's looks and just headed over to Azra, "I can't believe he did that."

Azra couldn't stop laughing. "Well at least you can stop agonizing over telling Aunt Hammy now."

Andy kept rubbing her face with her hand, wondering if it would be bad to just go invisible. She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned and saw Hammy standing there.

"I take it he was a little too drunk." Hammy's eyes twinkled.

Andy sighed, "Definitely."

"I'm sorry he did that. I bet Stinger wants to throttle him." Hammy looked at her. "I'm not going to lie. That was a bit shocking. But if he's truly happy… I'm happy for all three of you."

"We were planning to tell you... I think the nervousness got him drinking extra though," Andy admitted. "Honestly, I'm pretty smashed too, but far from that bad."

Hammy laughed and hugged her.

Stinger maneuvered Kiba through the door, laying him on the bed and covering him up. He brushed his bangs back and kissed his cheek with a fond smile. "Baka." He quietly left the room and returned to the party.

Andy smiled when she saw him, "You get him to bed safely?"

"Yeah. He's out. Wonder if he'll even remember tomorrow?"

"He'll get an earful about it even if he forgets," Andy answered.

"Is Hammy going to kill us?"

Andy shook her head, "I think she's a bit weirded out, but no."

He sighed in relief. "Weirded out I can deal with."

Andy yawned, "I might be needing to join him. Whatever goes into that drink is strong..."

Stinger chuckled. "I think it might be smart to all go. Let everyone relax without staring at us." He waved to Azra and led Andy down the hall.

"Well this was definitely an interesting party." Andy chuckled as she pulled off the santa hat she had been wearing.

"Could have been worse. He could have made out with us in front of everyone." Stinger changed into his sleep clothes and climbed into bed.

Andy changed into a cute set of Christmas pajamas before joining them in bed. She moved between them, resting her head on Kiba's chest while Stinger wrapped his arm around her.

"I love you," she whispered so she wouldn't wake Kiba.

"I love you too, beautiful." Stinger smiled, then closed his eyes.

Kiba groaned at the light filtering through the window. "I am never drinking again…"

Andy rolled over when she heard him talking, "Hmm? Do you remember anything you did last night?"

"Sharing my flask.. Why?" He gave her a look.

"You know, it might just be better if you don't remember," Andy wiped at her eyes and noticed Stinger starting to wake.

"Did I sing? Or dance?" Kiba ran a hand over his face and slowly sat up.

"You got everyone's attention then announced that we are in a threesome and that you're happy about it," Andy kissed his cheek.

He gave her a horrified glance, then hid under the covers. _'Kill me…'_

She hugged him through the blanket, "If it helps, Hammy isn't mad."

He pulled his face out. "She's not? What was everyone else's reaction?"

"We didn't really talk to anyone else...They just kind of stared a lot..."

"I won't be able to show my face… I'm doomed." Kiba turned beet red.

Andy chuckled, "I'm a little nervous to show up to breakfast honestly."

"I'm staying in here till everyone leaves." Kiba shook his head. "Breakfast sounds awful right now."

"Get some water in you at least," she ordered before climbing out of bed to face the team.


	51. A Visit From Meteor

Kiba crept through the Shocker base planting charges. Coming upon a computer, he sifted through the files, then froze. "Shit. How the hell does this keep happening?" He finished downloading the files, then headed for the medical bay.

After releasing the prisoner, he summoned the portal. He hefted his burden and pressed the detonator before disappearing into it.

Materializing in the infirmary, he laid the prisoner on a bed and called Andy. "I need your help in the infirmary."

Andy appeared, "What's up?"

"Can you help him? Shocker was doing experiments on him. He's injured too." Kiba was anxiously twirling a blue switch as he paced.

Andy nodded and approached, scanning him over then starting to heal, "Who is he?"

"Kamen Rider Meteor. Ryusei Sakuta. And before you ask, I have no idea what he's doing here. We need to figure out how the hell they keep grabbing riders."

"Did you find any intel that would have clues about it? Or notes on what they did to him?"

"I haven't gotten through it yet." He pulled out his tablet and began skimming through the information. He paled as he read, sending an alarmed glance at the unconscious rider.

"Andy, do you suppose when you draw energy from stars, it's the same as cosmic energy? Because that's what Shocker was experimenting with."

"Cosmic energy? Isn't that basically what the kyutamas use?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. Though you would be the expert. All the notes are pointing to them trying to remove his ability to harness it. They were trying to chip him but it kept interfering with the mind control."

Kiba growled as he kept reading. "What did your scan find? He's lucky I found him unless I was too late?"

"He's not in good shape, but he should make it through," Andy answered before sighing, "Why are they trying to remove his ability to harness energy? Unless they are trying to figure it out how to do it to me..."

"I hadn't even considered that possibility. It's how he transforms into Meteor. Concentrated cosmic energy channels through this switch and his belt. Shocker _really _hates him because he's a little like me. He tends to show up and wreak havoc on their plans. Both as Meteor and in his day job." Kiba chuckled wryly. "Take it from me, he is a fighter. I should know."

He met Andy's eyes. "You have to save him. I can't deal with it twice if I can help it." He sat down with a sigh.

"You know I always try my best," she kept focusing. After a few minutes she spoke up again, "I never really realized how different energies look. I just sense energy and can see higher concentrations, helping me figure out what the energy source is coming from. Maybe I need to work on that and see what I figure out..."

"Might be a good idea." Kiba stood as Ryusei began stirring. "Hey Sakuta, wake up."

The rider slowly blinked his eyes open in confusion. "Where?" He attempted to sit up.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe," Andy assured.

He studied the room for a minute before settling a wary look on them. His forehead furrowed as he recognized Kiba. "What are you doing here?"

Kiba chuckled. "This is my home base. I could ask you the same thing, mr spy. How the hell did Shocker grab you?"

Ryusei grimaced. "I was finishing up an assignment. Thought I saw the Leo zodiart and followed into an alley. Everything went black and next thing I knew I woke up in a Shocker base. Not sure how long I've been there. They were trying to brainwash me but it wasn't working." He raised an eyebrow. "So you live on a ship? Gentaro will be jealous."

Kiba laughed. "Hadn't thought of that, but yeah he will."

Ryusei looked at Andy. "Who are you?"

"I'm Andy. A Kyuranger."

"I'm not sure what that is, but if you're Kiba's friend.." He rubbed his temple. "I feel awful. What the hell were they doing to me?"

Kiba grimaced. "The brainwashing didn't work so they tried to steal your henshin. Which almost killed you. Let Andy finish healing you, then I'll send you home."

Ryusei stared at him. "Is she a walking medical switch? Cause you know it takes a lot of energy to heal me. Because of the belt. If you just send me home, I can get healed without wearing her out." He tried to slip off the bed and paled.

"Baka. If I'd shown up ten minutes later we wouldn't be having this conversation. Now stay put." Kiba glared at him. "I'm not letting you die again, so just stay still." He stalked out of the room.

"Don't worry, it doesn't take much of my own energy to heal," Andy's eves started glowing before raising her hands.

Ryusei sighed. "I should know better than to fight with him. After learning what happened, you would think I would just trust him. But we're too much alike." He laid down with a small smile.

"Kiba says your powers are based on cosmic energy? How does that work exactly?" She smiled, "Our kyutamas are based on constellations too."

"Fourze and I harness the power of space. Mine specifically are meteors and comets. The energy is concentrated through our switches. You'd have to ask Kengo for specifics. I have two forms and several attacks. We fought people who were trying to use space to rule the world. We defeated them but occasionally they show up. The one I thought I saw was one of the most dangerous."

Andy nodded, "There's fourteen of us that can morph and the rest of the kyutamas are for special attacks or skills."

Ryusei whistled. "Fourteen? Nice to have backup. It's only Fourze and I who can transform. We could have used twelve other people a few times."

"The main team was twelve, and they defeated Don Armage. After that I joined and then later my daughter. Normally there's only a few of us who are active, trying to finish up the rest of Jark Matter and then fighting off whatever Shocker throws at us."

"I can't believe Shocker is here. You guys don't need to be fighting two evil empires." He took a deep breath. "I can help if you need it."

Andy shook her head, "Thanks, but we'll take care of it. I'll even take Shocker out single handedly if I have to. But I'm not going to let them keep hurting people."

Ryusei chuckled. "You sound like Gentaro. I like you. But I want to help." He yawned. "After I sleep maybe?"

Andy smiled softly, "Get some sleep. I'll be here if you need anything."

Ryusei nodded, eyes closing.

Kiba reentered, looking at Andy. "How is he?"

"He'll be fine. He just needs to rest."

"I should send him back." Kiba raised his hand, but was interrupted by the Orion violently shaking. "What the hell?"

Stinger's voice came over the comm. "There's a damn Fortress firing on us. Kiba what the hell did you do?"

Kiba looked at Andy. "Are you kidding me? Why is it always my fault?"

Andy sighed, "Take a clone of me over there and I'll blow it. It shouldn't take long."

Kiba nodded.

"I'm coming too." Ryusei sat up. "Give me my switch."

Kiba whirled to face him. "Hell no. You're going home."

Ryusei glared at him. "I am a Kamen Rider. I don't need you to protect me. I'm coming whether you like it or not." He slid off the bed and held his hand out. "Give me my switch now."

Kiba growled,angrily slapping it into Ryusei's palm.

"Guys, as long as you can get my clone there, I won't need help. I don't want to go to blow it just to find out you're still there," Andy sighed.

Kiba and Ryusei looked at each other. Ryusei went back to the bed and sat down. "Be careful."

Kiba chuckled and made a portal. He looked at Andy. "Do your thing."

Andy made a clone who jumped through before sitting down. She touched her comm, "I'm taking care of it, just keep the shields up." She then began focusing on the clone's mission. Quickly going invisible, she snuck around the mooks in the hallway. Quickly swiping a card, she headed down to where she knew the control room would be. She noticed an empty room with a computer, so she entered and started to look for any intel that Kiba hadn't gotten earlier.

Ryusei stayed quiet, sending occasional glances at Kiba who just grinned. The Interpol agent rolled his eyes, then yelped as he felt a pair of arms grab him. He went limp as a needle was jabbed into his neck, then he disappeared through a portal.

Kiba exploded. "Dammit! Andy, you can't blow it!"

Andy cursed. Her clone headed out into the hall to try to find Ryusei. She drained the mooks she passed, not caring about trying to stay hidden. Finally, she found the room he was in and drained the Shocker troops. Looking around she noticed a machine that could make portals. After looking into the computer and figuring it out, she started the portal up and dragged the unconscious Ryusei through. She headed back and finished blowing up the fortress.

The real Andy shuddered before opening her eyes and heading over to Ryusei and scanning him over. She pushed energy into him, trying to get him back to normal. After a few minutes, she pulled away and looked at Kiba, "He should be okay now, but he needs to sleep off the sedative they gave him."

"How the hell did they get a portal? And why did they want him back so bad?" Kiba's eyes didn't leave Ryusei's form.

"I don't know where they got it, but they had a portal machine. It blew with the ship. It seems like they wanted to try to clone him on top of the experiments with his energy. It doesn't look like it worked though."

Kiba scowled. "Is it just me or is Shocker getting smarter?"

"They're probably getting more creative the more we take out their plans," Andy sighed. "I didn't see much information on it, but if they do figure a way to stop energy, it wouldn't be too hard for them to stop me, then if they made a new clone, there would be no one who could fight her... I wonder if they have a new general giving new ideas or if they are just grasping at any idea they come across."

Kiba shook his head. "Either way we're in trouble." He waved his hand and Ryusei vanished. "I wonder if I should even have bothered. If they have other portals, then he may show up again."

"We'll have to keep our eyes out. Hopefully there won't be more riders dropping in, but we'll be ready if they do."


	52. Time Loop

Stinger landed the Shishi voyager on the planet before climbing out. Andy soon followed, handing him Scorpio, as she held onto Hope. It had been a while since they'd had a day off the Orion to relax, so they planned to do a bit of shopping before later going swimming. They walked toward a shopping mall, Andy getting distracted at a store window with cute baby clothes. "You should make Hope stuff like this," she smiled at Stinger.

"Challenge accepted." Stinger chuckled.

"She'd look adorable. We definitely need to go see what materials the craft store has," she grinned. "Scorpio needs some new clothes too..."

Stinger nodded. "Let's look around. Been thinking of making Kiba a new jacket too."

Andy walked forward and entered the craft store. Her eyes were drawn to a shiny purple material, "We definitely need to make something with this. Maybe a cute dress? Not that I have many reasons to wear a dress."

"Maybe not. I'll make one anyway." Stinger grinned, picking up the material and putting it in a basket. He moved over to another rack and thumbed through it, pulling a few colors out and examining them.

Andy walked to another section with the kids, letting them look at the colorful kids items. After a bit, Stinger approached and they went to pay for their items.

Walking through the mall, they suddenly heard alarms blaring. Andy looked around, not seeing any danger but noticed the other customers working their way toward the stairs. She finally spotted, "Fire alarms. Let's go."

Stinger nodded, holding Scorpio tight. "We sure picked a day to go relax, didn't we?"

Andy was just about to the stairs when she started feeling heat. Seeing the flames rush up the stairwell, she shook her head quickly, "Let's go to the other one."

Stinger whirled and headed the other direction, stone faced. His eyes were panicked though as he caught her eye.

Heading toward the other stairwell, Andy heard the floor start creaking. Rushing, she tried to get to the other side before the floor collapsed. Soon though, they heard a loud banging noise, and flames shot up and surrounded them. Andy felt pain all over her body and she let out a scream before blacking out.

When Andy opened her eyes, she was in the Shishi voyager, landing on the planet. Stinger climbed out and Andy soon followed, handing him Scorpio, as she held onto Hope. She stared at him for a moment, "I feel like we've been here already..."

"Really? I don't think so.." Stinger shrugged.

Andy continued on, trying to push the nagging feeling away. She stopped at the window and stared in at the baby clothes, sure she'd seen these exact ones before. "Hope would look cute in this."

"I could make her some. Scorpio too." Stinger looked around. "See any craft stores?"

"There's one up ahead," she answered, wondering why she'd know that if she hadn't been there.

Stinger looked at her puzzledly, then nodded. "Good. Kiba needs a new jacket."

After entering the store, Andy noticed the purple material she had sworn she had seen before. She stared at it for a while, trying to figure out what was going on.

Stinger followed her eyes, then grinned. "You'd look great in that if I made a dress." He picked it up, placing it in the basket. Then he headed for another rack.

Andy paced around the store with the kids, trying to fight the feeling that something bad was going to happen. After Stinger found her they headed out to the main part of the mall. After hearing alarms start, Andy groaned, "Let's go this way," she headed toward the stairwell that didn't have flames before. Soon though, they heard a loud banging noise, and flames shot up and surrounded them. Andy felt pain all over her body and she let out a scream before blacking out.

When Andy opened her eyes, she was in the Shishi voyager, landing on the planet. Stinger climbed out and Andy soon followed, handing him Scorpio, as she held onto Hope. "Ok, there is definitely something wrong."

"Beautiful? Are you okay?" Stinger looked at her in concern.

"I _know _we've been here. Twice now. It's almost like a time loop..."

"We just landed. You're not making any sense. Come on, I want to find a craft store."

Andy nodded, "I know. There's one here. And you want material to make clothes for the kids and maybe a jacket for Kiba."

Stinger froze. "How did you know that?" He stared at her. "Why would you remember?"

She shook her head, "I don't know. But we've been through this twice. And there's a fire, and the building explodes, and I don't know how to stop it. This time I'm going to go look for what causes the fire and see if I can get it to stop..." She handed Hope to Stinger, "I don't know, this is so weird."

"Maybe we should just go back?" Stinger bit his lip.

"Will that even help? And even if it's just this planet, don't we need to figure out how to help these people?"

"I don't know if it will help. But if at least the kids can be saved…" Stinger looked at the babies. "We might still die, but they don't have to."

Andy nodded, "I'm going to try to figure things out with the fire. You take them home and call me when you get back."

Stinger opened the voyager and climbed back in. "Good luck. I love you."

"I love you too," Andy nodded before heading into the building.

Stinger lifted off and headed toward the Orion. He soon landed in the bay and opened the door.

Andy headed to the lower floor to look around, looking for any source of a fire or what could have caused the explosion. Soon though, she heard alarms. Following the smoke, she finally found the fire, racks of clothing up in flames, but no clue on what caused it. She kept looking for anything that could cause an explosion, but unfortunately it was too late and it went off, sweeping her up in it.

Andy opened her eyes, finding herself in the voyager with Stinger and the kids. She cursed heavily, "What the hell?!"

"Beautiful? What's wrong?" Stinger glanced at her quickly as he began to land.

"We're stuck in a time loop and no one remembers! I'm the only one who remembers and it's driving me crazy that I don't know how to stop it."

Stinger turned off the voyager with a frown. "Time loop? What happens?"

"We go shopping at the craft store, get material for clothes, then we go to leave and a fire breaks out and then the whole place explodes. And before you ask, you already tried to take the kids back, so apparently the Orion is stuck in the loop too."

He scowled. "What do we do now then? If going back doesn't break the loop, what will?"

"I don't know! I tried to find the source of the fire at least but I haven't yet. I just keep waking up back in the voyager."

He sat looking out at the scenery. "What do you think happens if we don't get out?"

"You won't even remember, you'll just live the same hour or so over and over while I slowly lose my mind," Andy took a deep breath. "I better go see what I can do about the fire... Maybe this time I'll figure it out. Not sure why if it's just going to happen again, but I feel like it's something I'm supposed to stop."

"It could be a bomb of some kind." Stinger stared thoughtfully into the distance. "I'll set the autopilot and help you." He opened the door as he touched the console. Then he climbed out.

Andy followed him out before going into the mall. She led him to where she had seen the fire before, waiting to see if they could find a start for it.

Stinger narrowed his eyes as he examined the area. But he didn't see anything that could cause a fire. "Maybe it's spontaneous combustion. Or static electricity?"

"Then what causes the explosion?" Andy looked around and started seeing smoke, following it back further as it spread toward them. "You might want to run. This seriously hurts. Even if you won't remember it."

"If we go, we go together. We need to find out what's going on." He clasped her hand tight.

Andy nodded and headed forward, soon though they spotted something odd. "Is that what I think it is?"

Stinger growled. "Yeah, it is."

Andy went to morph, but she stopped when she heard a banging noise. She cursed before the whole building went up.

She opened her eyes in the voyager, waiting for Stinger to land before she spoke. She spoke softly, "Love, you don't remember do you? We're stuck in a time loop..."

Stinger's hands tightened. "It's hazy. Something happens right?" He gave her a searching look.

Andy nods, "The mall catches fire from someone Jark Matter. Then the building explodes."

"We have to stop it. Sending the kids back and we have to stop it."

'_Andy?! Please say you can hear me?'_

'_Kiba! I'm a little busy being stuck in a time loop right now...'_

'_The Orion has been missing for a month! Wait, what? Where are you?'_

'_We went shopping and the mall explodes and I'm so sick of exploding... The whole planet and ship are stuck in a loop.'_

'_Shit! I'm coming to find you.'_

'_What if you get stuck too?'_

'_I might not because of the portal. Where are you?'_

'_Frixion Prime. We're by the mall.'_

Seconds later, Kiba appeared and headed towards the voyager.

Andy approached, "So it's a time loop around the planet? So if we get the Orion out of range it won't loop? Maybe then we can figure out why it's doing it in the first place."

Kiba nods. "I had no problem getting here. I could try to portal the ship away, but I've never tried that before."

"We could just fly it out?" She glanced at her watch, "We have about twenty minutes til it loops again."

Stinger nodded. "Meet us onboard. We'll fly out, then consider our options."

Kiba summoned a portal and disappeared as Stinger waited for Andy to climb in.

Andy followed and waited for them to land on the ship.

Kiba was typing on his tablet. "Looks like there's some sort of electromagnetic barrier around the planet. What causes the fire you mentioned I don't know. Starting to think this is some kind of test."

"The fire is from Jark Matter. If we stop it, it should stop the explosion.." Andy answered.

Stinger frowned. "So our first order of business is stopping the fire. Then we can hunt for whatever is transmitting the barrier."

Kiba shrugged. "We can do both at the same time. I'll hunt for the transmitter while you guys stop Jark Matter. It may even be that I'll remember even if the loop starts again. The sooner the transmitter is taken out, the easier it will be to defeat the monster."

"I'll send a clone with you to help you look."

"Much appreciated." Kiba kissed her. "Let's go save these people."

Andy made a clone and both of her nodded in agreement.

Kiba summoned the portal and they walked through.

The real Andy headed off with Stinger to take out the fire starter while the clone followed Kiba, "They probably wouldn't keep it in the mall, because it'd get destroyed in the fire, right?"

"Yeah. I'm guessing it would be far enough away to survive, but close enough to constantly reset." He highlighted an area on his map. "I would guess somewhere around here. It'll probably be disguised so no one pays it any mind."

"Empty buildings would be a good hiding place too," Andy assessed.

He nodded, eyes narrowing as they approached the area. "Wonder if it's unmanned or if we're walking into a fight?"

"They probably don't expect anyone to remember so they wouldn't expect anyone to come after it."

"True. Definitely not how you planned this day to go is it?"

"We were supposed to just relax with the kids and get some material for clothes." She sighed, "Thank you for coming to help us. It's really been a month?"

"Yeah. I couldn't locate the Orion at all. Was starting to worry there was something wrong with me. I actually had decided to stop trying if I couldn't reach you."

Kiba pointed to an out of place shack nearby. "That look funny to you?"

"Definitely," Andy nodded. "You were really gunna give up on looking for us?"

Kiba shook his head. "Not the way you think. I was going to get physically checked out to make sure there wasn't something wrong with me. Then I planned to go searching forever if I had to."

He peeked in a window. Seeing a small transmitter just sitting on the table, he frowned. "There is something definitely off." He moved aside to let Andy see.

Andy looked inside, "Think it's a trap?"

Kiba nodded. "Even if everyone forgets, who leaves something like that just sitting there?"

He summoned his gun and reached for the doorknob. Suddenly he stiffened, sinking slowly to the ground. His eyes closed as he slumped over.

Andy kicked the door open after scanning Kiba. She stepped around him and barely went in, in case there were any more traps. She soon shot at the device, breaking it.

Andy looked over at Stinger, "Item found and destroyed. Kiba's out though. Let's hurry up with this."

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Yeah. This has been the shopping trip from hell." He pointed the creature out. "How do you think we can lure it out?"

Andy shrugged, "Maybe we can just soak everything in water so it won't be flammable...?"

Stinger summoned a kyutama. When he fired it, the blaster shot out a jet of water over everything.

The monster squealed as a puff of smoke appeared out its snout.

"I think I put it out too." Stinger snickered. He raised his spear and rushed forward to strike. Slashing at the creature, Stinger grimaced. "It's got a thick skin. Don't know if we can penetrate it with our weapons. Can you drain it?" He groaned as the creature punched him back to Andy.

Andy nodded, eyes starting to glow before she quickly drained it, dropping it to the ground. She checked with Stinger, "You okay?"

"Mostly my pride is bruised. What did you guys encounter?"

"Not much trouble, except a trap door which knocked out Kiba," Andy admitted. "He'll be fine. I'm working on waking him now."

Stinger nodded. "Should we shop or just forget the whole thing?"

"Well, we do still need the material for the kids clothes at least. It'll only take me a minute to find everything you picked out, since I've seen them multiple times by now," Andy sighed.

"Alright. I'll meet you at the voyager unless you need help with Kiba?"

Andy nudged Kiba again, "Are you with it enough to walk?"

He nodded with a chagrined look. "Can't believe I got taken down by that.." He shakily stood, then gave her a smile. "Let's go home."

Andy glanced at Stinger, "Ok, Kiba's good. I'll get the material really quick, okay?" The clone glanced at Kiba, "Let's get you to the voyager then."

When they all met at the voyager, Andy sighed, "We can't ever get a relaxing day, can we?"

Kiba chuckled. "At least no one can blame me for this."

Stinger lightly smacked his head. "I bet I could think of something."

Andy smiled, "Let's go. Maybe home will be a bit more relaxing."


	53. Return of OOO

'_Uhh Andy? I think I'm in trouble..'_

Andy woke with confusion, "Kiba?" She looked around and remembered he wasn't there, _'Kiba?'_

'_Yeah, I'm definitely in trouble. I might not be able to get back.'_

'_Where are you? We'll come help.'_

'_Tarvos. Shocker base with portal intel. But they have those goggles mass produced now.'_

There was a loud shout in the background, then Kiba returned. _'I'm unable to portal.. They shot me with some kind of dart…'_

The link went dead.

Andy rolled over and shook Stinger's arm to wake him, "Love? We need to go save Kiba."

"What stupid shit did he do now?" Stinger yawned and sat up. "Any way we can just keep him here?"

"He's at a Shocker base. He can't portal." Andy sighed, "I wish we could just get him to stay, but you know even our busy lives aren't enough adventure for him. At least we get him way more than Hammy ever did."

Stinger sighed. "I swear he could find a Shocker base at Headquarters. Where are we going?"

"Tarvos."

Stinger cursed. "When we get him back, I'm chaining him in the infirmary." He got out of bed and headed for the bridge.

When they arrived, Stinger kept them cloaked on the edge of orbit. He looked at Andy. "We'll take Shishi voyager because inevitably we'll run into someone else to rescue. Any luck getting ahold of him?"

Andy shook her head, "Not yet."

Stinger sighed and headed for the bay. He lifted off as soon as she was settled. Twenty minutes later, they were hidden from view and reconning the base.

"Smaller than usual isn't it?" Stinger carefully watched the few guards.

"It's odd." Andy nodded. She scanned the immediate area just seeing the few guards. "I'll take them out then we can go inside?"

"Do it fast. Who knows what's happening in there to our boy." Stinger's face was stony, his hand tight around his spear.

Andy nodded and focused on their energy, sapping it quickly before running forward to the door.

Stinger yanked it open, then paused when he saw no one to fight. "What the _hell _is going on?"

He crept forward, his spear aimed forward. "Have you found him yet?"

Andy searched for energy signatures before nodding, "He seems weak." She scanned around him, "That's weird..." she noticed one of the energy signatures.

"Let me guess, Kiba isn't the only person in trouble?" Stinger sighed. "Lead the way."

Andy entered the room and realized it was a medbay. She quickly made two clones and scanned the three people in the room before working on giving them energy and healing the two that seemed to have been experimented on.

Stinger was watching the door. "Andy! Someone's coming!" The ranger slipped behind a set of crates.

Andy's clones vanished before she ducked under one of the beds.

A reptilian biped entered with a whistle. "So who's ready to get started?" He tensed as he examined the three prisoners. Alarmed, he went to call the guards, but Stinger stood.

"Not letting you do that, creep. Not that they could answer anyway." He growled as he got a look at the prisoners. "You're a real bastard aren't you?"

Andy climbed out from under the bed but stayed silent, pointing her blaster at him.

"I'm merely a scientist interested in different life forms. Vracorg is my name. And you are?"

Stinger rolled his eyes. "Merely a scientist my ass. You're going to release them. Now."

"My experiments are not yet complete. I have to decline."

"They're coming with us whether you decline or agree," Andy growled before her eyes started glowing.

Vracorg turned to her in shock, dropping to his knees. "I would love to examine you both…" His eyes dimmed, then went blank as he toppled over.

Stinger shuddered, then closed the door. "Can you wake them?"

"Eiji might wake soon, but give me about ten minutes to get the other two up." She remade her clones and got back to work healing.

Stinger's heart lurched as he approached Kiba.

The rider was almost white, his breathing shaky. Whatever the creature had been doing, it was obvious Kiba probably wouldn't have lasted much longer.

Stinger wished he could kill the scientist multiple times. He gently ran a hand through Kiba's hair.

He raised his eyes as Eiji stuttered out Ankh's name. He approached the rider, untying him. "Andy's fixing him up. Just relax."

The Andy clone near Eiji scanned him over one more time before disappearing. Just as Andy said, about ten minutes later Ankh and Kiba were looking a bit better and starting to stir.

"Andy?" Kiba's eyes slowly blinked open. "You found me.."

Eiji was talking to Ankh, who still had his eyes closed but was nodding.

"Haven't I told you, I'll always find you," Andy spoke softly before running a hand through his hair before smirking, "It helps when you tell me what planet you're on though."

Kiba chuckled softly. "Wasn't sure you would find us in time." He tried to raise up, but didn't have the strength. "Tell me that asshole is a husk."

"Talk later, escape now." Ankh's voice was raw, but his eyes were blazing. "I do not want to stay here." He shakily sat up with Eiji's help.

Andy's clone kept healing Ankh while Andy healed Kiba. "I can continue this on the ship if you are okay to walk."

Kiba nodded slowly, finally managing to stand while leaning heavily on Stinger. "There's a portal here. We might want to disable it before we leave."

Suddenly there was the sound of running feet.

"Shit! On second thought, Andy, take them through. I'll hold them off and then meet you on the Orion." Stinger morphed and faced the door.

Andy looked at Kiba, "Where is the portal?"

"Right behind that door." Kiba pointed at the far end of the room.

Her eyes started glowing then she scanned the building, realizing there were guards in the portal room. She took a deep breath, "Come on then." She quickly opened the door, watching about ten guards turning toward the noise. She quickly drained them, dropping them to the ground before heading to the portal machine and setting it up to take them to the Orion.

Ankh and Eiji exchanged frightened looks at the bodies. Eiji was about to speak, but Ankh clapped a hand over his mouth and shook his head. "Ask later." He whispered as Kiba came in.

"Scorpion almost has his freedom, how about us?"

"Good to go," Andy nodded.

Kiba pushed the other riders first, chuckling at Ankh's squawk. Then he held out his hand to Andy.

Andy took it with a smile before heading through the portal.

Stinger dropped the last of the guards and headed for the voyager, taking off quickly for the Orion.

When he arrived, he headed for the infirmary. Entering, he found Kiba rolling his eyes at Ankh's insistence Andy was scarier now.

"But I healed you, I can't be that scary, can I?" Andy sighed.

"You dropped those guards like they were nothing! You didn't do that last time…" Ankh was shaking, but his eyes didn't leave Andy for a second. Eiji was trying to get him to rest, but wilted at the glare he was given.

Kiba walked over and got in Ankh's face. "This is something that developed after you visited. Now go lay down before you fall down. You need more healing."

Ankh's eyes blazed and his jaw twitched. Then he looked at Eiji and sighed. "Fine." He hopped on a bed, taking Eiji's hand with a repentant smile. Eiji grinned and held tight.

Kiba turned to look at Andy. "My job is done." He chuckled, then swayed.

Andy put a hand on his arm to help steady him, "You need to rest too." She helped him to a bed before going over to Ankh and started healing him in silence.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Ankh stared at Eiji's hand.

Andy shook her head before asking, "How are you feeling now?"

"Sleepy but a lot better. Is Eiji okay?"

"They didn't do much to him except drain some of his energy. He's fine now that I got his energy levels back to normal. You and Kiba had more done to you, so you need more time. Why don't you take a nap and then maybe Kiba will be back up to portalling and can take you home."

Ankh nodded, sliding down to curl on his side and closing his eyes. Eiji sat down next to the bed, watching.

"No,no,no. Not now…" Stinger's voice was panicky.

Andy turned to him worry on her face.

He was shaking Kiba, whose eyelids were twitching as he whimpered softly. "Come on, wake up!" He met Andy's eyes. "I can't wake him."

Andy cursed before sitting next to him and focusing on his mind, trying to get into his nightmare.

She found herself watching her clone's eyes begin to glow slowly before a bound Kiba. He screamed hoarsely as she grinned with pleasure. Then the scene switched to the Shocker scientist doing the same thing with his machine. Kiba could barely thrash he was so weak. The screaming was fading with the rider's eyes.

Outside, Andy pushed energy into Kiba to keep his body steady. In his nightmare she approached, "Kiba, this isn't really happening. You need to wake up."

His eyes flew open, and he tumbled off the bed. He looked at her in terror, scrambling away into a far corner. "Stay away from me Void!" His breathing was harsh, his arms shaking as he tried to block her from coming closer.

Andy's heart sank as she watched him. She didn't move closer but spoke softly, "It's me, Andy. I'm not Void."

Kiba shook his head. "You're trying to trick me! Don't come any closer!"

Andy's eyes met Stinger's for a moment before she left the room, tears starting to stream down her face.

Stinger's heart ached as he watched her leave, but he knew he had to calm Kiba down before something happened. "Hey. I need you to calm down, okay. You've been through a lot and you need to rest. Can you breathe for me?" He exaggerated taking a breath, waiting until Kiba complied to approach him. "That's it. In and out."

He gently touched Kiba's head before lifting him to his feet. "You're safe. Void is gone. But you need to let Andy heal you. Can you do that?"

Kiba tried to regain his composure. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Tears began welling in his eyes.

Stinger gave him a hug. "I know you didn't. Just sit down and I'll go get her okay?"

Kiba nodded as he sat back down, his eyes boring into the mattress.

Stinger headed out to find Andy.

Andy was hiding in one of the rec rooms on a couch, sitting with her legs curled up against her as she sobbed.

"Beautiful?" Stinger crouched beside her, gently rubbing her back. "It's okay. He's back with us. He's broken hearted at what he did. Will you come back with me?"

Andy wiped at her eyes, "You're sure he won't be afraid of me?"

"Yes. When he realized what he'd said, he lost it. He looks like you right now. I didn't want to leave him, but I was pretty sure you wouldn't answer your comm."

Andy took a deep breath and wiped away the rest of her tears, "He does still need to be healed, so I should probably go help him..."

Kiba sat on the bed, his heart breaking more every second. How could he have said what he did? He clenched his fists so tight he left bloody impressions in his skin. She had always helped him, even risking her own health at times. And how did he repay her? Accuse her of her worst nightmare. He didn't deserve her or Stinger. He looked up to see the other riders sound asleep.

His mind whirled as he made a plan. He stood and crept out of the infirmary.

Andy and Stinger walked down the hallway, seeing him exit the infirmary.

"You need to be resting," Andy tried to speak calmly.

He looked at her, tears beginning to streak his cheeks. "I need to stop pretending I can stop hurting you. I am asking for one last thing. Can you forgive me?" He leaned on the wall.

"Kiba, you know I forgive you," Andy answered. "You do know it'll hurt more if you leave though, right? I know it's crossed your mind."

"You would.." His voice broke and he clenched his jaw before continuing. "You two would be happier without me. No more needing to rescue me, or heal me or deal with my broken mind."

He gave her a sad smile. "You know, I asked Hammy to teach me some of your tricks. One in particular. She wasn't happy, but I convinced her it could come in handy someday." He began to slide to the floor as he talked. "The very first trick you used against Jark Matter with me. It was easier than I thought to learn too."

"Kiba! Didn't you say you wouldn't leave me?" Andy moved to his side.

"You deserve to be free.." His words were slowing.

Stinger was confused. "Andy? What the hell is he doing?"

Andy ignored Stinger and kept talking to Kiba, "How many times do I have to tell you? It's so much harder when you're gone. Please don't leave me," tears were streaming down her face. "I'll do anything to keep you with us." Her hands started glowing as she tried to push energy into him to keep his heart beat regular and steady.

Kiba was silently crying as he shook his head. "Why? I just did the worst thing I could ever do and yet you act like nothing happened?" He banged his head against the wall. "Why don't you ever get mad at me?"

"Because I love you, Kiba! What don't you get about that? I love you, which means anything bad you could ever do, is nowhere near as bad as living without you. We weren't even in a relationship with you when we lost you for that year, I can't even imagine how much more it would hurt now." She sighed, "Yeah I'm a bit upset, but that doesn't mean I want you leaving me. I'm not even really upset at you. You went through traumatic things, and I understand how I could be a trigger for those memories, especially if you wake after a nightmare about her. But I'm always going to be here to help you, whether you want me to or not."

Kiba laughed shakily. "We're all stuck with each other huh?" He looked at her through heavy lidded eyes. "I'm so tired, but I'm too weak to fight right now. Help me?"

"Always," she moved forward and pulled him in for a kiss before her eyes started glowing and she pushed energy into him. After a minute she looked at Stinger, "Can you carry him back to a bed?"

Stinger nodded, walking forward and lifting the rider. He looked at her. "I need to know what the hell he tried to pull just now." He headed into the infirmary, laying Kiba down gently and covering him with a blanket.

She made a clone who continued to help Kiba as she led Stinger into the hallway. "It's possible to slow your heart rate really low to seem dead. Technically, you can just stop your heart if you aren't careful or if you're actually trying to. So basically he was willing himself dead."

Stinger stared at her in horror. "Hammy taught him something like that? Why?"

"It can come in handy for certain things, like faking death.."

Stinger took a deep breath. "It's something we can't stop him from trying again. This worries me, beautiful. Before we could restrain him, take his weapon, lock up the medicines. Now he could just drop dead in front of us without any of those things."

Andy nodded, "It's possible to bring someone back to life... If I have to, I'll just keep trying to bring him back. I can't believe Hammy would honestly teach him that though..."

Stinger scowled. "He probably spun some story about how he could use it to escape Shocker."

He kicked the wall angrily. "He was doing so well. I was more worried about you than him for a change. Then this.."

"He's so easy to set off... And I always feel bad because if I get upset, he gets upset. I'm afraid I'm going to do something and then not be able to save him from doing something stupid."

"I know." Stinger hugged her tightly. "But we'll just have to give him a swift kick everytime this happens. I was surprised he woke so quickly though."

"I got through to him and told him to wake up, but he had been having a nightmare about Void so he probably connected it to me," Andy sighed. "I'm just afraid to do anything, because I'm afraid I'll set him off. And it's terrible because I'm always having to be the strong one. Of course I love helping him and I'll always try to be as strong as I can around him, but when I'm barely keeping myself together, it's impossible to keep him together, and that's when he does something dumb. How do I keep being strong for him when I can't be it for myself?"

"That's where I come in. We're supposed to hold each other up. I've been slacking in that area." He kissed her. "When you can't be strong, I will."

Kiba's eyes fluttered open. Sitting up, he opened a portal over the still sleeping riders and whisked them away. Then he lay back down and closed his eyes.

Andy's clone watched as the riders were sent back home. She gave a soft smile when she noticed Kiba was sound asleep and smiling.


	54. Meeting W

Andy smiled at Kiba, "It's so nice here." She looked out at the city.

Kiba took a deep breath. "Yeah. I like walking around down here. It's relaxing." He grinned at her.

"Maybe we can come back here again sometime."

"Bring the kids. We could have a family vacation." Kiba stretched like a cat and sighed. "It's more peaceful here than where we are."

"Almost anywhere is more peaceful than where we are." She heard something behind her and turned to see a Kamen Rider aiming at them. "Maybe I spoke too soon."

Kiba turned slowly, raising his hands. "Kamen Rider Double. Did we do something wrong?"

The right eye lit up. "Kamen Rider DeStruct. Kamen Rider Void. You have made the city cry."

Kiba shook his head. "Wait a minute. That's not 've got the wrong idea."

"I'm not Void. They were clones of us," Andy tried to explain.

"Clones?" The left side lit up.

"Yeah clones. Wanna lower the gun so we can talk?" Kiba was growing tense. "We're not evil."

The right side lit up again. "I've researched both the Kamen Riders. You match the Library's records."

Kiba swore. "Of course. They cloned us." He tried to approach but then thought better of it. "You have to believe us. We don't want to fight you." His voice held a note of panic.

"We aren't even from your universe. Does the library have any information on other universes? If so, look up the Kyurangers, you might find me," Andy added.

The left eye lit up, "Philip? They don't seem bad."

The right eye stayed silent.

Kiba thought quickly. "You know Kadoya Tsukasa right? He's my dad." He looked at Andy worriedly.

The right eye finally lit up. "Kamen Rider Decade. There are no records of children."

Kiba groaned. "I'm kind of not from this universe. If you contact the Hikari Studio, they will vouch for me." He tried not to shake at the thought of battling.

"What do the records say about Kamen Rider DeStruct?" Andy wondered. "Because, yeah, he was made by Shocker but that doesn't make him bad. And what about Void? Any backstory there? Because other than the clones and the bit of time Shocker controlled me, I do have a life and I'm a hero in my universe." She honestly considered draining them enough to just weaken them so they could escape but she figured that wouldn't help any future interactions with them.

The right eye flickered, then spoke. "Kamen Rider DeStruct, created by Shocker for the sole purpose to destroy other Kamen Riders. Disappeared approximately twenty years ago. Until last year when he reappeared and attacked us." The eye stared at Kiba. "You tried to take our memories."

Kiba paled. "No…" He looked at Andy. "I don't think they are going to listen to us."

"You didn't say, what does the library say about Void?" Andy wondered. "We really don't want to fight you, but I don't know how to get you to believe us other than taking you to my universe and showing you we're telling the truth."

The right eye began speaking again. "Little information exists on Kamen Rider Void. Aside from the ability to drain life force, and the proximity to, and rescue of Kamen Rider DeStruct. On that basis, Void is considered an enemy as well."

Andy was silent for a minute as she thought, "You know what Void looks like morphed? What if I show you my kyutama and show you I'm not Void?"

"Wouldn't they have attacked us by now if they were really evil?" Shotaro wondered.

"You are having doubts, Shotaro?" Philip's voice was hesitant.

"Last time it was a lot less talking and a lot more fighting. They haven't even attempted to attack us." He looked at them, "And that guy even looks kind of scared."

"They tried to kill us, Shotaro! You were in bed for a week, too weak to do anything. At the very least, he matches the Library records. If you want to believe her, I'll agree. But he is evil."

"What happens if they are right but we attack anyway? Doesn't that make us as bad as DeStruct and Void? Attacking innocent people?"

The right eye remained silent.

Kiba desperately wanted to portal back to the Orion, but didn't dare move. He opened the link to Andy. _'You think we can run for it?'_

'_Crossed my mind, but it won't help us if we run into them again.'_

'_I can't do this again. I won't.'_

'_Hopefully they'll be kind and just arrest us instead of killing us.'_

'_Maybe you. Philip's out for blood. Mine.'_

'_I won't let anything happen to you. Even if I have to end up fighting them. You know I won't kill them.'_

'_If one of my dads were here… Then again, this may be karma biting my ass.' _

Andy was about to respond when she saw a monster appear. It aimed at Double who was still facing Kiba and Andy. "Behind you!"

Kiba's gun fired the same instant the monster did. The monster growled and raced forward.

Kiba knocked Double to the ground, jumping over and onto the monster. He began punching it repeatedly until the monster fired its weapon point blank. Kiba went flying back, landing with a thud and lying still.

Shotaro pushed them up and ran forward to attack the monster.

Seeing it was being dealt with, Andy rushed to Kiba's side to start healing him. "Come on, stay with me Kiba." She focused on the injuries while trying to keep his vitals steady.

"Not my brightest idea… but maybe I can get a pass?" Kiba chuckled painfully.

"It was definitely not your brightest idea."

"Oh well." He grimaced. "This was not the plan."

Andy sighed, "We can't have a relaxing trip ever, can we?" She kept pushing energy into him.

He huffed. "My karma sucks." His eyes were struggling to focus.

"Hey, last time you weren't even there and the trip got ruined. Maybe I have bad karma too."

"I keep running into riders who I've killed." He sighed as he watched the fight end with a large explosion.

"Well, there's multiple universes of them, so there's probably a billion copies for you to run into." She smirked, "I wonder if there's a billion of me running around."

"That's a nice mental picture." Kiba grinned.

Double made their way over, "See, he saved us, so he can't be evil, right?" Shotaro mentioned.

"I guess. The Library doesn't have information on all the universes." Philip sounded curious.

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "So neither of you are going to shoot me?"

They shook their head and Shotaro answered, "Not today."

Andy pulled away from Kiba, "How are you feeling?"

"Not going to die on you. But may crash when we get back." He pushed himself to his feet and summoned the portal with a shaky hand.

"It was nice meeting you," Andy nodded to Double. "Oh, I'm Andy and this is Kiba."

"I'm Shotaro and that's Philip," the left side answered.

"Boys." Kiba nodded to them, then disappeared.

Andy followed him through and found herself back at home on the Orion. "Nap time?"

"Yeah, think so. If I can make it without face planting." His eyes were half closed.

Andy wrapped an arm around him to help him walk, "A nap sounds nice. I think I'll join you after I update our scorpion."

Kiba gave her a soft smile. "Even better. You think next time we go, they'll be nicer?"

"Hopefully. Or we'll go through the whole process again," Andy smirked.

"Minus the monster please. I really hate getting shot." Kiba gave a blissful sigh as he laid down.

"I know, hun." She kissed his forehead. "I'll be right back." By the time she returned he was fast asleep, and she climbed in next to him, hoping they'd have good dreams.


	55. Torture and Nightmares

"Remember this is a recon. Get in, verify the intel and get out." Stinger pointedly looked at Kiba, who returned the look innocently. "I know how you feel about clones, so try not to go nuclear yet."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to lose it. I just don't like that they've been able to hide this facility from us all this time."

Andy nodded, "It won't take long."

Kiba studied the blueprints with a frown. "They've been making facilities smaller. Is that just to hide them better or because of the portal machines, I wonder?"

Stinger shrugged. "Probably both. I'll be here in case you need backup."

"Alright. Let's go then," Andy made sure she had her bag and then looked back at them.

Kiba waved his hand, then gave her a smile and walked through. Andy soon followed him.

They appeared directly in front of the facility. Examining the guards, Kiba scowled. "Few guards. I really don't like their new routine." He glanced at Andy. "Ready?"

"Ready," she pulled out a kunai.

"Let's go. Avoid the guards as much as possible but find that terminal. The sooner we can verify the intel, the sooner we can blow it." Kiba gave her a kiss, then a salute and headed left.

Andy went toward the right, making sure she was staying out of the view of the guards. She was heading down the hall when she felt pain spike through her. She tried to turn but the pain increased and she blacked out.

When she woke she heard a voice.

"You're awake? Now we can begin."

She opened her eyes and realized she was tied up to a wall in a large room.

Kiba hung from chains in front of her. He gave her an apologetic smile. He had a gash at his temple and bruises dotted his shirtless chest. "It was a trap."

He was about to say something when the door opened and he went pale.

Zol strode in, caressing his whip. "How nice it is to see you again, DeStruct."

Kiba swallowed hard, mouthing 'close your eyes' at Andy.

Zol swung the whip.

Andy's heart sank but she didn't listen to him, keeping her eyes open. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched.

Twenty minutes later, Kiba hung limp. His eyes were open, but after a few minutes she realized he wasn't breathing.

She sobbed, wishing she could get free to try to revive him.

The voice returned. "Very nice. Bring in the next one."

Mooks removed the body as another Kiba was led in and chained in front of her.

"What's going on?" Andy asked in confusion.

"We decided to have some fun. We have an endless supply and countless ways to kill him. And you're a captive audience."

"What are these then? Clones?" She tried to fight against the ties again.

"Yes,but maybe one of them is real?" The voice laughed evilly. "Let's begin."

Kojan appeared with a sick smile. He fired point blank into Kiba's side, then jabbed a needle into his neck.

Kiba screamed, thrashing against the chains.

Andy tried to focus her energy but realized the ties were suppressing her powers. She realized all she could do was watch the scene in front of her, a replay of one of her worst nightmares.

Kiba shook, the blood loss pushing him toward unconsciousness. Every time his eyes began to close, the poison flamed through him until he didn't have the strength to scream anymore. Finally he stopped moving.

Mooks dragged the body away.

The next clone appeared, this time restrained on an exam table. Vracorg appeared whistling. "I'm going to have such fun with you." He reached for a scalpel and began cutting.

Andy sobbed through the first two, and now didn't have the energy to continue. She stared forward through teary eyes, hoping neither of these were the real Kiba.

A new Kiba was escorted in, a vest secured around him. He was bound, his face defiant.

Andy sighed when she realized what the vest was. She wanted to just close her eyes and ignore the horror but knew she wouldn't be able to block out the sounds.

One of the mooks forced a detonator in her hand.

She shook her head, "You can't make me press this."

The voice laughed as the mook took her thumb and forced it down.

Andy closed her eyes, refusing to watch.

The explosion rattled the room. She felt something wet hit her cheek. Then she felt a prick and she slumped unconscious.

Kiba thrashed furiously as he saw the events play out through the one way glass. He was securely bound to the wall. "When I get loose you're all dead!" He gasped as his fighting caused his headache to spike, both from the gash in it and the drug they'd given him to suppress the link.

He could only imagine what kind of torment this was putting Andy through, especially being forced to press that detonator. He sagged as his strength finally gave out.

When Andy woke, another set of deaths occurred. She watched Kiba getting hanged, watching as the life slowly faded from his eyes. She watched him bleed to death, a giant dark puddle staining the floor. Finally, she watched him being unzipped. Closing her eyes, she could still hear his screaming as the pain overtook him.

Expecting another clone to come in, Andy was surprised to see a Void clone enter.

"Daka, dear. Are you having fun?" Void smirked.

Andy rolled her eyes and stayed silent.

"Oh, that's no way to treat me. I haven't done anything to you, yet anyway."

"Go to hell."

Void ran a finger down Andy's cheek, "Don't you know? I run hell." She motioned to some mooks who pulled in a screen. "I've been having lots of fun. We decided to take some video so we can share the fun with you."

A video started up, multiple planets appearing with thousands of people screaming before she drained them. The scenes changed, going to different planets, hundreds, thousands, falling over dead, completely drained of their energy from Void.

"Isn't this fun? Don't you just love hearing their screams?" Void laughed coldly.

She nodded and the mooks brought in another Kiba.

"How do you feel, Daka? Is this one the real Kiba? Was the last one real? Which set of screams will haunt you worse? At least haunt you long enough until you die here, that is."

Void's eyes glowed black, slowly sapping the life force from the Kiba in front of her. After his eyes glassed over and finally closed, she went back over to Andy. "We have some more entertainment for you, but they promised me a bit of fun first." Void's eyes glowed again before she started draining Andy.

Andy struggled to keep her eyes open before the voice finally yelled, "That's enough. We need her awake still."

Void rolled her eyes before slamming a kunai into Andy's stomach and pulling it out, watching the blood drip off the end. "Have fun, I'll see you again later."

Andy rested her head for a minute, until she heard the next Kiba being brought in. Andy looked up, eyes barely registering what was happening, her mind overloaded with the terrors she'd seen.

"Andy? Talk to me." He fought the mooks, attempting to reach her. One of them slammed a fist into his chest, leaving him gasping as they chained him up.

Andy looked up at the noise, but didn't answer.

Kiba yanked against the chains. "You're all sick and I'm going to enjoy killing you." He desperately tried to open the link, grimacing as his headache spiked.

DeStruct slowly walked in with a smile. "I'm looking forward to this. Too bad you can't say the same."

Kiba spat at him defiantly. "I'm not afraid of you."

"No?" DeStruct raised an eyebrow and his fist. "Let's change that, shall we?"

He began to methodically punch Kiba in the face, then started moving down to the ribs and chest. There were multiple cracking sounds as Kiba recoiled violently after each punch.

Andy cringed at the noise, closing her eyes, trying to not focus on it.

Suddenly the building was rocked by multiple explosions. DeStruct froze as the room was suddenly filled with Kyurangers and resistance members.

Stinger stalked forward, his eyes cold. Without stopping he lifted his spear and ran the clone through the stomach, lifting DeStruct off the floor. His eyes blazed as he watched the man squirm. "Didn't I tell you I was going to kill you?"

As the clone's eyes closed, Stinger shook him off the spear. Then he ordered Kiba unchained and evacuated to the Orion. Slowly he approached Andy, gently untying her. "Beautiful? I'm so sorry I couldn't get here faster."

Andy looked up at the speaker, eyes blurring together. She tried to focus on what he said, but it wasn't getting through.

Stinger's heart broke. She looked so lost, not the woman he loved. Then he saw the expanding bloodstain. He quickly swept her into his arms and raced for his voyager. By the time they got there, Andy was unconscious.

When Andy woke, she sat up quickly, eyes wide as she tried to figure out where she was.

"It's okay, beautiful. You're safe." Stinger appeared, gently taking her hand. "How are you feeling?"

Andy took a moment to analyze herself, "Tired." She looked around the infirmary looking for Kiba.

Stinger took a deep breath. "He's not here."

She looked at him in confusion and worry. She finally whispered out, "Where is he?"

"Headquarters Infirmary. The only way to save him. We've been in orbit for three days." He was grim, not meeting her eyes.

Andy pushed herself off the bed, shaking hard as she tried to keep her balance.

Stinger kept her upright. "You're not strong enough. I came extremely close to losing both of you. He's in good hands. You have to get your strength back."

"I have to help him... I don't need to be strong, I just need to pull in energy..." She looked at him, "I can't lose him again."

Stinger sighed. "Alright. I'll take you to him."

He walked her slowly to Sasori voyager, helping her in and setting course for the planet.

They walked into Kiba's room and Stinger's hand trembled.

Andy moved to a chair next to him and scanned him over. Her hands shook as she focused on gathering in energy and then pushing it into him. Her eyes closed as she worked on seeing the broken bones and piecing them back together.

Stinger turned to the window, not being able to stand seeing Kiba the way he was. His fists clenched and he wished he had killed DeStruct slower.

Andy continued to work for a couple hours, until she dropped her hands away. "He still needs a lot of healing, but I need a break..."

Stinger quickly moved to her side so she wouldn't slip off the chair. "I'm taking you back. No arguments." He helped her stand and took her back to the voyager. He set the autopilot, wrapping her in his arms. "I'm so so sorry I couldn't save you sooner."

"How long were we even there?"

"Four days. I tried to stay in orbit, but we were getting reports of planets dropping dead with no known cause. I had to go investigate on Shou's orders." He tightened his hold. "I fought him. I even resigned but he wouldn't accept it."

"It was Void..."

Stinger shuddered and buried his face in her hair.

"They had clones of Kiba, and kept killing them over and over. I didn't know if one was real or not. Kojan and the General and Void..." Andy's voice trailed off.

Stinger let out a horrified cry, his shoulder's beginning to shake. They stayed that way until they landed and he unwrapped his arms.

Opening the voyager, he climbed out and carried Andy to their room in silence.

Andy rested her head against his chest, trying to stay calm but with her worry for Kiba and the images haunting her mind, she couldn't relax.

Stinger laid her on the bed, quickly climbing next to her and wrapping both his arms and tail around her. His eyes were red, his face tear streaked as he fell into a restless sleep.

Andy stared at the ceiling, trying to keep herself awake. Eventually she lost the battle and fell asleep, nightmares instantly taking her over. She saw herself as Void in Kiba's hospital room, draining his energy away. She shot up, pain racing through her as she moved. She spent the next while hoping what she had seen was simply a nightmare and not a real event.

Stinger murmured and turned over, his tail unwrapping from her leg. He wrapped his arms around Kiba's pillow without waking.

Andy pushed herself up and went over to her bag, preparing a sedative. She sat back on the bed before injecting it and finally falling into a dreamless sleep.

"Commander? Are you there?" Raptor's voice pierced Stinger's sleep. He groggily reached for his blaster and pressed the button.

"What is it, Raptor?"

"He's awake and asking for you."

Stinger sat up quickly, looking over at Andy. He bit his lip, torn between letting her rest and waking her.

Andy groaned, having heard talking, "What's going on?"

"Kiba's awake. I'm going to go see him. You rest some more." Stinger kissed her before climbing out of bed and dressing quickly.

Andy pushed herself into a sitting position, "I want to see him too."

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Stinger sat beside her with a worried frown.

"You might need to carry me... I sedated myself to sleep. I know it's still affecting me, but I need to know he's okay."

Stinger sighed softly, then gently picked her up and headed for his voyager.

When they arrived, Raptor was trying to keep Kiba in bed. "You're not in any shape to go anywhere."

Kiba growled. "Better move that hand before you need to replace it."

"Kiba," Andy said his name gently. "Where are you trying to go?"

"Andy… you're alive?" Kiba's voice dropped to a whisper. There was a war of emotions running over his face.

Andy moved slowly to his bed and sat on the edge, "Yeah. I'm alive."

Kiba kissed her hard like he was a parched man who needed to drink her lips. After several minutes, he broke away trying to breathe normally.

Andy took a moment to scan him over, "You still need more healing. How are you feeling though?"

"Happy to be alive. I woke up here and not on the Orion. I was terrified Void had killed you." He slumped back on the pillow as his strength waned.

"I was worried when I woke and you weren't on the ship..." Andy admitted. "I came and healed you a bit though."

Stinger approached Kiba, his tears threatening to spill as he kissed the rider gently. "You two scared me so much."

Kiba returned the kiss with a soft smile. "I'm just glad they didn't grab you too."

"You two aren't leaving my sight ever again," Andy sighed.

Kiba and Stinger bit back chuckles.

"Can I get out of here? I really would rather be on the ship." Kiba winced as he shifted position.

Stinger nodded. "I'll go get you signed out." He kissed both of them, then left the room.

The rider watched Andy closely for a moment before sighing. "How are you holding up?"

Andy shrugged, "Tired right now, but that might still be the sedative I gave myself to actually sleep..."

He twisted his iv around in his hands. "I probably shouldn't have asked." He stared out the window blankly for a moment.

Stinger entered the room and stopped, his worry spiking as he watched them both. Then he cleared his throat. "Got you sprung. But you're in the infirmary for at least a few days."

Kiba partially forced the smile. "As long as I'm with you guys, I don't really care." He took the bag of clothes he was handed and pulled out the iv. He dressed quickly, fully ready in a few minutes.

They walked out, squeezing into the voyager and returning to the Orion.

When they landed, Stinger escorted them both to the infirmary. "Both of you need to rest and I have to go work." He kissed them both gently, then headed for the bridge.

Kiba grimaced as he rolled onto a bed. "I wish they'd given me a chance to go down fighting, not trussed up like dinner."

Andy sighed but just asked, "Do you want me to connect our beds?"

"Can we?" Kiba looked at her in confusion.

"Yeah, the beds can connect so they make a bigger bed. Stinger and I have done it before."

He gave her a smile. "I like that idea. I don't know about you but I need to be with you to stay calm right now." His eyes were dark and haunted.

Andy nodded, "Yeah, I know how you feel."

He sat up slowly, then got off the bed and reached for her. "I tried to get free, but I couldn't. That damn window…" He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

She hugged him but looked up, "Window?"

"One way glass… I saw.. Everything they did.." He began to tremble, face buried in her shoulder.

"They made you.." He trailed off, voice rough.

Andy buried her face against his chest and muttered, "You saw all of that?"

He slowly nodded, his knees starting to buckle. "I couldn't stop it.." He was losing the fight to stay awake.

"Let's get you back in bed, okay?" She helped him lie down before pushing another bed over and connecting them. She climbed in next to him and cuddled against his side. She took a deep breath, "At least you knew you were real and they were clones... I had no idea if I was watching the real you die or not."

He shuddered. "I know you didn't. Made it even worse." He squeezed her shoulder before passing out.

Andy tried not to fall asleep, but soon fell unconscious. Luckily the sedative in her system kept her without dreaming for a while but eventually the nightmares started.

Andy found herself back in the room she was being held captive in. She closed her eyes, trying to not watch what was happening, but she kept hearing Kiba's screaming. She opened her eyes when it stopped, but all she saw was a clone of Kiba, hanging limply against the wall. Another Kiba was brought in. Soon the scene changed and Void was standing in front of her, showing her the people she'd killed. The people Andy had killed as Void appeared, screaming in front of her, begging her to stop. Tears streamed down her face, wishing she could run.

Kiba's eyelids twitched. He started muttering under his breath.

He opened his eyes and growled as he saw what Andy was seeing. He ran into her line of sight.

"Andy, you need to wake up. This isn't real." He reached for her hand.

The scene changed again, showing Andy getting tied to a table by Shocker scientists. She was fighting against them, trying to get free.

Kiba closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing before shoving the scientists away. "ANDY! Wake up!" He yanked her off the table.

She fought against him, not realizing who had grabbed her.

He forced her arms down, trying his best not to hurt her. He swore as she kneed him in the stomach. Wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug, he grimaced as he forced the link to open.

'_Dammit ninja girl! Stop fighting me! You need to wake up!'_

Andy finally stopped moving except the sobs taking over her body. After a few moments she whispered out, "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for." Kiba released her, gasping as pain drilled through his head. "I'm not surprised this happened."

"Still, I should be better at this by now," Andy sighed.

"After what just happened, I'm surprised you aren't rocking in a padded room next to me." Kiba sighed and kissed her cheek as the pain started to dull. "Just gotta wake up before something happens."

Andy nodded, "We probably need a padded room, honestly..." She sighed again, "Thank you." She took a moment to focus before the scene disappeared and she opened her eyes in the infirmary.

Kiba squeezed his eyes tight as he woke and cursed silently. It was the worst possible time for the link to be non operational. He wished again for that drug to vanish from the universe. He finally cracked his lids. "You okay?"

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, "Not sure. You?"

"Been better." He massaged his temples, willing the pain away. After a minute, he sat up and winced.

Andy raised one of her hands and started pushing energy into him to help him feel better.

Stinger slowly walked in. "Are you two alright?" He gave Kiba a once over. "Maybe you should have stayed at Headquarters."

Kiba shook his head. "I'm fine. Just got dosed with that damned blocking drug again. Really bad timing." He laid back down.

Andy shrugged, "I'm fine." She kept focusing on healing Kiba.

Stinger sighed. "You're a bad liar, beautiful. I could see your vitals spiking from the bridge." He ruffled Kiba's hair and kissed Andy. "Try to rest, will ya? I can stay if you need me too."

Andy sighed and dropped her hand, "Not sure I can rest." She glanced back at Kiba, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, though I'm probably going to have issues for awhile until I get it out of my system." He shook his head as he closed his eyes. "Don't you dare think it's going to stop me from hijacking your nightmares if this happens again. I won't let you suffer any more."

Stinger kicked a chair before sitting down heavily.

Andy sighed, "I don't think I'm going back to sleep just yet, but when I do, I'll take another sedative."

Stinger ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He felt so damn helpless. The two people he loved most in the universe were suffering and he couldn't do anything. He let out a deep growl, feeling an insatiable urge to hit someone or something.

Kiba didn't answer, his weakened body already fast asleep again.

"Love? How are you doing?" Andy asked softly.

"Other than wanting to rampage again? Physically I'm fine." He raised his eyes from his clenched fist to her face.

"I'm sorry," Andy sighed.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Stinger went to her side. "Beautiful, I'm the guilty one here. I should have gone with you or at least refused to leave the planet when you went missing. I feel so damn useless… Times like these, I wish Antares wasn't a death sentence. I would have had no guilt at using it on everyone of those bastards. Hell, I want to track down every Shocker and Jark Matter member and exhaust every drop of poison in my tail." He forced his fists to relax so he could gently cup her cheek.

"I should have just drained everyone in the building before we even entered. Then none of this would have even happened."

Stinger sighed and kissed her softly. He watched Kiba sleep for a moment, then rubbed his face with a hand. "I'm bushed. You coming to bed?"

Andy looked over at Kiba for a second, "Why don't you just sleep here? I don't want to leave in case he needs help."

Stinger nodded, pushing another bed over and latching it. He turned down the lights and wrapped himself around Andy, one hand on Kiba's chest.

Andy laid there listening to the breathing of the two guys next to her. She tried to focus on good thoughts, wondering what the kids had been up to, but her mind kept taking her back to the bad things. She forced herself to stay awake, pushing her eyes back open any time they started drooping. She didn't want to go through another nightmare anyway, but she really didn't want to have one while it would inconvenience Kiba to help her.

Kiba started muttering, turning to curl next to her. He started to breathe fast, hand searching for hers. Soon, tears began streaming down his cheeks, the muttering turning to whimpers. He clutched her hand tightly. He began shaking his head back and forth rapidly. "Stop.. please stop..leave her alone!"

Andy closed her eyes and focused on his mind, trying to get into his nightmare.

She found herself in a room fronted by a large window. Kiba was bound to the wall, frantically trying to get free as he gazed into it. She looked through to see herself being slowly drained by Void, then revived repeatedly. Kiba was incoherent now, his wrists raw as he chafed against his bindings.

Andy went over and stood in front of him, "Kiba? You need to wake up. This isn't real."

Kiba stared through her. "I can't stop it.. Why can't I stop it?" He lunged against the ropes as blood streamed from his wrists. "STOP IT!" His breathing was way too fast, his chest heaving.

She put a hand on him gently, "Kiba, wake up. This is over. We're both okay."

He blinked, slowly focusing on her. "Andy?"

"Yeah. You're having a nightmare."

"Fuck. Sorry about this." He closed his eyes and disappeared.

Andy opened her eyes again, back in the infirmary. She looked over at him a moment to make sure he was okay.

He was on the other side of the room, arms wrapped around his legs. Head on his knees as he trembled slowly through his sobs. He was tilting as his body fought against being awake.

Andy got up and moved to his side, gently putting a hand on his shoulder, "I'll give you a sedative if you want?"

"I'm so sorry..I don't want to add to your pain." He tried to choke off the tears as he raised his head. His eyes were glassy, exhaustion and pain showing clearly.

"You aren't adding to my pain. Okay? I'm just worried about you." She wrapped her arms around him, "How about I give you a sedative so you can sleep without nightmares for a while? I'll work on healing you up a bit more too."

Stinger appeared beside them, gently crouching and lifting Kiba to his feet. He helped him back to the connected beds and laid him down, climbing in and wrapping him in an embrace.

Kiba gave him an apologetic smile as the scorpion ran a hand through the rider's hair.

Andy prepared a sedative and went over sticking the needle in Kiba's arm. She then sat next to them to work on healing him more.

Stinger gazed at Kiba, his heart heavy. There had to be a way to protect both of his lovers. He had to find it. He couldn't stand by and watch them suffer again. He wouldn't.


	56. The Need for A Vacation

Darkness enveloped the figure as it crept through the voyager bay. It paused as voices were heard passing by, slipping further into the shadows to wait. When it was quiet again, the figure hurried toward Sasori voyager, quickly lifting off and disappearing among the stars.

"Andy! Andy, you have to wake up now!"

"What?" Andy rolled over toward the voice.

"He's gone… he's disappeared."

"Who?" She wiped the sleep from her eyes as she sat up.

"Stinger." Kiba was pacing, vibrating with pent up worry. "I went to check on him. Found this." He handed her a note.

Andy read through it, "Dammit, Stinger."

Kiba clenched his fist, slamming it into the wall. "I should have known he was up to something. All the late nights with the office locked, the hushed conversations on the comm. What the **hell** is he thinking?"

Andy sighed, "I thought he was way past running off on his own... We have to find him."

Stinger clenched his hands around the controls as he glimpsed the huge structure. Here was the source of all the trouble. And he was going to make sure it was destroyed no matter what. He keyed the landing sequence and headed in.

Kiba kicked the office door open, ignoring the receptionist's alarmed cries. He stalked in, slamming his hands down on the desk and glaring at the occupant.

Tsurugi met his eyes calmly. "You owe me a door. To what do I owe this visit?"

Kiba growled. "Cut the crap, Ohtori. Where's Stinger?"

"Why would I know? He lives with you."

Kiba grabbed his jacket and yanked him to his feet. "I'm asking you because the past month, he's only been talking to you. Behind a locked door. So, are you going to tell me nicely or am I going to have to get mean?"

Tsurugi frowned, then was about to speak when Andy walked in.

"Kiba, you didn't need to break in the door..." Andy sighed before giving Tsurugi a greeting nod.

"He wouldn't open it." Kiba's eye twitched, fingers tight around the Federation President's lapels. "Now talk."

Tsurugi sighed, then slapped Kiba's hands down and straightened his jacket. "Stinger is currently on a mission to destroy Shocker's home base. My analysts have been investigating possible locations for six months. We believe we finally found it."

Andy clenched her fists, "And why were we left off the mission?"

Tsurugi sat down heavily. "Stinger insisted. He said neither of you were fully healed from your abduction. He said if I tried to bring in the others, he'd go rogue. I _tried _to reason with him but he wouldn't listen." His hands shook and he entwined his fingers.

"You know we're going after him anyway, right?" Andy looked at Kiba, "Come on, let's go make sure he's not doing something stupid."

Tsurugi touched a button. "I just sent the coordinates to your blaster. He's on Naraka. Bring him home."

Kiba closed his eyes, then reopened them and left without a word.

Andy gave Tsurugi her thanks before following Kiba. "You ready?"

Kiba stood trembling in the hall. "Why? Why would he do this?" He fought tears as he tried to compose himself.

Andy wrapped her arms around him, "He's always been like this. It's been a long time since he's run off on his own, but it doesn't surprise me. He's probably doing what he thinks is best and doesn't want us getting hurt. He should know better by now but his heart _is _in the right place." She rested her head on his chest, "We'll bring him home safe. Okay?"

Kiba didn't answer for a minute, then slowly nodded. "Let's go get him." He opened a portal and they disappeared.

Stinger examined the blueprints again as he finished laying the explosives. He'd brought more than he needed, but he was determined to leave a crater behind. He couldn't change the pain Andy and Kiba had already been through but he could damn well make sure they weren't put through anymore. He began to head for his voyager, but froze when his way was blocked by mooks and a giant bird creature. He morphed, drawing his spear and charging into the mass.

Kiba swore as they materialized to the sounds of fighting. He shot a glance towards Andy as he pulled his phone and henshined. "We are _so_ having a talk when we get back."

Andy nodded before morphing and running toward the sound.

Kiba followed, shooting a knot of mooks surrounding the scorpion. "The cavalry's here, you idiot scorpion! I should let them kick your ass for this stunt." He punched Stinger in the helmet, sending him staggering.

"Why did you come? I'm trying to protect you two!" Stinger growled, his lip already swelling under the helmet.

"Love, we've been through this multiple times by now. You should know exactly why we came," Andy answered as she took down a few more mooks.

Stinger stomped in frustration as the bird creature shot out an arm and grabbed him, dragging him to the creature's side. The bird turned to Andy, showing Kiba its back as it laughed.

"What are you going to do now?" The bird squeezed Stinger tight, causing him to cry out.

'_Keep it distracted. I'm going to use a finisher.' _Kiba told her over the link.

"Let him go," Andy growled, hoping Kiba would hurry.

Kiba pushed a combination of numbers on his phone, waiting until his foot started glowing before launching himself at the creature's back. He began to perform an accelerated bicycle kick.

The creature laughed,suddenly whirling and thrusting Stinger into his way.

Kiba couldn't stop, slamming into Stinger as there was a large explosion. The bird vanished as they both lost their transformations and fell to the ground.

Kiba was horrified as Stinger lay still. "No...please.." He shakily crawled over, blanching as he realized Stinger wasn't breathing. His eyes filled with tears as he began to shake, scrambling to his knees toward the furthest wall.

Andy wanted to comfort Kiba but knew she needed to focus on Stinger. Rushing to his side, her eyes started glowing as she tried to work on healing him. Soon, her kyutama started glowing as Mariana joined her in reviving the scorpion.

Stinger suddenly inhaled sharply, coughing as his eyes blinked open. "Andy? What happened?"

He gingerly touched his chest and winced.

Andy shook her head, "He was trying to finish off that bird but you ended up getting hit instead..." She made a clone who headed over to Kiba and tried to get his attention.

Kiba was curled in a corner, his head tucked under his arms as he sobbed. He refused to answer the voice calling his name. He didn't have the right to. Because of him, Andy's joy was gone. He once again had wrecked someone's life. He had to find a way to stop this cycle.

Andy put a hand gently on his shoulder, "Kiba, Stinger's alive. Everything is okay."

Kiba flinched, rapidly shaking his head. "He's not breathing..I saw it. Nothing's okay. I killed him.."

Stinger breathed painfully as he made his way over. He grabbed Kiba by the shoulders and shook him hard. "I'm right here, you giant pain in the butt. Now get us out of here so I can blow this place."

Kiba raised his head, eyes dull. He nodded once, then stood robotically and summoned a portal as Stinger pressed the detonator. Kiba grabbed the rangers and dragged them through.

Andy pushed Kiba gently into a bed in the infirmary before going to Stinger's side and helping him into a bed. She went back to healing him but whispered softly, "What are we going to do?"

Stinger shook his head. "I don't know." He kept his eyes locked on the rider, who hadn't moved at all.

Kiba lay on his back, eyes unseeing. In his mind, he stared at the walls of his safe room. He was so tired of hurting people, maybe he should just stay here and sleep? He sighed once as he made his decision. He went to a far wall, laying down and closing his eyes.

Andy heard a young voice in her mind, reminding her of Hope, _'Use the toucan.'_

"Toucan?" Andy said aloud before dropping her hands from Stinger before searching through her bag. She found the toucan kyutama and put it into her seiza blaster before shooting it at Kiba. A green light soon surrounded him.

Stinger frowned, his eyes confused. "What are you doing?"

Andy shrugged, "I don't really question when it comes to the kyutamas from Eshana. A voice told me to use it, so I did."

Kiba sensed a warmth surrounding him. He sighed and opened his eyes. "Go away, whoever or whatever you are." He looked up in shock as Evian smiled at him.

"You don't want to see me?" Evian smiled.

Kiba reluctantly chuckled and sat up. "Still charming as ever. You didn't give up the first time we met either." He sighed and leaned his head back. "I screwed up. And I killed someone again. I have to stay here for everyone's protection."

"He's alive though. And they are worried about you."

"Andy had to revive him. Because of me. Unforgivable." Kiba closed his eyes, the terror of the moment flooding his mind. He forced himself not to shake as the scene kept replaying behind his eyelids.

Evian pushed soothing energy into Kiba. "They forgive you though."

He shook his head, scrambling away from her. "That's just it! It shouldn't have happened. And they both forgive way too easily. They ignore all my misdeeds and faults and it's naive and _not_ how the world works. I can't stop hurting them, but they won't leave. I don't deserve it, not after she saw me kill him…"

He kept moving, not allowing her to get close. He resisted the energy, blocking it from being absorbed. "All of you would leave me if you were smart."

"If anything they're probably the smartest people you know. Maybe you're the one who isn't being smart," Evian shrugged.

"I told you when we first met, people who get close die. I can't-won't- let that happen anymore. What happens if next time she can't revive him?" Kiba slumped to his knees in despair.

"Have you ever considered that you're creating a self fulfilling prophecy? If you are convinced they're going to die, they're going to die." Evian sighed, "You spend so much time focusing on the bad things you think you do, even if it's an accident and not your fault that you are missing the good things in your life. You have two people who love you. You have a very cute and smart little baby who loves you. You have their other baby who cares about you. You have a great family but you keep trying to throw that away. When it comes to family, they don't care what you've done. The love is all that matters. That's why they don't leave you." Evian smirked, "At the very least I'm not leaving. What are you going to do, kill me?" She chuckled.

He let out a laugh, then looked at her. "I'm so tired. Stinger wasn't lying when he said I wasn't fully recovered yet. That finisher.." He was forcing his eyes to stay open.

Evian approached him slowly, "Let me help?"

He nodded, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.

Evian moved forward and pushed energy into Kiba for a while. Eventually she spoke, "You should feel better now."

Kiba gave her a soft smile. "History does seem to repeat itself with us huh? Only difference is I can't hit you this time."

"Even with my age I'm sure I'd be able to take you down if I wasn't a ghost," Evian laughed. "Just remember, I'm always here to help if you need it."

Kiba chuckled. "You might get sick of me."

"I've not gotten sick of you yet," Evian smiled softly.

Stinger glanced at Andy with concern. "What do you think is going on in there?"

"Not sure. If he doesn't wake up soon, I'll go in and check on him."

Stinger sighed. "He freaked really bad this time. I was afraid we wouldn't get out of there." He sat up on the bed, entwining one hand in hers.

"Do you think we'll ever all be okay?"

Stinger smiled sadly. "We've all seen too much to ever be really okay. I did think we were close enough to it before that last mission."

"I hope we can get back there eventually. Maybe we should take a vacation and take a break from missions for a while?"

Stinger raised her hand and kissed it. "Absolutely. Whether Shou and Tsurugi like it or not."

"Maybe we can call Azra and Kotaro? I hope the kids have been good for her.."

Stinger chuckled. "Sounds good to me." He glanced over, startled as he realized the light was no longer surrounding the rider. "Is that good or bad?"

Andy sighed and focused on Kiba's mind, trying to figure out what was going on.

Kiba was curled up on the floor, semi asleep when she opened her eyes.

"Hey, hun. Are you okay?" She sat down beside him.

"Yeah. Just tired." He wrapped his arms around her. "Are we okay?"

"Of course we are. Both Stinger and I are just worried about you." She ran a hand through his hair. "We love you."

He leaned into the touch, his voice low. "I was terrified you guys would blame me."

"It wasn't your fault at all, okay? We both know that."

He nodded, but didn't meet her eyes. "I couldn't stop. That's why I freaked afterward. I'm sorry for worrying you. Evian knocked some sense into me."

"I figured," Andy smiled. "Do you want me to stay in here or are you going to actually sleep?"

He smiled wryly, then closed his eyes and disappeared.

Andy opened her eyes and looked back at Stinger, "I think he'll be okay."

Stinger let out a relieved sigh. "Glad to hear it."


	57. A Vacation

Andy landed her voyager on the beach and smiled out at Kiba who was already there. She then looked over at Stinger, "When are the kids coming?"

"A few hours. Kotaro was busy with the scouts." Stinger gazed at Kiba who was sitting in the water and staring out into the distance. "I think he needs this more than we do."

"I hope he enjoys it," Andy nodded. She was about to climb out of her voyager but paused, "While we have a second alone, I wanted to ask your thoughts on something..."

Stinger flashed her a smile. "Ask away." He held her hand and waited.

"It's obvious we aren't ever leaving Kiba. What would you think about us marrying him? Do you think the idea would scare him?" She sighed and glanced away, "There's at least ten planets where it's legal to marry more than one person. Just a thought that crossed my mind."

Stinger's smile widened. "I love the idea personally. I actually think it might even be good for him. He might not worry so much about us. I say we ask him."

"The biggest thing I've been worried about is I know he doesn't really want kids. Just dating us he doesn't really have to act like a parent to them. I wouldn't ask him to change that even if we married him, but I worry anyway, you know?"

Stinger looked thoughtful. "You have a point. I do feel like he has relaxed more with the kids. Hope called him Papa the other day and he didn't run screaming."

Andy grinned, "I guess there's nothing else we can do except ask. Maybe we can get a chance to talk to him tonight."

A tap on the glass interrupted whatever Stinger would have said. Kiba grinned and waved.

Andy climbed out of the voyager and kissed him, "How's the water today?"

"Warm. Thinking about going for a swim. Was wondering what you two were doing in here." He stripped down to his boxers.

"Just got distracted talking. The kids will be here in a few hours," she smiled before taking her dress off, revealing a turquoise bikini.

Kiba whistled. "Bet I know who bought you that.." He waggled his eyebrows at Stinger, who blushed as he also stripped. "Last one in the water cooks dinner!" He took off towards the water with a laugh.

Andy sped toward the water beating both of them while giggling. She splashed the boys when they got there.

A few hours later, the Koguma voyager appeared in the sky. It landed next to the Iruka voyager and soon, Scorpio and Hope were running ahead of Kotaro and Azra. Andy knelt down and hugged them with a smile.

After a few minutes, Azra and Andy sat down with the kids to talk while the guys went out further swimming.

"How have they been?"

"Good. Scorpio was worried for awhile, but we talked and he calmed down. Hope has been very quiet. Sometimes I got the feeling she was listening to something I couldn't hear." Azra smiled at the baby.

"Thank you for taking care of them for us. It's just really hard to take care of someone else when you can barely take care of yourself..." Andy sighed.

Azra touched her hand. "Believe me, I was happy to do it. You needed to recover." She looked out at the guys who appeared to be having a splash fight. "How are they?"

"Not perfect, but a bit better. I'm hoping this vacation will get us back to normal," Andy laughed lightly at Scorpio and Hope who were building a small sandcastle. She then spoke quietly, "I don't know how it'll go, but I wanted to let you know just in case... Your dad and I were talking and we are considering asking if Kiba would want to get married. Again, we aren't expecting you to look at him like a parent or anything, it's just something we want to do and we think it might even help him." Andy looked out at the boys with a smile. "Though he might be warming up to the kids a bit. Hope apparently called him Papa."

Azra laughed. "Maybe we should have a double wedding?"

Andy's eyes lit up, "Really? That would be so nice. Oh god, it was bad enough having Hammy know we are dating her ex... What will she say if we marry him," Andy chuckled.

"I'm sure Aunt Hammy will be fine." Azra covered her mouth as she laughed. She squealed as Kotaro grabbed her from behind, dragging her into the water.

Andy went over to the kids and knelt down, looking at their sandcastle.

"Mommy? Is my bear here?" Andy heard Hope.

"No baby, it's probably at home still."

She looked over and didn't see Hope open her mouth but heard, "Okay." A portal soon appeared and the bear fell through.

"Oh you little...!" Andy grabbed her up into a hug. "You were the one telling me about the toucan weren't you?"

Hope nodded, _'Toucan lady is my friend.'_

"Ok baby... what am I going to do with you?" Andy shook her head.

"Andy? What the hell just happened?" Kiba was standing above her with a worried look. "I just saw a portal open and close by itself."

"It didn't open by itself... Guess who learned how to open portals _and _talk psychically?"

"What?!" Kiba's eyes widened as he looked at them.

"Well she does come from your DNA, it's expected, just wasn't expecting it this young..." Andy snuggled against Hope who giggled.

Kiba face palmed and sat down in the sand. "We are going to be driven insane, you realize that?"

"Yeah. She's cute though and if Stinger and I managed to get through raising Azra, I'm sure we'll figure this out."

"I guess I'll have to step up and help more now." He picked Hope up and kissed her.

She kissed him back, then giggled again. "Poppa happy?"

Kiba chuckled wryly, then squeezed her tight. "Yes, I'm happy."

Andy smiled at them, "I love you two. And you don't have to help more if you don't want to. I know you never really wanted kids."

"She's going to need to learn control. I'm the only one who can portal, so I'm elected." He chuckled as Hope reached for her. "And the universe had other plans for me. Plus like you said she is half me."

"I just don't want to force you, you know?" She picked Hope back up.

Kiba leaned over and kissed her. "I know. This is my choice." He leaned back and quietly watched the sky.

It was near sunset and the group was gathering around to make a fire. Andy smiled at Stinger before asking Kiba, "Want to help us get more firewood?"

"Sure. Lead the way."

After getting to the woods and picking up some decent logs, Andy finally spit out, "Kiba? Would you want to marry us?" She let out a nervous chuckle.

He froze. "What?" He looked at Stinger. "You guys are already married. Pretty sure most planets don't do bigamy."

"There's at least ten planets that will let three or more people get married. And at least one is in the federation, so in terms of that it'd have to be recognized if we did." Andy answered.

Kiba sat down on a stump. "Okay..next question. Why would you guys want to marry me? I'm not really a catch."

"We love you and want to stay with you." She glanced at Stinger for input.

"Even though you _are_ a big pain. You need stability and I think this could provide it. Make you less prone to believing we're going to throw you out the airlock if something bad happens." He grinned as he wrapped an arm around Kiba's shoulders. "Just hurry up and say yes already."

Kiba rolled his eyes, then gave them a half smile. "Why the hell not. Yes."

Andy grinned and moved over to them, wrapping them both in a hug, "I love you. Now let's go make some s'mores to celebrate!"

Both men laughed, picking up the firewood and heading back.

Andy smiled when they got back and winked at Azra before going to prep the s'mores supplies.


	58. A Double Wedding

Andy smiled at Azra, "I can't believe you're getting married. I feel like it was only a couple years ago that we adopted you."

Azra laughed happily. "Well, it was only six years for me to grow. I can't believe I'm marrying Kotaro."

"My little shifter and our lil bear cub. You guys are so cute."

"Mom!" Azra blushed a deep red as they entered the dress store. Her eyes landed on several gowns and she quickly moved toward them.

Andy followed, watching her daughter look through them with a happy smile. After a few minutes she started looking through and suggesting some.

Soon, a dress consultant approached, "Whose lucky day is it? What kind of dress are we looking for?"

"I probably need a dress, don't I?" Andy chuckled to Azra. "Though I'm more focused on making sure you have the best wedding ever."

"Too bad they don't make Disney themed dresses." Azra grinned. "And yes you do."

"We do have Disney dresses," the consultant smiled.

Azra's jaw dropped. "Show me!"

The consultant took them over to a rack of dresses and started pulling some off. "We have them based on most of the princesses. Ariel and Cinderella are a couple of our most popular."

"Belle? Tell me you have Belle.." Azra's eyes sparkled as she looked at each dress.

"Here we go," she pulled out a big fluffy dress.

Azra took it gently, moving to a full mirror and gazing at the reflection.

"It's beautiful," Andy smiled.

"You think Kotaro will like it?" Azra was transfixed.

"As long as you love it, he will."

Azra nodded. "You need a dress. Pick one."

Andy sighed and started looking through the Disney dresses the consultant hadn't pulled out yet. She started laughing as she pulled out a dress with a light blue tint, "What do you think?"

Azra turned and bent over laughing. "It's perfect! He's going to faint."

"You think your dad will like it too?"

Azra nodded vigorously. "He'll love it. And he'll tease Kiba no end. This is going to be amazing."

"I guess we've got our dresses," Andy grinned.

They paid for them at the counter, then headed for the voyager.

Azra looked over at Andy. "How nervous are you three?"

"We've all been married before so I doubt as much as you. I'm still more just a bit anxious around the team. Most of them are supportive but I know a few still think the whole relationship is weird," Andy sighed.

Azra shrugged. "They are all here so it can't bother them too much. We've always been an unconventional team anyway. I was a little surprised Kiba accepted it so easy. Almost expected him to portal away in terror."

"I was a little afraid of that too, honestly," Andy chuckled. "I hate saying it, but he seems happier with us than he was with Hammy. Things are smoother, we see him more than she did, he's actually warming up to the kids and is wanting to help more with Hope. Maybe he realizes that too."

"No offense to Aunt Hammy, but she was always trying to change him. Just little things, but I could see the strain building." She flew the voyager easily, her eyes locked on Andy. "I know they loved each other, but she wanted more than he could give at the time."

"And we are still out adventuring. Even if he's settling a bit more, it's still nowhere near as much as she wanted him to."

Azra smiled. "He's finally realizing he can be happy without things going horrifically wrong." She watched the Orion approach, then landed smoothly in the bay.

Andy smiled as she fixed Azra's dress, "You look fabulous and beautiful and I'm so happy for you." She then finished the final touches of Azra's makeup. "Are you ready?"

"Absolutely. I've never been so sure of anything in my life." Azra beamed as she looked at her mother. "You're gorgeous."

Andy blushed, "We better get going. I bet the guys are waiting for us."

Azra chuckled, then rose.

Kiba tugged on his tie anxiously. He growled as his hands were slapped down by Stinger.

"Quit fidgeting. And leave that alone." Stinger glared at the rider.

"Why are you so calm?" Kiba tried to relax as Stinger gave him a smile.

"I have self control, that's why." He chuckled at Kiba's look. "Come on. Let's walk our girl down the aisle."

The door opened and Azra came out.

Both men stared in amazement.

"You're beautiful." The sentiment was unanimous.

Azra smiled, "Just wait until you see Mom. You two ready?"

They looked at each other and nodded, then took up their positions at either side of her.

Azra took a deep breath before starting her way down. She smiled at the guests as she passed them.

Andy looked Kotaro up and down,"You look good, lil bear cub."

He blushed. "I can't believe this is actually happening."

"Are you nervous?"

"Yes and no?" He fidgeted with his gloves.

Andy smiled, "Everything will be fine. Azra is excited."

He gave her a bright smile, then looked down the hall as the door opened. His eyes widened as he finally saw Azra.

Azra smiled at him when she spotted him.

Andy grinned widely when she saw her two boys.

Stinger was smiling widely while Kiba was trying to be serious.

Andy gave a soft chuckle at Kiba.

He blushed lightly as he met her eyes. He busied himself with handing Azra to Kotaro, then stood with Stinger.

Kotaro then handed Andy to Stinger. Andy smiled softly at him.

He returned the smile, then handed her to Kiba. Kiba took a deep breath and gave her a weak smile. "Catch me if I pass out?" He whispered to her as Lucky began to speak.

"Everything is going to be okay," Andy whispered back assuringly.

Kiba chuckled as Stinger rolled his eyes.

'_You look cute,' _Andy sent to Kiba.

He blushed. _'I can't believe you dressed as Elsa. But you're much prettier.'_

Andy tried to not laugh, _'As soon as we found this dress we knew I had to wear it. It's really a nice dress though.'_

'_Yeah. What did I do to deserve you two?'_

'_Just being yourself. We're lucky to have you.'_

Tears threatened to spill and he quickly ducked his head. After a minute, he resumed listening to Lucky reading the wedding service.


	59. A Major Loss

Kiba swore as the Shocker bird creature rammed him. Pain shot through his head as it was repeatedly slammed into the wall. The hangar spun dizzily as the rider fell to his knees, the creature laughing.

"You can't win." The voice was a harsh squawk in his ear as an arm was wrapped around his throat. His lungs ached as his oxygen supply was cut off and he could see black spots dancing in his vision.

Andy quickly shot at the bird, getting him off Kiba. She bent down by him a moment, "You okay?"

"Ask me later." He massaged his throat, staring at her. "What are you doing here?"

"We couldn't let you have all the fun, could we?" Andy smirked.

Kiba rolled his eyes as Stinger furiously slashed at the creature. He tried to push himself up, but his legs wouldn't hold him. He growled as the creature suddenly counterattacked, knocking Stinger to the ground. He gritted his teeth as he tried again, a spike of pain stabbing into his head.

Andy stood up in front of Kiba, preparing to strike. She prepared her weapon in her right hand while she shot with her blaster in her left. She shot as the bird came closer, before moving to slash at the creature.

She heard it before feeling it. Her weapon fell to the ground but she kept shooting at the bird, trying to keep him away from Kiba.

Stinger's eyes widened and he pushed himself up and raced at the creature. He slashed its back causing it to squawk and turn towards him. He felt a jolt of pain, then darkness.

Andy froze as she looked at her weapon to pick it up, only to find part of her arm still attached to it. She started to panic but remembered Kiba behind her. She managed to hit her kyutama the right way to do a finishing attack, shooting it at the bird. She went to turn to look at Kiba, but she collapsed, losing consciousness.

When Andy woke, she found Stinger next to her. She tried to push herself up, almost falling when she tried to put her arm down only for it to not be there. She stared at the bandaged lump that was her elbow with her lower arm no longer existing.

"Beautiful? Talk to me." Stinger gently lifted her chin to meet his gaze.

She was quiet for another minute before finally asking, "How's Kiba?"

"He's unconscious. Raptor says other than a serious concussion there's no reason for it." Stinger winced as he took her left hand.

"I'll take a look at him," Andy gave a nod. "It's not like I can't heal..."

Stinger gave her a concerned look. "You're in no shape to be doing that. You lost a lot of blood. I'm sure he'll survive to reach headquarters."

Andy sighed, "He's our husband though... I want to help him. If it was anyone else, I'd agree, but it's Kiba."

Stinger gave a tired smile. "I should know better by now." He briefly closed his eyes, then shakily stood and helped Andy off the bed.

"How are you doing?" Andy finally noticed how bad he looked.

He tried to smile again but failed. "I feel awful. Didn't realize our finishers were so damned mean. Just glad it wasn't Kiba's again." He escorted her to Kiba's side.

Andy paused, "Did I accidentally hit you when I was taking out that bird?" She shook her head before sitting down and raising her hand to Kiba's head. She took a deep breath before her hand started glowing. After a few minutes she looked up, "You said Raptor is here?"

"She's on the bridge. And it was my fault. I attacked at the same time you activated it." He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I want to do some scans but I can't set it up right now... Can you call her?"

An hour later, Andy was shaking her head at the results, tears welling in her eyes, "I can't do this..."

Stinger raised up from one of the beds where he was resting. "What's wrong?"

Andy tried to not start sobbing, "He has a tumor in a really difficult place and I can't operate on him because I don't have a freaking arm!"

Stinger rolled off the bed and embraced her. "Calm down. Raptor can operate, I'm sure. But are you sure its a tumor and not just swelling? According to Raptor, that thing slammed his head into something hard repeatedly."

"I know what I'm looking at."

Stinger cursed. "What happens if its not removed? Is it like the one you had?"

"I don't know. It's not in a good place and I'd rather not wait and see if it does grow."

Stinger opened his mouth, but a groan from Kiba interrupted him.

"Tell me one of you blew that damn bird up.." His eyes were scrunched closed as he rubbed his temples.

Stinger chuckled. "Beautiful did just that." He crossed to the rider's side. "You were making us worried."

Kiba cracked his eyes. "Sorry. But that bird used my head as a hammer to the wall's nail."

"I wish I drained it slowly and painfully..." Andy sighed.

Kiba chuckled painfully, finally opening his eyes all the way. They froze when landing on her bandaged elbow. "Andy? What the hell happened to you?"

"That bird took my fucking arm."

Kiba didn't answer, just sat up quickly and waved his hand.

Stinger reached for him, but paused when no portal appeared. He grew alarmed when Kiba cried out, head in his hands.

Andy tried to gather in energy, eyes glowing weakly. She pushed what energy she could into him to help with the pain and concussion, but within minutes she fell forward, losing consciousness.

Stinger grabbed her, placing her on a bed. He looked over and found Kiba gone, the door to the infirmary sliding closed. He sighed heavily and sat down.

Kiba ran through the ship, tears obscuring his vision. Andy's arm was gone. Because he couldn't take out one fucking creature. Because he_ just had_ to take off alone. He stopped in a hallway, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He was a danger to everyone. If only he could portal...

Andy woke again, feeling dizzy. She tried to sit up but finally just settled back against the pillow. She tried to look around the room and was confused when she realized Kiba was missing.

"He ran. Raptor's scanning the ship." Stinger's voice was angry.

"Did I do something to chase him off?" Andy asked sleepily.

"I think it was shock and pain. He obviously can't portal." Stinger forced his voice steady. "Knowing him, he's blaming himself. I just don't know why he can't talk to us."

Andy shrugged weakly.

Stinger's comm beeped, then Raptor's voice spoke. "He's in the bay. Vitals aren't good."

He cursed, then called Champ to get him.

Twenty minutes later, the bull appeared carrying the rider. "He was passed out in front of your voyager, aibou."

Stinger rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. "I guess we're going to have to restrain him."

Champ laid him down and together they got the rider situated. Stinger's heart dropped as he scanned him. "Dammit, he's not going to make it."

He looked at Andy, his eyes filling with tears. "Even if we warp, he's not strong enough for surgery now." He put the scanner down and brushed his bangs back, placing a soft kiss to Kiba's forehead.

Andy reached for the table with her kyutama, "Try this."

Stinger raised an eyebrow, but set it in his blaster and fired at Kiba.

A blue light surrounded him. Andy focused on the light, trying to send her own energy too, until she felt Mariana push her out. Andy chuckled softly and shook her head before looking at Stinger, "She's helping him."

Stinger said a silent prayer, then moved over to her. "How are you doing?"

"Currently worrying more about him than myself... but I don't know, how am I supposed to be? I just lost an arm, I can't even help one of the people I care about most, and I could probably barely help you right now. I'm just great," Andy sighed with frustration.

Stinger gave her a soft smile, then hugged her. "Beautiful, right now I'm just happy you're alive. No matter what happens, I love you."

Andy blinked sleepily, "I love you too." She soon fell back to sleep.

Mariana worked on healing up Kiba's concussion before starting to heal up the tumor. She soon noticed him starting to wake.

"What?" He was groggy, eyes going wide as he recognized her. "Mariana, why are you-?" He winced slightly as his head protested the use of his voice.

"Because you need help," Mariana said gently. "And Andy can't help you right now."

"She can't help **because** of me. Stinger's hurt and she can't heal because I couldn't take that damn thing out alone. I'm a failure. She's having to deal with this…" He fought tears for a moment, then shook his head. "Stop. I don't know what's wrong but stop healing me. Tell her I was too far gone or something. Go heal her."

Mariana shook her head and kept working, "I'm not going to stop. Andy, Stinger, Evian, and I have not put all of this work into keeping you alive just for me to let you go. Remember when you told me you'd be there for her when she needed help? She needs you now. Don't make her lose more than she already has."

Kiba vibrated with barely suppressed anger. "Andy doesn't have the good sense to let the thing destroying her go. Right now, it's just her arm that she's lost. What happens if it's her life next time? Or one of the kids? I'm poison, but she's blinded by love. I thought you were more practical." He pushed her away from him, then grimaced.

"She's not dealing well but she's more worried about you than anything else. Quit making up reasons that everything is your fault. Step up. Help her. They want you, for better or worse, why do you keep pushing them away?" Mariana continued healing him after a moment and then started speaking again, "You need to accept that they're going to keep helping you whether you want it or not. Evian and I will help you whether you want it or not."

"I told Evian, now I'm telling you. People who get close to me usually die. I left my universe to prevent any more of that. Both of them keep courting death by staying. I won't allow it. Whatever is wrong with me is my fault, so if I die they can't blame themselves because everyone dies eventually." He sighed. "How can I help her when this injury is because of me? That's like letting the poisoner research an antidote.."

He looked at her. "I've tried to push these feelings away, but they're always in the back of my head. Evian calls it a self fulfilling prophecy. I don't know if that's true, but I know Andy and Stinger deserve happiness and it's not me."

"Neither of them blame you for the injury. And maybe Evian's right but maybe she's not. These are accidents and they'd happen whether you were here or not. Both of them got into plenty of trouble before meeting you and I'm sure they'd have gotten into equal amounts if they hadn't met you. You make them happy, and if they deserve happiness, they deserve you." Mariana answered.

Kiba didn't answer. He had his eyes closed, his fingers pressed hard to his temple. His breathing was ragged, his face frozen in pain. A minute later, he stuttered out "It- hurts.. I can't think.. Let me go…"

Within minutes, Mariana finished healing him up, "You should feel better now."

Kiba sighed in relief as the pain disappeared. "I'm sorry you had to do this." He felt exhausted, wanting to do nothing but sleep. "Can you help Andy?"

"I can heal her physical pain but regrowing a limb is not something we ever managed to do," Mariana said sadly. "However with the use of technology I'm sure she will figure something out. I'm more worried about her mental pain, and that's what you need to help her with."

"How do I do that when I have so damn much myself?" Kiba frowned.

"Just be there for her. Quit trying to leave or run away. That's all she really needs, knowing she has people who care and still love her even if she's not the same as she was before."

"She has the kids. And we both know Stinger won't leave her. They don't need me really."

"I don't think she can handle losing you, especially not right now," Mariana admitted. "She loves you just as much as she loves Stinger. She needs both of you, just like you need both of them."

Kiba chuckled, then opened his eyes. "I need sleep. Can you tell her I'm okay?"

Mariana nodded before disappearing. Soon, the same blue light surrounded Andy and Stinger, healing up what Mariana could before fading away.

When Andy woke again, she noticed both Stinger and Kiba were asleep, so she got up quietly and headed out of the infirmary. Eventually she found herself in one of the training rooms. Using her left arm, she threw kunai and hit every target. She growled in frustration when she tried to reach for more with her right arm, only for her upper arm to move and she remembered her situation. She headed to the wall and started restocking her bag with the kunai before starting the process over, making more holes in the targets.

"Mom? Should you be up yet?" Azra glided into the room. She pointedly looked at the target, not glancing at the bandage.

Andy shrugged without turning to look, "I couldn't stand laying there anymore. When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago. Dad thought you might need some help for awhile."

"I'll be fine," Andy answered.

"Mom, you lost your arm. It's going to take some work to get back to a sense of normality. Balance is already researching ideas, but it will be some time." Azra touched her shoulder gently.

"I'll manage. I don't need everyone going out of their way just because I got hurt."

"It's not like that and you know it. We just want to make this easier on you." Azra frowned at her. "Honestly, you're sounding like Kiba."

"So what?" Andy pulled down her kunai again.

"You constantly complain that he doesn't accept help. That he resists, that he runs because he wants not to be reliant on you guys. But now you're doing the same."

"Maybe he has a point. Maybe we shouldn't force help on him if he doesn't want it," Andy turned and walked toward the door.

Azra watched in silence as she disappeared.

Kiba opened his eyes to find Stinger watching him. "What?"

Stinger shook his head. "You're an idiot. Trying to steal my voyager while having a tumor pressing on your brain."

Kiba frowned. "Tumor?"

Stinger nodded. "Andy found it while analyzing your concussion damage. According to her it was in a bad place and you needed an immediate operation. She was upset because she couldn't do it."

Kiba looked thoughtful. "Mariana _was_ pretty insistent she wouldn't stop the healing. Guess I have to apologize again. Where is she?"

Stinger shrugged. "Don't know. Azra said they had an argument and she's turned off her blaster. I just hope she hasn't left the ship."

Andy was hiding in one of the rec rooms, watching the stars outside the ship. She was still angry but also had tears in her eyes, not bothering to wipe them away. She wished she could just stay there forever and not deal with anyone else but she knew she'd have to come out eventually. For now though, she figured she could hide a bit longer.

'_Andy? I'm sorry if I upset you. I was having a pity party. Thanks for sending Mariana to me. Is there anything I can do?'_

'_I only sent her because I couldn't help you myself...'_

'_I know… and I'm sorry about that too.'_

'_It's fine. It's not like I can change it. I just don't want everyone going out of their way to help me. I have to figure out how to deal with this myself.' _She sighed, _'Stinger called in Azra to help out... I got in an argument with her about it.'_

'_Stinger told me. I'm sure she's just worried.' _ Kiba's voice had a sad tinge to it. _'Stinger's worried you left the ship…'_

'_I'm still here. Just hiding,'_ Andy admitted_._

'_I figured. Want me to run interference?'_

Andy was quiet for a minute before finally asking, _'Want to just come hide with me?'_

'_I'd have to know where you are first.' _ He laughed. _'It might be better if I don't. I'm still pretty guilty feeling and you'd probably get mad at me.'_

'_It wasn't your fault, you know. But if you don't want to hide with me, you don't have to.'_

'_You're lying, but I appreciate the sentiment. And it's the fact I don't want you stressed out more. I don't know if Mariana said anything but we kind of fought too.'_

'_The only thing stressing me out more is when you don't believe me. I'm __**not **__lying, and I don't understand why you never seem to believe that.' _Andy finally wiped the tears out of her eyes, _'I just figured it would be nice to spend time with you, maybe get a hug... but sure, that's bound to be super stressful." _He could hear the frustration in her voice.

Seconds later, he stood in front of her. "This is very much my fault. I ran off and needed saving again which got you hurt." He wrapped his arms around her.

"Well _I _don't think it's your fault. I can't force you to change your mind though." Andy rested her head against him.

He half smiled, his eyes sad. "You're so forgiving. Why don't you ever hold a grudge?"

"I hold them, but against the people who I believe are actually the cause behind my troubles. And they're all dead anyway," she answered, "Except Jark Matter and Shocker, of course."

He broke the hug, staring at her. "I screwed up and you lost an arm. But you never blame me. I can't understand."

"Maybe it's just perspective," Andy looked back out at the stars. "I see it as the birds fault, since he's the one that made me lose my arm."

He snorted, but didn't reply as he sat down.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. More emotionally messed up at the moment." He yawned.

She wrapped her arms around him, "I love you."

"Love you too. Don't get upset if I crash on you."

Andy yawned, "It's probably nap time. Want to go somewhere more comfortable or just nap here?"

"Too tired to move at the moment." He chuckled as he stretched out on a couch.

Andy nodded before leaning over to use him as a pillow.

When Stinger walked in, he began to laugh at the sight of the two sound asleep.


	60. Drugged Drink

"You just have to slip it on and then it should act like a normal arm," Balance informed.

Andy slipped her upper arm into the contraption. She didn't even think,she just tried moving like she always had and it interacted. The fingers moved around, making her smile.

"I've uploaded the information on it into the system, so if it ever needs repairs and I'm not here, you could get someone else to fix it if you can't."

Andy nodded with a grin spreading across her face. She quickly hugged Balance, "Thank you."

She then looked over at Kiba and Stinger and waved her arm, which was a blue metal, matching her ranger color. "What do you think?"

Stinger gave her a smile and a thumbs up. Kiba whistled and did the same.

'_We should celebrate.'_

"Celebrate how?" Andy wondered.

"Why don't we go out?" Stinger suggested. "It's been awhile."

Andy nodded, "Sounds fun."

Kiba chuckled and showed her a brochure for a bar with karaoke. "What do you think?"

Andy smiled, "Looks good. Is it nearby?"

"Orbit in an hour." Stinger clapped his hands on their shoulders. "So get ready."

Andy headed to their room and started looking for a good outfit to wear. Finally, she picked out a purple long sleeve dress and started on her makeup. An hour later, she met them in the voyager bay.

Both men stood dumbstruck as she approached. Their eyes were wide. Finally, Stinger swallowed and spoke. "You're gorgeous."

Kiba just nodded in agreement.

Andy blushed, "Thanks. Are you guys ready?"

Kiba regained his voice finally. "We were waiting on you. I'll go down and order for us, so when you arrive you won't have to wait." He kissed Andy's cheek, then disappeared into a portal.

Stinger rolled his eyes before offering his arm. "How drunk you think he'll be by the time we arrive?"

"Depends on what he gets to drink," Andy smirked.

"True." Stinger escorted her to Sasori voyager. After she got settled, he lifted off and headed down to the planet.

Andy tried to focus on the planet while they were on their way there, but kept staring at her metallic hand.

Stinger caught her look. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "It's just weird. First I had to get used to not having an arm, now I have to get used to a metal one."

Stinger gave her a soft smile, but didn't reply.

"It feels a lot like using my hand used to feel, but it's also different," she sighed. "Do you think people will think it's weird?"

"With our universe? Not a bit." Stinger keyed the landing sequence.

After landing and climbing out of the voyager, they headed into the bar. From the outside, it didn't look like much, but inside it was filled with a ton of people, loud music, and a lot of neon lights. Andy glanced around looking for Kiba but struggled to see past the people in front of them.

Stinger tapped her on the shoulder as he glimpsed Kiba waving in a corner. He pointed, then began pushing through the crowd. He arrived at the rider's side and was handed a dark red drink.

Andy followed close behind and smiled when they arrived at the spot Kiba saved them. She picked up a lime green drink that he'd bought her and started sipping on it. She grinned when she realized it tasted like apples. "Good choice."

Kiba bowed. "I try my best." He chuckled as he looked around. "Not usually this crowded."

Stinger snorted. "Somehow I doubt that." He was a quarter done with his drink.

Kiba knocked back the last of his blue shots. He grinned as he watched Andy use her metal arm easily.

"How long until karaoke starts?" She felt like she was yelling just to be heard over the music.

"Fifteen minutes. It'll clear out right before." Kiba stretched lazily.

Stinger nodded. "I'll go use the bathroom then." He waved as he disappeared.

Andy finished off her drink and smiled, "I'll go get us more drinks."

Kiba waved as she headed for the bar.

Andy approached the busy bartender and waited for her turn. Finally, she ordered the drinks. Hers was done first, so she started sipping it while waiting for the others. She soon grabbed onto the bar, feeling a bit dizzy.

"You okay?" The bartender asked.

She nodded, "Just feel a bit odd. Probably just the alcohol."

"It could be the crowd," he suggested. "Why don't you head outside for a minute and get some air? We do have some seating out there."

She nodded, "I'll be right back for the other drinks."

She headed out into the cool air, noticing the sun was starting to set. She sat down, taking another sip of her drink. After a couple minutes, she started feeling worse, so she tried to stand to go find Kiba and Stinger, but her legs felt like jello. She frowned and tried again, almost falling. She felt someone catch her but soon she realized they weren't letting go. Finally, realizing too late, she recognized her feelings as symptoms of a sedative. She tried to fight against the person holding onto her, but she lost her energy and slumped over against them.

Kiba frowned as he realized Andy wasn't by the bar anymore. He stood and headed through the crowd, meeting Stinger on his way back from the bathroom. "We may have a problem."

Stinger's eyes narrowed. "What kind of problem?"

"Andy went to get us new drinks." Kiba searched the stools and cursed. "Ten minutes ago."

"She hasn't come back?" Stinger's alarms went off as the rider shook his head.

"No sign of her waiting either." Kiba's eyes started scanning the room.

"We better find her." Stinger pointed outside. "I'll look by the voyager. Maybe she went to get some air."

"I'll check in here." Kiba bumped fists with the ranger. "Hopefully we're overreacting."

They split up and began to search.

Andy struggled weakly against the ties they'd put on her, trying to get away. She looked around, realizing she now had no idea where she was.

"Just let the sedative take it's full effect," she heard a voice approaching. Soon she felt a prick in her neck, more sedative being pushed into her. She pushed her eyes open against the tiredness overtaking her and realized by the man's outfit that he was part of Shocker. She tried to stay conscious but she soon lost the battle and felt the darkness surround her.

Kiba sighed as he finally approached the bartender. He'd searched the bar three times and still hadn't found Andy. This was his last option before he went into full panic mode.

"Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure," he nodded while continuing to make drinks.

"My friend and I got separated and I was wondering if maybe you had seen her."

"I've seen a lot of people tonight."

Kiba bit back a retort, deciding instead to give Andy's description. "Black hair, blue eyes. She's short, wearing a purple dress and a blue metal hand. Ring a bell?"

"I think I saw her head outside. You might want to go out there to check for her."

"Thanks. Got someone else looking." Kiba took a deep breath, trying to figure out his next move. Maybe Andy had gotten too drunk and Stinger had taken her back? That didn't account for the fact Stinger would have let him know. Should he stay here and wait or portal back?

He decided to head outside and see if Stinger had found her. He slipped out the door, heading for the voyager. Then froze when he was confronted by several mooks and a cat like monster commander. "So you're behind this."

"Yes, and you're in our way." He ordered the mooks after Kiba.

Kiba growled, pulling his gun and shooting down the mooks. Then he set his sights on the commander, about to pull the trigger. He suddenly stiffened, then slumped bonelessly to the ground as the bartender removed the needle from his neck.

"We have no use for him. Kill him." The commander ordered.

The bartender nodded and prepared a different shot.

A shot rang out and the bartender fell, a hole smoking in his chest. Stinger arrived at a run. "Get away from him!"

The cat growled, preparing to charge.

Stinger's eyes grew colder and he aimed at the cat's head.

The cat ran forward with a hiss, aiming to claw Stinger.

Stinger switched targets, firing a laser into the cat's thigh.

The cat fell, clutching it's leg as it attempted to push itself back up.

Stinger stepped on the leg. "Where is she?"

"They're probably long gone by now," he answered but nervously added, "They had been in that building..." He pointed to a nearby warehouse.

Stinger activated his comm. "Aibou, I need you down here now. We have a situation."

Champ moo-ed, then headed for his voyager. "How bad?"

Stinger glared at the Shocker commander. "Kiba's down, Andy's been captured by Shocker. I have a commander in custody. I need you to take over while I go get Andy."

"Ten minutes, aibou."

Stinger cut the comm just as Kiba spoke. "I'm coming too."

"You were knocked out, you're in no shape to be up yet," Stinger answered.

"I'm the idiot who suggested this. I should have gone with her." Kiba's eyes were unfocused but he kept trying to stand up. "If she gets hurt again…"

Stinger sighed, "Fine. You have ten minutes to get yourself up and moving or else I'm leaving you here."

Kiba laughed harshly as he finally managed to get to his feet. "I'll be ready in five. Can't guarantee I'll stay up after we get her though." He swayed, leaning on the building as he forced himself awake.

Ten minutes later, Champ arrived and took the Shocker Commander.

"You still with me?" Stinger glanced at Kiba.

The rider gave him a feral smile. "Try to keep up. Though all you have to do is grab her and get out." He picked his gun up and headed toward the building.

Stinger followed behind, hoping Andy would still be in the building.

When they arrived, they found a group of mooks surrounding Andy's unconscious form.

Stinger started shooting and taking them down quickly.

Kiba did the same, firing until there were none left. He raced to Andy's side, struggling to make his fingers unbind her. The room was wavering and he tried to stay conscious, but the pull of whatever had been in the syringe was too strong. The world went black.

Stinger moved to them, moving Kiba off of Andy. He called for backup, and finally got them to the infirmary.

Kiba groaned as the dim light roused him. Blinking his eyes open, he paused. His memory returned in a rush and he quickly sat up and looked for Andy, finding her unconscious on the bed next to him. The rider released a sigh of relief. He swung his legs off the bed and began to stand.

The door slid open and he looked up.

Stinger entered and noticed Kiba was up, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Feel like an idiot for letting him get the drop on me though. How's she doing?"

"She's fine. She had more sedative in her system than you did and with her having been drunk, she's probably going to sleep a while longer."

"They didn't do anything to her, right?" Kiba ran a hand through her hair.

"The only thing the scanners picked up was the sedative. She doesn't seem injured or anything."

"Why'd they grab her then?" Kiba frowned. He forced the shakiness to subside as he caught Stinger's eye. "Shocker goes to all the trouble of drugging her and tying her up but then doesn't actually kidnap or do anything? Something's not right."

Stinger frowned, "I originally figured they had something planned that they hadn't gotten to..." He grabbed her jacket and bag off the nearby chair, "Let me see if anything is missing though." After searching through everything Stinger cursed, "Her kyutama isn't here."

Kiba froze. "If they have it, we're in trouble." He stared at the floor, mind rapidly thinking through the possibilities. "Maybe she dropped it?"

"I'll send the thieves down to check, but I'm betting Shocker took it. They've been testing different power sources and doing tests on different things. I'm not sure what they are aiming for but I bet this has something to do with it."

"Andy's going to freak. If Shocker does something to Mariana.." Kiba sat down in one of the chairs. "She can't morph, which is going to stress her out." He let out a frustrated growl.

"But she's going to fight us if we try to stop her from going into battle," Stinger sighed. "I'll see what kyutamas have good attacks and give her a few so she's not completely unarmed."

Kiba nodded silently, then left the infirmary.

Andy stretched out a bit before finally opening her eyes. She sighed as she remembered what happened and started to get up when she noticed Stinger. "What happened?"

"Drugged drink, more sedative on top of that. Shocker trying to kidnap you. Just another day at the office." The humor was forced, his face grim.

She noticed his look and got worried, "Is Kiba okay?"

Stinger nodded. "He's fine. Ego's a little bruised, but nothing serious." He clenched his fist and turned away as he sighed.

She moved and put a hand on his shoulder, "What's wrong then?"

"Shocker has the Iruka kyutama."

Andy froze, "but what do they want with it?"

"Probably to study it." He hugged her tightly.

After a minute, Andy pulled away, "I'm sorry. If I hadn't gone to get more drinks..."

Stinger shook his head. "This is _not_ your fault, beautiful. I'm just worried about you. And I'm concerned about what happened with the commander. He said something I didn't like about our stray too."

Andy looked thoughtful for a moment, "What did he say?"

"The bartender ambushed Kiba. The commander said Shocker had no use for him and ordered him killed just as I showed up." Stinger's jaw twitched. "You can't morph and now Shocker is actively trying to kill him. But I know I can't keep either of you locked up."

Andy thought back to the item she had hidden in her closet and sighed. If it came down to it, she'd have to use it, especially if the others were in danger. But she'd try everything else first. "I can't believe they ordered Kiba killed. Are they actually finally giving up on DeStruct?"

Stinger shrugged. "Believe it. If I'd been a minute later.. Let's just say you'd be a mess right now. And while the idea is welcome, it could just have been that commander not wanting to deal with both of you."

"Have you started Champ looking into intel of where Shocker bases could be?"

Stinger nodded. "The thieves are checking out the warehouse we found you in as well. How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I slept a whole day," Andy chuckled before sighing, "I'll be fine. Just let me know when you find something, okay?" She headed out of the infirmary.

Kiba took a swig of his energy drink, then returned to his workout. His mind was racing, trying to figure out Shocker's game plan. Why Andy? If they were just researching kyutama power, they could have grabbed Stinger's. But they didn't. Was it Mariana Shocker wanted? Or did they just want to leave Andy powerless for some reason? He misjudged the bag's swing and grunted as it slammed into him. He rubbed his chest, mentally berating himself.

Andy appeared in the doorway and raised an eyebrow, "You okay?"

"Other than being an idiot? Yeah." He gave her a small smile. "I wanted to apologize."

"For...?"

"Not paying better attention. For not getting the second round. Pick one." He chuckled humorlessly. "Hell I couldn't even rescue you right." He downed the drink, tossing the bottle in the nearby can. "Almost got myself killed."

"Stinger told me. And you have nothing to apologize for," she kissed his cheek. "I'm just glad you're okay."

He grinned self consciously. "So am I. Stinger analyzed the other syringe the bartender had. Never have I been more grateful for Stinger. On one hand, the idea that I'm not wanted anymore makes me ecstatic, on the other hand I don't want to go out that way again."

Andy nodded and gave an assuring smile, "We'll make sure Shocker doesn't get ahold of you."

"You okay? I'm amazed you're up with how much sedative was in you." Kiba leaned against the wall and examined Andy.

She looked down a moment, "I'm just wondering why they wanted me and not you?"

"Million pongi question. Not sure I want an answer though."

Andy sighed and looked back up at him with a smile, "You done working out? I can cook us something if you want?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm done. Food sounds good. Get me away from any more energy drinks." He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek.

Andy yawned, "I might need one though." She chuckled and glanced down at her metallic hand. She smirked, "Wonder how much strength Balance put into this thing?" She waved her fingers a moment before turning toward the punching bag.

Kiba took a step back. "Are we going to need a replacement bag?"

Andy shrugged before preparing to hit it. After punching it, she laughed as she watched the chain break and the bag fly into the wall. "Looks like we have really sturdy bags. Might need better chains though."

She turned back toward the door to head out toward the kitchen.

"Bet Balance can fix that." Kiba chuckled as he followed.

After a while, Andy received a call from Stinger, "We've found a Shocker base. Hopefully it's where we can find your kyutama."

Heading to their room, she grabbed the item from her closet and stashed it in her bag before she met with Stinger and Kiba in the voyager bay. "What's the plan?"

Kiba fidgeted. "You stay here?" His voice was a mix of hope and resignation.

Andy sighed, "How about I stay with the voyager. That way if things go bad, I'm there to help. But if you guys don't need help, I'm not fighting?"

Stinger glared at Kiba. Then he nodded to Andy. "That's a good idea. Let's go."

Kiba rolled his eyes and disappeared through a portal.

Andy climbed into the Sasori voyager, "What happens if it's not here? Just blow the base and try the next one?"

Stinger nodded as he lifted off. "We'll either find it or run out of bases."

After landing, Andy spoke, "You have fifteen minutes before I come in after you."

He chuckled. "Yes ma'am." He morphed, readied his spear and disappeared from view.

Kiba crept silently through the base, looking in every room he came across. Invisibility was a great thing, but it wasn't foolproof. Suddenly he spied the Iruka kyutama through the window. "Gotcha." He slipped inside, approaching it quickly. Then he felt a sharp pain. Looking down, his eyes widened as he realized the handle of a dagger was protruding from his left side. He dimly registered laughter before the world went black.

Stinger was canvassing the other side of the base when he stepped off a step and felt a pinch in his neck. He reached up, plucking a dart between fingers quickly going numb. He was still trying to comprehend what had happened when he passed out.

Andy impatiently watched the timer tick down to zero. She cursed before grabbing the item from her bag. She quickly morphed into Kamen Rider Void before heading into the building. She went invisible, sneaking in and finally spotting her kyutama. She saw Stinger being dragged into the room and noticed both he and Kiba were unconscious. She entered the room, became visible, and started taking down the large group of mooks. After they were gone, she headed over to scan the boys.

Stinger's eyes blinked open and he jerked when he saw Void. But he soon passed out again.

Kiba forced his eyes open. When he saw Void, he violently recoiled. "We killed you… you're not real." He began to scramble backwards, ignoring the pain flaring from his side.

Void laughed. "Now now. You know I can't die. But you will. Not until I have some fun though.." Her eyes went black and the rider screamed as he felt his strength waning. Then his eyes rolled back and he sprawled limp.

Andy sighed and scanned Kiba over. She cursed when she realized there was a hallucinogenic drug in his system. She knew Void could freak him out but figured she could calm him down easily once he realized it was Andy.

She unmorphed and got to work on healing Kiba as she made a clone who went to heal up Stinger.

Stinger soon woke, eyes alarmed until he saw Andy. "Beautiful? I could have sworn I saw Void.." He rubbed his face with a grimace.

"I wasn't going to come in and save you without some kind of armor," Andy smiled softly.

Stinger gave a weak chuckle, then froze as he realized Kiba wasn't moving. "What happened?"

"He was stabbed and had a hallucinogen in his system. I gave him an antidote and am healing him up now. He'll be fine," Andy assured. "I hope at least... He did wake and see Void. Though I don't know what the drug made him see..." Andy frowned before deciding to focus on Kiba's mind to see if she could check on him.

Kiba gasped for breath as Void released her hold on him. His side had gone numb and he didn't dare look to see the damage. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing him break ever again. His respite was short lived as Void's eyes bored into his, the air seeming to dribble away ever so slowly as she increased the energy drain incrementally with a laugh.

Andy approached him, "Kiba, this isn't real. You need to wake up."

Kiba's face was almost white as he struggled to speak. "I saw her.. She was in the base. She's playing with me.. Make her...stop" He shuddered as his lungs screamed for air. He could feel his heart thumping too slowly.

Andy's eyes filled with tears, "I'm sorry, this is all my fault." She pushed energy into him before explaining, "You saw Void.. I guess. But it was me. The only reason you saw her doing anything bad to you was a hallucinogenic drug from the dagger. This isn't real, Void is gone. I promise."

Kiba's forehead creased as he tried to understand. "How is Void you?" His voice was weak, but the pressure in his chest eased as he concentrated on Andy. He didn't notice they had appeared in his safe room.

"You're Kamen Rider DeStruct even if you aren't _actually _DeStruct anymore, right? When they were manufacturing a bunch of drivers I swiped one just in case. Not having a kyutama to morph and not having any idea what kind of trouble you guys were in, I came in morphed... as Void." Andy explained. "I'm sorry..."

Kiba snorted. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I found your kyutama but couldn't get it." He closed his eyes weakly. "Then I freak because I got myself drugged. I'm an idiot."

Andy kissed him gently, "You're not an idiot. And it's okay, it's not your fault you were drugged."

He kissed her back. "Sorry I can't be more help. Even if it's all in my head, I feel so weak."

"I took the bad guys out, so don't worry. Just rest okay? Do you want me to stay here longer or do you just want to sleep?"

"You need to find Stinger and your tama. I'm going to sleep." Kiba vanished.

Andy opened her eyes and looked at Stinger, "Can you walk or do you need help?"

He stood shakily. "I'm fine. What's the plan?"

"Pretty sure I can actually carry people now with this arm," she waved with a smile. "I'll carry Kiba to the voyager and you can keep an eye on him while I set the charges."

Stinger gave a short laugh. "Okyu boss lady."

Andy grabbed her kyutama before taking them to the voyager. She finished up by setting the charges then flew off toward the Orion as the base exploded. After arriving, Andy got the boys to the infirmary, "Just rest for now, okay?" She glanced at Stinger who looked exhausted.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Stinger passed out as soon as his head hit the bed.

Kiba murmured Andy's name sleepily, curling onto his side before going quiet again.

Andy smiled as she watched them sleeping, before dozing off in the chair she was sitting in.

Kiba was gone when she woke. Stinger was still dead to the world.

She frowned, _'Kiba?'_

'_Morning! How's Stinger?'_

'_Still out. Where are you?'_

'_Shopping. Found what we need to reinforce the bags. I'll be back in a few minutes with breakfast.'_

Andy smiled before getting up and stretching. She scanned Stinger over again just to double check he was okay and then went back to her chair to wait.

The portal appeared, Kiba appearing with an armful of bags. He quickly put them down, assembling breakfast on a tray and sliding it onto Andy's lap with a smile. "There's more for when he wakes. How long do you think he'll sleep?"

Andy shrugged, "He was worn out anyway but they had given him a sedative which at least affected him for awhile longer. Should be out of him now though, but he might just need the sleep."

"Glad to hear it." Kiba affectionately ruffled Stinger's hair and smiled. "Enjoy your breakfast. I'm going to the training room." He picked up the bags and left.

After a bit, she headed to the training room.

Kiba was putting the finishing touches on the new chains holding the bags up. He was so engrossed he didn't hear her approach.

"You need any help?"

He jumped, then turned with an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry, didn't hear you come in. Think I'm done. Wanna test it?"

Andy smiled, "Sure. And you know, as a ninja I'd be pretty bad at my job if you did hear me."

He tried to hide a smile. "Champ says these should be able to stay attached."

Andy hit the bag a few times with her metallic fist, before grinning, "Thanks."

"No problem." Kiba grinned back.

The com crackled. "Where is everyone?" Stinger's voice was alert and worried.

Kiba laughed. "He's awake."

Andy touched her comm, "We're in the training room."

A few minutes went by, then Stinger appeared. "I hate waking up alone." He kissed both of them before nodding his approval. 'Looks good."

"Sorry love, thought you'd be sleeping longer," Andy admitted. She then smirked, "So... We never got to karaoke... Want to try again?"

The boys exchanged glances, then shrugged.

"Let's try somewhere different this time." Stinger suggested.


	61. Meeting Stinger's Cousin

Kiba portaled into the infirmary, a man in his arms. He called Andy's name frantically as he laid his burden on a bed.

The man was pale, black swirls on his cheeks. He shook uncontrollably, tossing his head from side to side as he moaned in pain. He bore a striking resemblance to Stinger.

Andy entered, rushing to his side to check him over. "Who is he and what happened?"

"They forced him to use Antares." Kiba scowled.

Stinger ran in and froze. "Tetsuya? Shit.." He tried to control his anger.

Andy took a deep breath, taking a blood sample and going to analyze it. Ten minutes later she emerged with an antidote and injected him with it before checking him over again. "Who is he?"

Stinger sighed, not taking his eyes from the man. "He's my cousin."

Andy raised an eyebrow but kept checking on her patient, making sure his vitals were staying steady.

Stinger turned to Kiba. "Where did you find him? I was sure he was dead."

Kiba gave him a scowl. "In a Jark Matter research facility. I was recon-ing it and found him being used as a lab rat."

Andy growled, "Those assholes."

Stinger and Kiba shared a grin before Stinger sighed. "He going to be okay?"

Andy nodded, "He should be." She looked up at Stinger, "Explain to me how Antares would work if he doesn't have a tail..?"

Stinger went red. "His claws. Check for scratches, possibly stab marks. He's only half Scorpius."

Andy nodded, "He did have a few scratches."

The man's eyes blinked open halfway, his gaze confused. "Where am I?"

"You're safe on the Orion," Andy said softly.

"Orion? You're a Kyuranger?" His dark eyes were hopeful.

"Yeah," Andy smiled.

He sat up quickly, then groaned. "That was a mistake." Then he saw Stinger and he froze. "Sti-Stinger? You're alive?"

Stinger gave him a soft smile. "Same question I could ask you. I thought everyone was dead after Jark took you guys."

Tetsuya grabbed Stinger in a tight hug with a wide smile.

Andy smiled as she watched them.

Kiba sat down, rubbing a hand over his face. "I need a vacation."

Andy went over to him and kissed his cheek and chuckled, "I'm sure we could find somewhere to go on a vacation."

He gave her a fleeting smile. "Can you guarantee no interruptions?"

Stinger narrowed his eyes. "You're hurt aren't you? Or is it something else?"

Kiba refused to meet his eyes. "Jark has been massing. They are more determined than ever to wipe the active kyurangers out." The rider sighed, trying not to wince. "This last facility was trying to find a way to use Antares against you two without actually capturing you."

Andy sighed before raising her hands to check him over. They started glowing and she worked on healing him up.

He leaned back, closing his eyes in exhaustion. "Six planets in two days, 12 research facilities and one team of bounty hunters. I must be insane."

"You need to take a break," Andy analyzed. "Or take us with you."

He shook his head. "Now who's being insane? They are trying to _kill_ you two. And you want me to take you to them?" He opened his eyes and glared at her. "I'm _trying_ to protect you."

"I know, but I don't want you taking on all the danger yourself. We worry about you."

He gave her a wry smile. "You're too good for me, you know that?"

Stinger cleared his throat. "I'm going to get Tet taken care of. You convince baka here not to do anything stupid alright?" He gave Kiba a look.

Kiba gave him an innocent look back, to which the scorpion rolled his eyes and left with his cousin.

Andy looked at Kiba and chuckled, "I don't know if it's possible to convince you not to do anything stupid." She stuck her tongue out.

He gave her a fake glare, then laughed. "I should know better. Maybe I need you to beat it into my head?"

She smiled and dropped her hands, "How are you feeling now?"

"Much better, thanks. May end up sleeping for a week, though." He gave a glance at the door. "Don't regret saving that one. Nice to see grumpy happy."

Andy nodded, "Why don't you get some rest? Do you want to sleep in here or go to our room?"

"Room sounds good. You guys been staying out of trouble?" He stood slowly and headed for the door.

"It's been pretty quiet lately," Andy admitted. "I've just been spending most of my time with the kids."

"Nice to hear. They behaving or are they trouble like us?"

"I'm afraid Hope's going to portal herself somewhere and get lost one day, but other than that, they've been okay."

"Guess I came back at the perfect time, then. I'll see what I can teach her." He reached their room, entering and collapsing on the bed with a sigh. "Wake me if anything happens, okay?"

"Alright," she kissed his forehead before heading out of the room.

There was laughter coming from the kitchen.

She headed there, glancing in.

Stinger was telling a story while cooking, Tetsuya at the counter. "So I'm dressed like a jester, can only sing and am surrounded by my teammates to rescue my annoying aibou. Let's just say I was beyond embarrassed."

Tetsuya's face was red as he lost his composure. "I wish I'd been there."

Andy chuckled and went up to Stinger, kissing his cheek, "Need any help?"

"Can you make him stop enjoying my pain?" Stinger's eyes were twinkling.

"It's your fault for telling such embarrassing stories," she grinned.

"You guys are real heroes. Wish I could help." Tetsuya's voice was soft. "But I'm glad you're alive and happy, Cousin."

Andy smiled, "There's plenty of ways to help, and be a hero, without being a kyuranger."

He gave her a half smile. "Guess so. Where are you dropping me?"

Stinger considered quietly, watching him a moment. Then he tapped Andy's shoulder. "Can I talk to you a minute?"

Andy nodded, "What's up?"

"What would you think if he stayed? I think it would be good for him. Plus he was part of the rebellion at one time."

"I figured he'd stay, but you're commander of the ship, it's up to you who stays or goes."

"Other people would think differently." He teased.

Andy rolled her eyes, "And anyway, he's your family, I can't imagine just kicking him off."

Stinger kissed her gently. "Thanks beautiful." He went back to Tetsuya who was watching the stars go by and tapped him. "You want to help? You're back on duty as of now."

Tetsuya's eyes widened. "Really? I was sure you were going to drop me somewhere."

Stinger grinned. "I'd be a lousy cousin if I kicked you out. But it's dangerous still."

Tetsuya nodded, a serious look in his eyes. "I'm not afraid. One question- the guy who rescued me. Who is he?"

"Our husband, Kiba," Andy smiled as she pulled out some plates.

Tetsuya frowned for a moment, then shrugged. "He okay? I wasn't in the best of shape but I could tell he wasn't either."

"He'll be fine. He's resting now."

Kiba restlessly turned in the bed, his eyelids flickering. His mind kept replaying the designs he'd seen in the facility. Worst case scenarios flashed through his head as he tried to ignore the dread he felt.

The alarm on his watch began ringing silently as his heart rate rose.

Andy sat at the table, suddenly frowning as she got the feeling Kiba needed help.

Stinger glanced at her in concern. "Something wrong?"

"I'm going to check on him," she stood and headed to their room. She sat next to him and focused a moment on his mind.

She found herself in an office, staring at plans for a weapon. Kiba was agitated, cursing under his breath. "Why can't they catch a fucking break for once?"

"What is this?"

"Remember that gas that we thought I'd destroyed? The one meant for Rebellion HQ? They have more and want to use it on you guys. This is the bomb they have made to deliver it." He paced the floor, shaking with anger and fear.

"We'll figure something out," Andy sighed.

He grew more agitated at her words."Unh unh. Don't want you guys anywhere near this thing. I'll take care of it."

"We don't want you near it either! You don't have to take care of everything yourself."

"I keep seeing the kids.. I'd lose my mind if something happened." He was close to panicking.

Andy wrapped her arms around him, "It'll be alright. The three of us are a team, right? We'll figure it all out together."

He held on to her, shaking. "I won't let them take you away from me." His eyes began closing as the exhaustion won.

"Just rest for now, we'll make a plan when you wake."

He nodded slowly before disappearing.

Andy opened her eyes and brushed the hair from Kiba's eyes. She kissed his cheek before heading to the kitchen.

Stinger and Tetsuya looked up worriedly.

"What's wrong?" The half scorpion frowned.

She shook her head, "Just Jark Matter plotting to kill us. And Kiba having nightmares. The usual."

"Really?" Tetsuya glanced at Stinger, who shrugged.

"We'll talk about it when Kiba wakes up."

Tetsuya frowned but dropped the subject. He yawned, then rubbed his eyes.

"Why don't we assign you a room and you can get some rest?" Andy offered.

He nodded as he ate, his eyes flicking back and forth between her and his cousin. When he finished, he took his plate to the sink. When he turned back to them, he looked like he was going to ask something, then shook his head.

Andy gave him a small smile, "Something on your mind?"

"Just trying to figure out how my cousin became a kyuranger and got both a girl and a guy.."

Andy chuckled, "He's just a really great person."

Tetsuya grinned. "I know that. This is just not what I was expecting."

Andy smiled, "What were you expecting?"

"To tell you the truth.. I was expecting to be dead." Tetsuya sighed. "Jark Matter is liquidating all their research facilities because they can't afford them and keep fighting you guys."

Andy nodded, "Well, at least you are alive," she gave him a small smile.

"Yeah. How about that room you mentioned?"

She nodded again, "Yeah, let me just check what rooms are open." She grabbed a tablet off the counter and started typing. She smiled a few seconds later, "There's one just down the hall." She led him out of the room and down toward his room. She stopped for a moment as they passed the rec room where the kids were playing and glanced in.

Tetsuya grinned. "Those you and Stinger's?"

"Yeah. Well, Scorpio is adopted and Hope is.. complicated but made of mine and Kiba's DNA. We also have another daughter who's older that we adopted. She's off married now."

"Gotcha. I get complicated." He chuckled. "They're adorable."

"Yeah, they are," she grinned before continuing down the hall. She stopped in front of a door, "This is your room. If you need anything I'm likely to be in the rec room with the kids or back in the infirmary."

He nodded quietly.

"And after you rest, you're also free to roam the ship. Let me know if you need anything," she turned and started back down the hall.

He turned and entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Kiba met her halfway to the infirmary. He still looked exhausted, but he was also panicky. His hands were clenching and unclenching as he paced the floor.

She gently took one of his hands, "Calm down. Everything will be alright."

"Jark is wiping out all their prisoners. I can't help worrying what that means." He gazed at her, his eyes dark.

"Do you want to go try to break them out?"

A portal appearing cut off his reply. Tsukasa emerged, a scowl on his face along with a lot of bruising. He gave a sigh of relief as he saw Kiba, then his knees buckled.

"Dad?" Kiba ran to his side anxiously.

Andy went over to him, hands glowing as she started checking him over.

"Daiki...taken." The rider managed to get out before his eyes closed.

Andy got him into the infirmary and worked on healing up the injuries. She looked up at Kiba, "Who do you think took him? Jark or Shocker?"

"Could be either one. Hell, it could be someone completely different. This _is_ Daiki we're talking about." Kiba rubbed his face wearily. "_Dammit._"

Andy went to the comm and called Stinger, "Daiki is missing. Run a search in case he's in our universe."

Stinger acknowledged.

Kiba's eyes were locked on Tsukasa's form. "I'm going to make whoever has him wish they had never been born."

"Well, until we figure out who did it, you can't do much. Just relax. Daiki is tough, I'm sure he's doing okay."

Kiba nodded, then stumbled as he lost his balance. He gripped the edge of the rider's bed as he tried to regain his footing.

Andy went and put an arm around him, "Lay down, okay?"

He shook his head. "Gotta be up..too messed up to sleep well."

"I'll give you a sedative."

"Daiki..have to save him.." Kiba rested his head on her shoulder, his voice slow.

"I know. But you can't do anything if you're too exhausted."

He slowly climbed onto an empty bed, his eyes barely open.

She went and got a sedative and injected it before kissing his forehead. She watched him fall asleep for a moment before checking over Tsukasa again. When she was done, she headed out to the bridge to see if the scans had come up with anything yet.

Stinger was growling under his breath. "They just don't learn.."

"What's wrong?"

"You were right. Our sneak thief is here. He's a guest of Shocker, but he's in a Jark lab."

"Do we have blueprints of the lab?"

"Hacking those now. I just hope he lasts till we get there. His vitals aren't good." Stinger checked the blueprints as they appeared.

"I just knocked Kiba out with a sedative. I know he's going to be upset if we go without him but it doesn't sound like we have a choice."

"He didn't look like he would be much help anyway. How did we find out about this?"

"Tsukasa showed up. He was pretty beat up and is currently resting in the infirmary."

"Damn..Well let's make it a family reunion." Stinger stood, grabbing his jacket.

Andy nodded, "What's our plan? Go in, don't get caught, and get Daiki?"

"Got a better idea?" He waited for her to reply.

She shook her head, "Sounds good to me. Let's go."

He smirked at her, then headed for the voyager bay.

Andy followed, climbing into her voyager.

He climbed into his own, then launched. He headed for the nearby planet.

Andy followed him, praying Daiki was doing okay.

Stinger landed, waiting until Andy was down to project the lab blueprints in front of them. "Sensors show Daiki here. There are quite a few guards, but I think we can handle them. Ready?"

She nodded, "Alright." She prepared to morph.

He did the same, watching warily as guards began to patrol outside. "Better hurry."

She morphed, then focused on the guards, dropping them one by one as she pulled their energy.

He morphed, then pulled the door open and ran inside. He fired methodically as the mooks and indavers started shooting at them. "Go get Daiki! I'll take care of these guys!"

Andy gave a nod, rushing past to get out to the room Daiki was in.

Stinger loaded his kyutama into his spear and swung it at the same time a mook fired a blaster. Both shots connected, the mooks and indaver exploding as he felt a burning sensation in his chest. He demorphed, falling and lying still.

Daiki lay barely breathing on a table, wires and tube connected to him. A large metal helmet was attached to his head, lights blinking as scientists watched monitors intently.

"Memory erasure at sixty percent." One scientist said right before noticing Andy. "Security breach!"

Andy cursed, quickly killing all but one. She glared at him, "Memory erasure? Is there a way to put it back?"

The scientist hurriedly nodded. "It is possible.. He may not be strong enough to survive it though."

"Do it if you want to keep your life," she growled before pushing energy into Daiki to try to help heal him.

The scientist quickly hit several switches, monitoring the procedure. "Reintegration at forty percent. Fifty percent." After several minutes, he announced "Reintegration complete." He turned to her, raising his hands in surrender.

An alarm went off, Daiki's heartbeat dropping rapidly.

Andy continued to push energy into him, trying to steady his pulse.

The alarm stopped, Daiki beginning to stir weakly.

"Daiki?" Andy said gently.

"Andy? What's going on?" The thief forced his eyes open.

"Hey, you're in a Jark Matter lab. We need to get you out of here."

He nodded, eyes blinking slowly. He tried to move, growling as he found himself restrained. "Tsukasa?"

"He's safe on the ship," she worked on undoing the restraints.

Once free, he yanked off the helmet with a curse. He glared at the scientist. "I should shoot you."

"I gave him safety for helping us," Andy informed, holding a hand out to help him up.

"I'm too tired anyway. Let's get the hell out of here." He took her hand, rising off the table with a wince. "You come alone?"

She shook her head, "Gotta find Stinger."

The thief nodded, heading for the door. "Let's go then."

Andy nodded and headed into the hall. She cursed when she noticed Stinger on the ground. She rushed to his side and lifted him up before looking back at Daiki.

"I'll take him by portal. You brought your voyagers right?" The thief waved a hand, grey haze appearing in front of them.

Andy nodded, "Yeah, I'll bring them back."

Daiki gently took Stinger, rushing into the haze and disappearing.

Andy headed out of the building and started toward her voyager.

She soon spotted more guards approaching her and she worked on draining them. She soon made it to her voyager and headed back to the Orion.

Tetsuya met her in the bay, his face grim.

"What's happening?" Andy looked at him before starting out of the bay.

"Stinger is critical. Daiki collapsed as soon as they arrived. Kiba is panicking." The half breed followed her out with a long sigh.

Andy nodded before entering the infirmary. She moved to Stinger's side, hands and eyes glowing as she pulled in energy to work on healing him.

Kiba's eyes were darting between the three men, his hands gripping a chair so hard his knuckles were white. "Please let them be okay…"

"Deep breaths Kiba," Andy answered before stepping away from Stinger. She then went to analyze Daiki. "I think everyone will be fine."

Kiba's eyes locked on her. "Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

He chuckled softly.


	62. Return of Light and Darkness

"We have a mission. Take out this Jark Matter research station." Stinger put up a hologram. "Our sources say that's where the gas is being refined."

Kiba's knees buckled.

Andy nodded before putting a hand on Kiba's shoulder. "It'll be alright. Let's get ready, okay?"

Tetsuya glanced questioningly at Andy.

Stinger sighed. "Tet, I want you to stay here and monitor comms. If they try to call for backup, block it."

His cousin nodded as Kiba moved toward the door shakily. After the rider was gone, he asked "Is he gonna be okay?"

"He's just worried.."

Stinger grimaced. "You should probably make sure he doesn't try to take off without us."

Andy nodded and followed him out the door.

Kiba was slumped against the wall outside, his hands trembling. He had his eyes squeezed shut, so he didn't see her come out.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," she crouched down in front of him.

"If that gas gets out.." He shook his head rapidly. "I don't want you to go."

"It's going to be alright. I know you're scared, but we'll be okay."

He took a deep shuddering breath. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she pulled him into a hug. "Let's just get ready to go."

He nodded and slowly got to his feet. "At least we get to destroy it."

Stinger came out, then stopped. "Everything okay?"

She stood and nodded, "Yeah."

Stinger nodded, then looked at Kiba. "I want you with me. No portaling. We need to stick together."

Kiba nodded quietly. "I'll wait in the bay." He headed down the hall and disappeared.

Stinger frowned. "Maybe he shouldn't go?"

"He'll worry more if he doesn't.."

"Damn it. He's so jumpy I'm afraid he'll do something stupid." Stinger rubbed his face.

"He's just worried about us. I'll try to keep an eye on him, okay?"

"Alright. Go get your supplies and meet us."

Andy went and got her bag before heading down to the bay.

Stinger was talking quietly to a restless Kiba. "Don't go off half cocked. Stay with us and don't panic. Can you do that?"

Kiba slowly nodded.

Stinger opened his voyager and allowed the rider to get in. He turned and gave Andy a thumbs up before joining him.

Andy climbed into her voyager and headed off toward the facility.

They landed and ran to the front door after taking out the guards. They crept in, immediately hearing the unmistakable sound of fists hitting flesh.

Stinger growled. "Beautiful, go see who's at the other end of those fists. We'll plant the charges."

Andy nodded and headed into the room it was coming from. She paused when she recognized the woman who was strung up. Andy quickly took out the enemies and went to her, undoing the chains.

"Andy?" the woman asked quietly.

"Yeah. What are you doing out this way?" Andy asked quietly as she started trying to heal some of the bruises that were forming. 

"They wanted the aura stone. They took it but don't know how to use it," Raven admitted.

Andy nodded, "We'll find it. Can you walk?"

Raven moved slowly, "I think so. Let's go."

They headed out into the hall as Andy scanned the building for energy sources. "I think I know where it is." She started down another hall. They soon ran back into Stinger. "How's it going? We have a stop to make then we'll be ready to go."

"Got the charges laid, then idiot ran off after some scientist. Can you track him?" Stinger was annoyed, his tail twitching.

Her eyes glowed as she checked, "He's the way we're going. Come on," she started jogging down the hall, Raven following right behind her.

"I'm going to kill him." Stinger kept pace behind, his eyes scanning for guards.

A group of guards appeared in front of them. Andy started draining them as Raven pushed a large blast of light toward them, vaporizing them where they stood.

"Are we close?" Raven looked over.

"Yeah, just in here," Andy pointed to a room before opening the door.

Kiba was fighting with the scientist, a stone glowing on the nearby table. "You can't have that!"

The scientist snarled "It's mine and you aren't taking it!" He quickly pulled a syringe and injected something into the rider.

Kiba dropped to the floor, convulsing.

Andy cursed as she rushed toward him.

Raven approached the scientist, darkness surrounding her and spreading to him, "What did you give him?"

"My newest creation. A liquid version of our poison gas." The scientist smirked widely.

"_**Bastard**_!" Stinger snarled, hefting his spear.

"Where's the antidote?" She surrounded him with a dark fog.

Andy growled, trying not to just drain him where he stood.

The scientist grew frightened, shakily bringing another syringe out. "H-Here."

Kiba had gone still, his breathing erratic. His skin was cold and there was foam drying around his mouth. His eyes were dull, barely moving.

Raven tossed the syringe to Andy who quickly injected it into Kiba before draining the energy from the scientist and pushing it into Kiba. She pulled in more energy, working on trying to handle the damage.

Raven went and grabbed the stone, putting it back on the chain around her neck.

Stinger watched her, then spoke. "Do you want a lift somewhere?"

"I'm not from your universe," she answered.

"Shit. Only Kiba can get you home then." Stinger glanced at Andy. "How is he?"

"She can get herself home but she needs more energy," Andy answered. "I think he's going to be alright."

"We should go." Stinger was nervous, then his blaster chimed.

"Guys if you're done I could use some help!" Tetsuya yelled, laser fire sounding in the background. "The Orion's been boarded!"

Andy's eyes widened, "The kids.."

Stinger picked Kiba up and ran for his voyager. He got the rider settled, then lifted off and disappeared.

Andy rushed toward hers, Raven following behind.

"Get in," Andy ordered. After Raven did, Andy climbed in and lifted off, heading toward the Orion. They landed in the bay and exited quickly. She ran toward where the kids had been.

Stinger intercepted her. "Tet locked them in our room before they were hurt. They're scared, but otherwise fine."

Andy took a deep breath, "Good."

He nodded sadly. "Tet vented the ship of air other than our room. All the intruders are dead. I just finished tossing them out the airlock."

"Is Tet okay?"

He shook his head. "He stayed fighting to the end. I put him in the infirmary. Kiba is unconscious, but alive."

Andy nodded, "I'll see what I can do with Tet." She headed to the infirmary. Raven looked at Stinger, "Can she really do anything to help him?"

"To be honest, I don't know. She's pulled off miracles before though." Stinger leaned against the wall, his face downcast. "I just got him back.."

Raven's eyes glowed as she telepathically talked with past stone holders, trying to find out if there was anything she could do to help. After her eyes quit glowing, she looked back at Stinger, "Show me to the infirmary?"

Stinger straightened, then started walking. Five minutes later, he was walking in.

Raven looked at Andy, "Let me help?"

Andy nodded, her eyes glowing as she held her hands over Tet, pushing energy into him. Raven raised her hands and did the same, her hands beginning to glow a soft yellow.

After about ten minutes, Andy noticed Tet suck in a breath.

His eyes cracked open and struggled to focus on her. "Kids..safe?"

"Yeah, they're fine. Thank you," she said quietly.

He gave her a small smile as his eyes slid closed.

Kiba moaned, one hand upraised against the light. "What happened?"

"You were poisoned," Andy went over to him.

"I really want to hurt that asshole. Did one of you grab that stone?" He lowered his hand to look at her.

"Raven got it back," Andy nodded.

"Good. That thing is way too powerful to leave there." He winced and sat up, noticing Tet. "He okay?"

"He should be fine," Andy nodded.

"I set off the charges so that lab is gone. Hopefully that gas is really history now." Stinger leaned on Tet's bed for a moment, then slid to the floor.

"Stinger!" Kiba rushed to his side. After checking him, he grimaced. "Baka! He told me it was a scratch!"

Andy shook her head, getting Stinger into a bed. She focused on healing him before looking at Raven. "I'm sure your family is missing you."

Raven nodded, "Well, if time moves the same. I've been in your universe for a couple days."

"I'll give you some extra energy so you can head home," Andy smiled as she stepped away from Stinger. "Oh, by the way, meet Stinger and Kiba, my husbands."

"Two of them? You're lucky," she chuckled.

Andy laughed in response before pushing energy into the Kinetic Fury ranger.

After she was done, she gave Raven a quick hug, "It was good to see you, even if the reason wasn't the best."

"You too. We should find time to actually hang out," Raven smiled before closing her eyes and focusing. In seconds, she was gone.


End file.
